car derived van - converted to car and the law?

[boybiffa]

Hi all,

sometime ago we purchased a mk1 fiesta that originally was built by for as a car derived van - side panels instead of windows and the 3 quarter rear load area instead of seats.

during the mid 80s the fiesta was converted by a conversion company who i believe now do emergency vehicles.
it was converted to car with side windows in the back and now has rear seats fitted.
to explain this further, nothing structural or otherwise had to be changed to convert from a van to the car it currently is today. simply the rear seats hook in, brackets were welded in (original ford items) other than that, nothing else is needed for the conversion to be done.

the question I have is, the log book still states - car derived van - insurance isnt an issue due to being a car derived van, the concern is the DVLA. in the event of an accident or whatever, the fact the log book states car derived van, could this present any possible issues? im not keen on the idea of contacting the DVLA to have the log book changed due to lack of paperwork for the conversion work done ( i do however have the name of the company who carried out the conversion on a set of registration plates)

it will be used a car with my wife and daughter and myself to visit shows etc etc, could the wording on the logbook be a legal issue under any circumstances?

many thanks in advance!

rob

[SlackBladder]

No idea, but congrats on making your first post in 8,1/2 years

[RSTurboPaul]

I heard anecdotally that one could request a correction to pretty much anything on a V5 and the DVLA wouldn't bat an eyelid! (I think the example I heard was changing, say, 'Cosworth' to 'Cosworth Sapphire' or something like that, wherein it's a minor change but could benefit someone looking to act fraudulently.)

[DickyC]

My single vehicle car transporter was converted from a refrigerated delivery truck. The V5 said it still was. I sent off to DVLA for a correction and enclosed photos of how it is now and the V5 came back as a transporter. No problems.

[vitesse2000]

Getting the DVLA to make corrections to V5Cs can be fraught with issues... we have an MGB Auto, factory built in 1972 with Heritage Certificate to prove. My wife’s father bought it used in 1975, and drove it right up to 2009 when he crashed it into a lamp post, writing it off through being uneconomical to repair. When the assessor/insurance engineer was inspecting he said there’s a problem as DVLA have it as a manual, and therefore as it was converted without telling anyone they may not pay out. I got the Heritage certificate and showed him, said this is factory (although unusual being auto) and as the car had been insured through a broker and nothing hidden from them there can be no problem. He accepted this, set a value on the payout and salvage but advised informing DVLA of the transmission error for the V5C if we intended to put it back on the road.

I rang them, and they said no problem, just send in the V5 with a cover letter and they’ll sort it - except they cocked up and just lazily changed it to MGB Auto instead of following usual protocol such as Make: MG. Model: B Auto

Now if you do a search on insurance databases it doesn’t appear at all if you put in the VRM, and just comes up as “Red” with no make or model on Dart Charge and other such services.

DVLA refuse to change again until they have a manufacturer build number from MG, that identifies it as something different from a manual, they no longer hold that info and no one else wants to help.

Then take the case of my friends Stag, which although registered in 1978, was built in 1976 so he sent in the V5 with his Heritage certificate to change to Historic to get his free road tax. They changed it to Historic, but issued a new entire VRM with a P suffix instead of the S suffix it’s always worn on the basis that the car was pretending to be 2 years younger. Not much use to my friend who had a painting of his car commissioned showing the reg, and all the glass was now etched with the old reg. The person involved, who during the long battle that ensued who we christened “Barry the Tw@t” couldn’t get his head round many BL cars sat in stock for a long time, unloved with no one to buy them, and despite the 78 reg, they stopped making them in 77 so that should show something. He was stubborn and refused to changed the reg back, as was his equally ill informed supervisor.

Happily, his local MP was able to make someone in upper management see the reality of what went on and got the original registration number issued again, but that’s not the end... they didn’t return the original Heritage certificate, a £40+ document, saying they shredded it as the registration it was issued to (the S plate) had been cancelled - much shouting down the phone and threats of further MP intervention and it magically appeared in the post a week later - couldn’t see the joins from shredding either so shows their lack of honesty.

Personally I think DVLA as it stands is no longer fit for purpose and it should be run properly and not by the bunch of Capita clowns that currently do it

[boybiffa]

Thanks for the replies folks, this is hugely appreciated.

For the above reasons, this is why i am considering converting it back to a van with the side panels back in so it looks like a van but keep the rear seats. States on the .gov website a vn with rear seats they dont have to be informed etc etc.

Or... Do i convert it back to a full blown van ( easy anyway) to save any hassle with the dvla seeing how they have a cavalier attitude towards older cars..

Again,many thanks.

[Hol]

In 2005 I bought a Silver 2003 Impreza that the previous owner had imported new from Japan.

When I did an HPI check it came back as colour Blue. Everything else, including all the import papers matched correctly, so it was changed quite easily..

Someone at the DVLA probably had a pile of Blue Impreza's to process that day and made a mistake on the colour.


(This is the second DVLA problem related post in as many days that I have referenced that same car. Maybe it was unlucky??)

[98elise]

Back in the 90's we bought a MK2 fiesta car derived van that had been fully converted to a car. It still said car derived van on the V5 so we just sent a letter to the DVLA saying it was now a saloon (or what ever the official name is) and the V5 came back updated.

They might not be so accommodating these days though.

[grumpy52]

I should imagine it would be straightforward as it has been done loads of times especially by the Irish. Often done by them as the tax advantage of buying van was favourite. As stated it is an easy conversion with off the shelf parts .