Taxing a Kit Car... Trials and Tribulations

[gilbertdave]

Hi all,

Has anyone else experienced trouble taxing their kit car ? I have and I'm not sure whether I'm in the wrong or whether the people on the other end of the phone are being dim ?

I tried to tax the car online and it wouldn't let me becuase it thinks it doesn't have a valid MOT. Now, the car is only 14 months old, so I was under the impression it wouldn't need to be MOT'd for the first three years. Is this true ?

The DVLA OR whatever they are called, kept saying the car is 15 years old (it's on a K plate) and didn't really understand what I was on about ?

Also, is it possible to get a duplicate copy of the SVA report ?

Any and all help would be appreciated.

Dave.

[rdodger]

Mine was registered new so no MOT for 3 years.

[migwell]

It may have recently been built but MOT is due yearly,
It would have had to be MOT'd when it was 1st built before taxing, the 3 year thing doesnt apply as its age related, sva or not.

Edited by migwell on Wednesday 26th November 21:33

[tribbles]

I think the 3 year thing is only if you have it registered as new. Keeping the donor's plate you'd do because you were using old parts - hence it's not new, and you've got to MOT it.

[gilbertdave]

Hi all, thanks for the heads up... I need to check my paper work, but I've got a nasty feeling that might mean I've been driving the car for two months without an MOT !

Best get that sorted !

[FlatPack]

Has this been definitively resolved then? Last time I checked some people on age related (or Q) plates were being told they didn't need an MOT for 3 years and some that they needed one after one.

Another example of the DVLA not knowing their arse from their elbow I guess, just like the MOT prior to registration fiasco.

Will probably be relevant for me when I tax the car in the spring too...

[Snake the Sniper]

This is one of those questions that has as many answers as there are DVLA offices. They all read the same rule book, then interpret it differently.

[Steve_D]

Snake the Sniper said:

This is one of those questions that has as many answers as there are DVLA offices. They all read the same rule book, then interpret it differently.

Sadly this is all to true.
My understanding and experience is that having built a kit using all new parts (bar the one remanufactured) it gets SVA'd and you get a new registration and no MOT for 3 years.
If you build a kit or scratch build using donor components then it is SVA + MOT before registration either as age related or Q dependant on the origins of your bits.

If the OPs car is on a K plate then an MOT is required and has been from the outset.

Many people get confused about the role of the SVA and MOT systems and don't understand why both are required in this case.
SVA is there so that an engineer can look at the beast you have built out of scrap metal and recycled mechanicals and decide if it is designed and constructed in a fashion suitable for the task be it a lightweight buggy or a brute 4X4.
The simplest way of looking at the two functions is that the SVA man looks at the trackrod end to see if you have selected the right size for the job and the MOT man looks to see if it is worn out.

Steve

[Ferg]

It's a minefield.
My own car was registered with an age related plate (not 'the donor plate' as mentioned above, don't think you can ever do that unless you keep the original chassis...) as it had been built (apparently ) from a 'J' reg Metro and I really couldn't discover whether it need an MOT.
It all came to light after a year, though, when I received the form to renew the tax.
At the bottom of the form it informed me that the car required an insurance certificate to buy a tax disc, but no requirement for an MOT certificate.
This continued until it was three years old when the MOT was mentioned on the tax renewal form.

[Wanchaiwarrior]

yup, as mentioned above, if first registered after SVA in for example May '07, either with an age related, Q plate or indeed an 07 plate, no MOT required until three years later