Morris Minor Owners Club

Hello to all Moggie drivers,

I am new to this messageboard, this is my first posting.

Since last month I am proud owner of a Minor 1000 replica convertible which Charles Ware of Bristol rebuilt for me. Picking the car up from Bristol was quite a thrill as my flights were cancelled twice due to the dust cloud. The car has already given me a lot of pleasure and attracted lots of attention, as it is the only vintage British car in the whole area (southwest Germany) and most people have never seen a car of this type.

I would like to find out a bit about the car's history. VUK 128 H was built in November 1969 as a two door saloon, the last couilour before the conversion was blue. The last owner lived in Bath. I have written to him for some information but not received any reply yet.

So I would be very pleased if anyone in this forum could help me with details or sources which can help to trace the car's history.

Thank you very much and happy motoring.

Hubert[frame][/frame]

Welcome to the Forum. Hope you are pleased with your car! The DVLA records pretty much show what you already know - The vehicle details for VUK 128H are:

Date of Liability 01 04 2011
Date of First Registration 20 11 1969
Year of Manufacture 1969
Cylinder Capacity (cc) 1098CC
CO2 Emissions Not Available
Fuel Type Petrol
Export Marker Export
Vehicle Status Licence Not Due
Vehicle Colour MAROON

And they do show that it has been 'Exported' - although is still Taxed for use in UK until end of March 2011.
Out of interest - do you have to pay any form of 'road tax' on this car in Germany - and do you have to have an annual mechanical/safety inspection ?

Hi,
You can obtain the history by contacting the DVLA - they charge £5 the last time I did it in 2009. You also have to complete one of their forms - explaining why you want the info - I just said it was for personal use. They work from the registraition mark. There is, of course, always a chance that they didn't save the info. Suggest you look at the DVLA website or call the vehicle enquiries line. (0870 240 0010)

Hello bmcecosse and Gilesv,

thank you for your answers. I'll have a look at the DVLA homepage later on. If it's not that expensive I'll download the form and apply for the information they can provide.

To answer the question about MOT-tests and tax for vintage cars in Germany, it is not as good as in Britain, but quite acceptable. After my arrival from England I had to have the car inspected at a testing station, similar to your MOT. Our ordinary cars have to be inspected there every two years. But as my Moggie had never been registered in Germany, it had to pass a "full inspection", which included not only the usual things like lights, brakes, body and emissions, but about 40 items from a list. Together with this inspection I ordered the inspection for the registration as a historic vehicle. This can be done for all cars which are older than 30 years. Here they control whether the car is in as near original condition as possible or - in my case - if all modifications have been carried out as if the car had been built like this in its year of construction. Both inspections cost me about 200 pounds. In the future the car will have to undergo the normal bi-annual inspection at the testing station like any other car.

As a result of the full inspection I received the "green light" for a registration in Germany and the acknowledgement as historic vehicle. With these documents I got the German registration SÜW MO 69 H from the responsible office at the county council. SÜW stands for my county Südliche Weinstrasse in Landau/Pfalz, MO 69 was my personal choice (guess why!) and luckily still available, and the H means that it is a historic vehicle. With the H-registration I only have to pay a flat annual tax of 191 Euros (roughly 205 pounds). Without it the tax would be calculated as a normal car and amount to about 260 Euros. The normal tax is calculated according to the engine capacity and emissions. There is not much difference for my Minor, but the bigger the engine capacity, the higher would be the normal tax.

The H-registration, together with a number of other conditions (e.g. other car for daily use, parking at home in a lockable garage, not more than 5,000 miles/year) also entitles me to get very cheap insurance contract.

My Morris still has a tax sticker until the end of March next year. I needed this for the transfer journey to Germany. The problem was that the red German transfer plates are not valid in Britain. Therefore Charles Wares Minor Centre was kind enough to get the car through the MOT and provide a (free) tax sticker. I provided an insurance from the German road club ADAC, which is especially for drivers whose car is not registered on them. So I was able to legally drive the car for a few days in Britain and then back to Germany.

I hope these explanations are understandable, if not, please ask again.

Unfortunately the beautiful British numberplates were called in by the authority, but I can apply to get them back after six months. This date has already been marked on my calendar.

And now I am waiting for better weather to go out with the top down ...

Regards
Hubert[frame][/frame]

So - that annual tax and bi-annual inspection is much more expensive than in UK! Our 'tax' is free - and the annual MOT is only £40. So much for rationalisation across the European Alliance!! Could you not have driven it in Germany on the UK plates - as long as it was taxed in the UK ? You would have had to bring it back to UK for a new MOT roughly every 23 months - to keep getting the free tax disc. But thanks for the info.

Hello bmcecosse,

nice idea to have the car registered in Britain to save costs.

The only problem is that I need to have an address in Britain to keep the car registered there. I also have doubts whether the cost for petrol and the car ferry for the regular journeys would exceed the higher costs of running the car in Germany. And there is still the time I would need for the long journeys.

Yes, running a vintage car like a Minor is more expensive in Germany than in Britain. However, since the H-registration has been introduced about 15 years ago it has become quite affordable over here, and I am happy to have my Moggie!

Regards
Hubert[frame][/frame]

Interesting that you car had to pass emissions testing, what were the limits and how did your car do?