MG MIDGET BUILT '63 FIRST REGISTERED '82

[gsbclassics]

Hi , Can anybody please help I have just bought an 1963 MG Midget that states it was first registered in 1982 , how can this be possible?

[Trophy200]

Originally exported and then returned to UK in 1982 at which point the DVLA applied their usual dilligence and decided, as the office calendar stated it was 1982 today, that it must therefore be a 1982 registered vehicle.

This wouldn't be the first time!

Trophy200

[S47]

Another possibility:-
Could have been written off and rebuilt with a new chassis, using original engine/gearbox/axle etc. as was my 1970 'j' reg lotus. It was then registered as new in 1975 on a 'P' plate. by the lucky new owner!!
It's possible to recover the original reg number and get historic 'road tax' exemption. This is far more difficult - it took my MP and all the original documentation & 1970 bill of sale etc and a letter from person who re-registered it as new Coz in effect he lied back in 1975 about its status to get the then New registration] to get DVLA to agree to re-instate the original 1970 reg number and with it 'Historic vehicle' status.
Hope this helps

[nta16]

if you have an age related registration number (i.e. 1963 reg) then don't worry about it, if not then you can get one

the DVLA are not after everyone, they've only got it in for certain people and luckily those people realise they have been picked to be persecuted

[gsbclassics]

Thanks for the help. It does have a '63 reg so maybe it was originally exported.

[//j17]

You can also get weirdness with 'overseas' cars - diplomats/soldiers/etc posted overseas. Bought in '63 the car skips the DVLA till it gets shipped back in '82.

It's not unknown for dealers to just shove unregistered cars in sheds and forget about them. You change from being an MG dealer to Triumph but have an unsold Midget sat around. You don't want people to see the opposition's car in your re-launched garage so you pop in in the storage shed, planning to sell it later. Life happens, people move on and retire and it's only when the business changes hands in '82 that someone opens the shed again.

[gsbclassics]

Thanks for the help. It does have a '63 reg so maybe it was originally exported.

[wmo418]

Key words: 'first registered' - that means when first entered to the DVLA computer not when it was made. If previously used overseas it should say so and also say 'declared manufactured 1963' to get historic tax free class.

[gsbclassics]

That's true it doesn't say previously registered overseas so could it really have sat around until 82 before it was registered.

[rallyspit]

Probably worth getting a Heritage certificate (based on the VIN plate) to find out exactly when it was made. IMO "first registered" means just that, not when it was first entered on some database by an inept Welsh quango. My money is on it being re-imported in '82 having worn some exotic foreign registration plate for 19 years.

[nta16]

see S47's post it's not always the DVLA at fault, dare I suggest that some car owners are incompetent with their registration and details or devious or straight out lairs, same for some in the motor trade - mistakes, errors and inaccuracies can have been from various sources and reasons

[mph1977]

also vehicles which were outo the Uk during the transition to Swansea in the Mid 1970s might have funky things thrown up when reimported

[Hooli]

gsbclassics said:

Thanks for the help. It does have a '63 reg so maybe it was originally exported.

Sounds like it to me as well. Is it on free tax?

[gsbclassics]

Yes it's tax free