OR/4x4 modification gurus lend me your ears

[Pumpy]

At what point in the modification/rebuild process does a classic 1973 tax exempt series LR become a new vehicle?

 

e.g. I've seen one with a new galv chassis, new galv bulkhead, upgraded engine to a Td5 with gearbox, upgraded brakes, power steering, diffs, new modern defender type bodywork, and a gob load of other expensive off road type gizmos, I was left with the feeling there wasn't much left of the original series left, a lot of off road motor for the money too.

 

So whats to stop someone basically building a new car and still be tax exempt with cheap classic car ins?

 

Is there much of a down side to these off type of road projects? I've seen a few around the £5k mark, and putting them up against the current running costs of my 06 Shogun sport (£475 tax £500 ins), I could afford to spend a grand a year on repairs and still be better off depreciation wise.

 

plus I'd get to play off road a bit

[Ty Unnos]

Rebuilds and the law - by Glencoyne 4x4 (Thetford)

[RobRainford]

That's not really a series anymore. I reckon its a group of stolen vehicles bodged together on a series chassis to get the tax exemption but all new parts. So it would remove it from the tax exemption and probably be hot

 

 

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[Chris Sheppard]

I can't give a definiteive answer but it would only be a matter of time before either DVLA (or HMRC) caught up with you for tax avoidance. The other thing would be if it was ever involved in an accident and they started looking a bit closer.

 

Always seemed a lot of work/risk to me just to save a couple of hundred quid a year.

 

Hybrids seem to be a lot less popular than they were a few years ago - whey do you think they seem so cheap.......

[Pumpy]

Tks guys, Ty Unnos that link covers it I think.

 

Why do I think they're cheap?

 

Well, the best one I saw had been converted/rebuilt about 4yrs back, only done 2k miles since (tho it might have been hard miles) and the seller had receipts for 20K worth of parts on it, I saw it up for £10k a few months back, and heard from a mate yesterday he'd take £5k for it.

 

But it seems this vehicle is a VOSA nightmare waiting to happen. I hadn't even thought of stolen/ringed vehicles because of the pile of receipts, but worth keeping a weather eye out for sus vehicles all the same.

 

I'll go see my mate Ray at Rockingham LR, he'll know the full SP.

 

Cheers fellas

[aspenarb]

It depends on how it built. As far a dvla are concerned it is quite feasible that over a period of 30 years or more that most of if not all of the vehicle components may have been changed/renewed/replaced or altered including chassis and body parts. . It may well not have any of the original mechanical parts still in place ie. engine gearbox or axles. In these circumstances and these are vosa/dvla words "the vehicle has undergone progressive change". That does not mean turning up with a 90 on a series 11 log book:) but it more than covers a series landrover as the whole thing is a nuts and bolts. An engine conversion ie td5 would not mean re registering the car.

 

Bob

Edited September 14, 2013 by aspenarb

[Hedge hunter]

check front chassis leg drivers side for chassis number.also you can idientify the body age by type .

 

if its got coil springs run away if it has leaf springs its possible its real....

 

land rovers are easy to ring and swop about so if you got a pic i could tell what if anythings not right...also age related tax issues mean newer vehicles get put on tax ex plates...

[Pumpy]

From what I can gather, it seems the VOSA rule change in 98 meant before that pretty much anything could be done, hence the 88" and series "conversions" were cut down range rover chassis and new running gear with an 88" or series body plonked on top still qualifying for tax exemption.

 

Since then it seems to follow the points system in Ty Unnos link above, still seems to be grey areas though, like a qualifying conversion done pre 98, but then with a new engine/running gear added after, or a post 98 rebuild that's been upgraded after passing it's "enhanced single vehicle approval" test to qualify for tax exemption.

 

Under the current rules, I think to rebuild a series with new parts and still qualify for the original plate and not be allocated a Q plate, you'd have to use mostly original (even new) series parts under the points system you need 8 points...

 

chassis or body shell (original or new) = 5 points

 

suspension = 2 points

 

axles = 2 points

 

transmission = 2 points

 

steering assembly = 2 points

 

engine = 1 point

 

I'm not sure how good a zooped up series would be on say original axles and steering with the biggest engine etc you could get away with

 

I only do 2k miles per yr, cost wise it makes sense, my shogun is worth about £5k it'll lose 5-800 per yr in value plus £475 tax, £500 ins would come down to about £100 for classic car ins.

 

At least that's the financial argument I gave the Mrs. when I announced I might get myself a new toy

[Chris Sheppard]

Tks guys, Ty Unnos that link covers it I think.

 

Why do I think they're cheap

 

Well, the best one I saw had been converted/rebuilt about 4yrs back, only done 2k miles since (tho it might have been hard miles) and the seller had receipts for 20K worth of parts on it, I saw it up for £10k a few months back, and heard from a mate yesterday he'd take £5k for it.

 

But it seems this vehicle is a VOSA nightmare waiting to happen. I hadn't even thought of stolen/ringed vehicles because of the pile of receipts, but worth keeping a weather eye out for sus vehicles all the same.

 

I'll go see my mate Ray at Rockingham LR, he'll know the full SP.

 

Cheers fellas

 

Exactly - despite how much money's been invested in it, most people are steering clear of it hence they are usually really cheap.

 

The stolen parts side of things doesn't just apply to things like that though - pretty much any used bits could be off stolen ones.

[RobRainford]

What's to say its not a stolen plate? Stuck on a td5 to make it 'tax exempt'. If they wanted all that td5 stuff then why not just buy one?

 

 

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