What do i need to look for when buying one??`

[DamienCBR]

Well the insurance have decided how much they are going to pay more for the bike, or should i say not pay me, but that is a different story.

This has meant the budget has come down for the Kit Car to £5k tops. Looking around there seem to be some nice Tigers which is one of my favorites but i now how some questions about the buying process of a kit car. I have obviously bought other cars but really need to know the differences.

THe majority are Q-reg, will this mean the correct year of registration is on the V5, for example 2002?

If it is a L-reg, will it have been registered in 1994 or will it have the newer date from when built on the V5?

They obvisouly need to have passed the SVA, does it need an MOT with it or is it like a brand new car that does not need one for three years?

Servicing - I know the majority of owner for this type of car are enthusiasts so probably do the servicing themselves, but how can that be proved. Is it just a case of looking at the receipts?

One last thing that i can think of at the moment, is that allot of the Pinto engines have been re-conditioned and the mileage for the advertisement is on the car with that engine, is there anyway of finding out the mileage before it went into the car.

Also anything general to look out for.

This is a bit new as you can see but i am keen to get a good car that i will not have to do anything to apart from upgrade should i so desire.

Cheers
D

Edited by DamienCBR on Friday 1st September 08:45

[Sam_68]

DamienCBR said:

The majority are Q-reg, will this mean the correct year of registration is on the V5, for example 2002?

Correct. Q registration indicates 'indeterminate year of manufacture' (ie. built from a variety of new and second-hand bits), but the date of registration is shown on the V5.

DamienCBR said:

If it is a L-reg, will it have been registered in 1994 or will it have the newer date from when built on the V5?

If it is L-reg, it means that it was either built from all new bits in 1994, or that enough bits were used from a single, 1994 donor vehicle for the DVLA to allow it to take on that vehicle's year of manufacture. The V5 will show date of registration as 1994.

DamienCBR said:

They obviously need to have passed the SVA, does it need an MOT with it or is it like a brand new car that does not need one for three years?

SVA is a fairly recent introduction - I can't remember the exact date the SVA test came into force, but it was around 1999/2000, I think. Kit cars built before this date just had to pass a standard MOT.

There has been some dispute over whether the SVA exempts you from MOT's for 3 years, and to be honest I can't remember the conclusion. Somone else will no doubt be along soon to give you a better answer.

DamienCBR said:

Servicing - I know the majority of owner for this type of car are enthusiasts so probably do the servicing themselves, but how can that be proved. Is it just a case of looking at the receipts?

Correct, again. Kit cars don't usually have a 'service book' to stamp and, as you say, most owners do their own servicing. Ask questions if you are buying direct from the owner (rather than a dealer), but otherwise you are reliant upon how careful they were at keeping invoices and personal records for the car.

DamienCBR said:

a lot of the Pinto engines have been re-conditioned and the mileage for the advertisement is on the car with that engine, is there anyway of finding out the mileage before it went into the car.

No, not usually - not unless the builder kept records from the donor car. With an engine as simple as the Pinto, a properly reconditioned engine should be as good as new, anyway, but to decide whether it has beenp properly reconditioned, you are again reliant upon the builder/owner having kept receipts for the work done or components used.

DamienCBR said:

Also anything general to look out for.

Just the usual stuff really, but take special care in trying to judge how well cared for the car looks and how tidy and professional the build appears to have been.

They are pretty simple, really, though, so there aren't many hidden pitfalls.

Edited by Sam_68 on Friday 1st September 18:22

[joe lord]

buy new then you know the service history

joe

cct7kitcars

[flossythepig]

Sam_68 said:

There has been some dispute over whether the SVA exempts you from MOT's for 3 years, and to be honest I can't remember the conclusion. Somone else will no doubt be along soon to give you a better answer.

My understanding is:
If you build a car with all new bits then no MOT for three years as it gets a new registration.
If you use a mixture of old and new then MOT required and Q reg assigned.
If all the bits come of a one year old donor the MOT required after 2 years.

[ferg]

flossythepig said:

If you build a car with all new bits then no MOT for three years as it gets a new registration.

Definately

flossythepig said:

If you use a mixture of old and new then MOT required and Q reg assigned.

No. As Sam said, there is a points system of using parts from one donor. If you use enough the car will be registered with an age related plate the same year as the donor. BUT not the donor plate.

flossythepig said:

If all the bits come of a one year old donor the MOT required after 2 years.

No idea. But I was able to tax my Libra which is age related over the internet without MOT at 2 years old....

[tribbles]

flossythepig said:

If you use a mixture of old and new then MOT required and Q reg assigned.

It's a bit different to this:

- You're allowed to have items which have been "reconditioned as new" (so if you get the engine properly rebuilt, you need to get the rebuilder to give you a certificate of newness).

- I think you're also allowed to have one item which is old (such as a gearbox, or engine).

[Dave Dax builder]

A new reg is issued if all or all but one of the 6 items listed on the V627-1 form is new and the remaining part must be reconditioned to an as new standard or better.

An age related number (Same year as donor)is issued if 2 of the 6 items have come from that one donor vehicle (The rest can have come from anywhere.

A "Q" reg is issued if no evidence of a donor vehicle or only 1 of the 6 items(Along with its V5) is listed on the V627-1

All kit cars should be named on the V5 as what they are. ie. Dax, Tiger, Westfield etc. If it says Cortina, Ford or anything like that the car is incorrectly registered and has either not been updated which it should have been some 5 or 6 years ago or the car has not passed an SVA test.

I have been having problems with the DVLA recently over conflicting statements on V5s regarding the age of kit cars.
i have been informed that if the vehicle was built from a 1992 Sierra donor (For example) into a **** kit in 2006 then the V5 should state than the vehicle is a 2006 not a 1992. This throws up some serious issues that are not really a problem for kit car owners or buyers but as far as the V5 goes the car is a 2006 but, if you try to buy a 2006 personalised reg for the (Above) car you will not be allowed one because the car has donor parts from a 1992 vehicle but there is no mention of this on the V5, the very document that potential buyers will take as gospel. This will shake the DVLA somewhat cos they are extremely keen on vehicles not appearing any newer than they actually are. Hung by their own rope so to speak.
There are probably (i'm almost certain) people on here who have a V5 that is incorrectly completed but this is not really a problem but with the "Official" system as it stands it would be impossible to build a car using a 1970's engine and then ship the car abroad and tha oldest date on the V5 would be 2006 resulting in the new country testing the car's emissions to 2006 standards.
The fact that it might say 3.5 CO and 1.2 HC at the moment kind of means nothing to potential buyers



.........Expect to seen more info in section 3 (Special notes) appearing on V5's for kit cars in the future.



Amen.

Edited by Dave Dax builder on Friday 1st September 21:27