Fast Marina Magazine

According to Classic Car Buyer this week (11/04/18), who have been in contact with the DVLA, the MoT exemption for 40+ year old vehicles, which goes live on May 20th, will require an annual declaration.

They previously reported that you will need to get a V172 form. They got that wrong - the form they meant is a V112, to make a declaration at the Post Office.

According to the article, if you don't do your vehicle taxing at the Post Office, by the time the MoT rules change on May 20th, the DVLA will have created an online portal to make the MoT exemption declaration online - by ticking a box. I think Chris alluded to this on another post.

So it seems that if your vehicle is VED free, i.e. 40 years old or more, it becomes MoT free whether you agree with it or not. From what I'd heard or read previously, I thought if you didn't declare your vehicle MoT exempt, you could continue to get it tested as normal. But it seems if you take that route, you also pay the annual VED. No one wants that if they can help it.

The other information from the paper that I quoted in another post, was that pre-1960 vehicles, that had been made MoT exempt in 2012, even though they'd been VED free for a lot longer, will also have to make the annual declaration just the same as the 'newer' vehicles, or they'll become liable for MoT and VED too.

I'm not sure if the new rules change the way you apply for VED exemption (by changing the Taxation Class from Petrol Car to Historic) like I had to do last year, by taking the log book to the Post Office.

As regards 'substantially modified vehicles', where 'old' cars are meant to remain liable for an MoT and road tax if they've been extensively modified, CCB states that the DVLA said the onus is on the owner to make a truthful declaration. So, if the local constabulary pull in a 1972 Marina fitted with a Chevy V8 and Jag IRS, and find its running as a VED free MoT exempt car, you're in trouble. If they don't catch you, you aren't. I think previously a lot of custom cars running around on reg plates that placed them in the VED-free sector, got away with it. I think that loophole may have been closed now. Providing owners are honest enough to not bend the rules created to catch us out!

Without pre-empting the next club magazine, in which I have written an article specifically about MOT exemption, the following will apply.

1. Do not confuse MOT exemption with Vehicle Excise Duty exemption. You will still have to change the Tax Status on your V5C to Historic Vehicle to get free road tax.

2. When you come to ‘tax’ your car you will be asked to provide either on MOT (DVSA computer record) or certify it’s is a Vehicle of Historic Interest (VHI) - tick the box. If there is no MOT and you don’t tick the box, then you won’t be able ‘tax’ the car to remain legal.

3. You will be able to declare VHI and then voluntarily have an MOT test. However, if the car fails it’s voluntary MOT, then the VHI falls and you need to get the car retested before it will be allowed back on the road, just like now.

Went down to the post office with mine with said form and V5C and hey presto all done.

Brought her out of store and home for a clean.

MarinaCoupe wrote: Sun Apr 15, 2018 10:05 pm 3. You will be able to declare VHI and then voluntarily have an MOT test. However, if the car fails it’s voluntary MOT, then the VHI falls and you need to get the car retested before it will be allowed back on the road, just like now.

I know I read these points before but I've only just absorbed the last one. Volunteer for an MoT, fail it, and you need to get the car retested before its allowed on the road again. I know you are supposed to keep the car roadworthy to be legal anyway, but this whole cock-eyed business (in my opinion) seems to encourage NOT volunteering your car for an MoT in that case! If you aren't found out by a failed MoT test, you can go on using your classic blissfully unaware of serious issues ad infinitum unless you are pulled up by the Feds or have an accident.

A test fail, is the only time there is actual evidence that the car is not roadworthy, unless you actually get nicked by the police. Everyone knows that the MOT is only good until you drive from the testing station, cars go wrong sometimes within days of their test “it was alright last week when it was tested”. So really there is no change in the legislation, a car has to be roadworthy to be driven on the road, a test fail is evidence that it is not roadworthy, so that needs to be contradicted by a later test pass, to be proven as roadworthy once again, your declaration on a computer or a form won’t cut it.

As I understand it, aside from some sort of need to fall inline with EU rulings to make a more level playing field with vehicle testing across Europe, the scrapping of the compulsory MoT test for Vehicles of Historic Interest is because of the tightening of the test for modern vehicles, which older vehicles might not be able to meet, and lack of experience from younger MoT testers as to what might be regarded as acceptable slack in things like steering and suspension on older vehicles. Or at least they have been the reasons put forward by the classic car publications I've read. MoT time is always nerve wracking I'll admit, but I was never in favour of zero compulsory testing. I would have preferred some kind of gentler simpler MoT for older cars, just as they have a wider tolerance in emissions to meet. But we have what we have, and we're stuck with it. But this thing about oil leaks that's been raised (that I didn't know about); does that mean you could submit your classic for an MoT with an oil leak that it would have passed last year, and it might not pass this year? I've got a drip tray in my garage that used to be placed under my Wolseley Hornet to catch drips from under the sump somewhere and also the gearchange tail shaft, and it currently catches drips from my Marina auto transmission. I've got the parts to do a repair, just not done it yet. Until I've put the system to the test, I won't know whether or not my car will pass or fail the 'new' MoT and if it fails on tighter regulations, that might keep it off the road for longer. Because I've got a good relationship with my MoT garage I'm certainly going to talk to them when my test date gets near to see if they recommend a full test, or just giving my car a safety check on all the usual items as if paying for a service.