Long story short. I bought a red import 1990 LWB TT with a manual gearbox last winter from a chap in Oxfordshire, as a replacement project. The car is in reasonable nick so ideal for being the next project or so I thought. It ran smoothly engine wise, had 120k kilometers (70-80k miles), unmolested (no after market parts bar an exhaust (poss Scott&Hayward), and body wise had zero rust. The only thing it was missing was any paperwork.

 

So, I paid the chap to get the paperwork sorted (IVA and V5) on top of the price I paid for the car and thought I had bought a good base for a project. Then he moved to Germany. After five months of hassling him I managed to get the car physically on my driveway where it currently resides. The winter was not kind to it, and it had a radiator leak when I came to start it recently. A few replacement new hoses fixed that, and I also fitted a spare S2 PTU I had lying around to modernise it a little. Everything on the engine is original, so I have spent a month cleaning it - all the loom and connectors, replaced the air filter with a k&N single cone one, new battery, checked TPS and cleaned the AACV inside and out (Thanks Gaz for showing me the best way to do this!). The engine sounds fine. Inside it has all black leather with grey cloth interior which is in good condition, with the usual bolster wear on the drivers leather seat. The bodywork is reasonable, a few scratches and small dings here and there, and also has the original foam rear spoiler, and being red - has faded in areas.

 

Since April when this chap and I were last in contact, he is disappeared off the face of the earth, and I still have no paperwork with the car. I contacted the DVLA with the chassis number but they were unhelpful - just to see if any paperwork had been in progress or not. So, I am in a quandary as to what to do next. Is it worth paying to get an IVA done and the car registered or is it better to break it for parts? I also do want to sell it, as I am now moving house soon and the new house has limited parking.

 

Any thoughts appreciated!

You should be able to register it with a V6 something https://www.gov.uk/vehicle-log-book

 

If its in good condition I wouldn't break it though I would take it off your hands for cheap :whistling:

 

I would give registering it another shot or otherwise pass it on to someone who wants an extra project.

You can apply for a replacement V5C using a V62.

 

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/application-for-a-vehicle-registration-certificate

As Andrew has mentioned apply for a new v5c using a v62. I recently done this with a Mazda RX7 I purchased with no v5 and it arrived in my name about 2 weeks later.

 

This will only work if the vehicle has at some point been previously registered in the uk, if not it will be subject to much more paperwork and checks to register it.

 

Good luck with it.

Yes - exactly. I submitted a v62, but since I have no registration plate on the car, they sent it back. What about an IVA? Is this the best route? Not sure if it has been registered? Is there a way of checking perhaps?

I think you'll have to prove the tax and duty was paid on import, then with a few other bits and pieces (de-reg certificate from country of origin, although they say you might be alright without it. They ask for proof of date of import though, not sure what they would accept) you should be able to register it. But without that, not sure you'll get anywhere I'm afraid.

 

From memory, car's over ten years old don't need an IVA. And so what if you did manage to get one? Proves nothing about how the car was imported and that's the issue here I think.

 

In my experience phoning and speaking to them isn't much use, you don't get through to the people that matter, all they do on the phone is advise and say you'll have to see when you submit. But in this case it's probably worth a shot asking them anyway. Or try HMRC, they might have a record against the VIN.

This is so frustrating. Never again will I trust anyone without paperwork, regardless of how good the car is!

Maybe it is worth breaking it as it is as I cannot use it otherwise. The only things I can think it could be used for is on the track or as an N/A to TT donor car.

Did you pay a lot for it?

A few grand yes, as it is a manual tt with 75k miles on it, running smoothly, zero rust, clean interior, completely std bar the exhaust/wheels. As a base car to restore I thought it ideal as nothing has been tampered with.

That's a shame, as not being able to register it knocks its value incredibly. You probably wouldn't get a few grand back from breaking and it takes a lot of effort and time to do so (assuming you can sell all the parts), and a bit pricey for a donor car also.

 

The last thing I would suggest is to have a quick chat with gazwoz and see if he has any ideas about registering it, but if its a 100% requirement to have import certificates and paperwork for registration, then you might be stuffed with it being a parts car, albeit a very expensive one.