VIN 7176 - ULB 248W, or is it?!

[jerzybondov]

So I received the registration documentation in the post today which means I can finally get number plates sorted and all the rest of that jazz.

One strange thing though - I believe the DVLA have given me the wrong registration number. My car was built in November 81 - one of the last 81 year models. It couldn't possibly have been registered in the States before Jan 82 by the time it had been shipped and sold. These dates I put down on the registration forms.

Given that the W-plates ran from Aug 80 - July 81, and X started in Aug 81, surely my car should be an X-plate?

Obviously it doesn't really matter, but for some irrational reason I'd prefer an X-reg. However I'd have thought it'd be nigh on impossible to change the registration at this stage, even if it's wrong.

Anybody else have any experience of this?

[Chris Hawes]

Interesting.... my car is an Oct 81 and used to be ULB112W before I changed the plate. The chap I bought my car from registered it and he already had an automatic DeLorean which was also ULB...

I think you've got it backwards. If an Oct 81 was W reg then being August you should be a V not an X? X would be 1982, Y 1983 and then back to A at the left side of the plate in 1984. I saw a DeLorean for sale on Pistonheads that was on a C 1985 plate. I wonder how that was done as the plate is four years newer than the car....

[jerzybondov]

Have a look here - http://www.theaa.com/motoring_advice/ca ... lates.html

Very strange if your Oct 81 car was also a W-plate, it should have been an X too.

As for the C-reg car, maybe it's something to do with having been a Middle-Eastern car, it's date of first registration was later? Or perhaps whoever filled in the form over here when it got imported filled it in wrong...

[Daniel Shane]

If The DVLA cant 100% prove when the car was first registered then they give it the earliest reg for the year.

My old car, 4754 a late 81 car, should of been an X but as they cannot take the vin plate as proof it got SKM 224W

Dont worry to much about it.

Dan

[steve.s]

Hi

i think mine is the same technically, however i do like the W plate.

i provided all yank registration etc and they still got it wrong.

i would guess would be alot of hard stressful work to get them to change!
takes days to get past their automated telephone!.

States plates are nice plates, but they did take ages to produce mine.

Steve

[steve.s]

and the C plate

could have been stored till 85 before registering, the dates are based on date of first registration, which is not always date of manufacture, as many cars on the road would seem a year or so older (if the manufacturer has stocks of them!)

Steve

[Guinney1971]

I insisted my car had the correct suffix and part filled in the V55/5 with a W and gave them a
photo of my vin plate showing the car being built in July 1981.

However, reading the letter of the law so to speak, the car should have a plate commesurate
with its first date of registration outside of the UK - in my car's case, that was 17 January 1982,
so *technically* my car, on that basis, should be a Y suffix! :roll:

All good fun, eh!! lol :wink:

[bozzzydmc]

I suppose with any registration number its not going to have an impact on the resale value, but i get all of your points about being miffed about having an older W reg ...

I remember having to take mine to local DVLA office when I first registered it just so they could check it over... even the guy that looked at it admitted they just wanted to see a D in the flesh... i wasnt best pleased with that remark after taking the morning off work ...

[Tourettes Tony]

mines a W but should be an X as its august, so in theory i could get an X plate just for the row TT

[Dan6457]

Mines November 81 and on an X which makes sence, but I'm more interested in the car, not the bit the police use to find where you live :wink:

[bozzzydmc]

There again ...seems more common these days that im the only one with a number plate up front

[jerzybondov]

I'll call the DVLA in the morning and see what they say for themselves. Doesn't look like 7176 will be on the road for a couple of weeks at least so there's time to change should it be possible (which I doubt!).

See some of you in Norfolk tomorrow! I'll be up there about 4/5pm I hope...

[Dan6457]

I don't have one on the front because they have front facing speed cameras on the A14, and I can't stay at 70 for that long :lol:

Yep I'll be up there in the afternoon too, got my motorbike MOT in the morning then I'll head up there.

[jerzybondov]

Well here's where I'm up to with the DVLA. Called the enquiries number, had one button press select to go through and then got connected to a REAL PERSON in about 5 seconds. Remarkable! They took my details and said London Borehamwood would get back in touch to sort it out. 45 minutes later and I've just had a call from DVLA Borehamwood saying they're on the case and they'll get back to me later this afternoon.

A call to say they're working on it and will get back to me later? Even more remarkable!

So we'll see what they say in the end. It would appear that they're worried about having got it wrong - that was certainly how I put it across to them!

Edit: One interesting thing I just noticed. My car and Mike's new one (VIN 10264) were probably only built about a week or 10 days apart (late Nov, early Dec 81), yet they currently have registrations 2 years apart... Maybe Mike's was one of the D's that didn't get registered in the States until after August 82, hence the Y-plate once it got registered over here.

[jerzybondov]

Well, the final word from the DVLA is this - they say that it is CORRECT that my car has been given a W-plate, as they look at the start of the year in which the car is built. So any D built in 81 and registered now can expect to be given a W-plate.

All very strange, because not only is it inconsistent with their own Aug-July system, it's also inconsistent with how they used to register them. i.e. Cars registered more than a few years ago - Dan's Nov 81 car is an X-plate (as it should be) and how Mike's Dec 81 car is a Y-plate (probably done on date of first US registration).

Better go and order myself some plates then!