What year is it??

[gunner]

Ok, so spoke to insurance to get an idea on cost on a couple cars, one bike engined one pinto, cost pretty much the same, but one question i got asked was 'what year is it' standard questions normally but...got to thinking is that chassis age related or the year it was built? My thinking is many kits must of been bought and then half finished for several years and then finished and registered, so is the year of chassis correct age or the finished build/registered date ?? Also do all chassis have a factory stamp with a vin?? This should obviously match the v5 I guess like a normal car? How does the year of the doner car come in to it? Just by age related plate??
Sorry for so many questions but don't want to end up with a Lemon so to speak...

[SJLB]

Hi Gunner,
the age of the car is the date it is first registered as appears on the log book (just like an new production car where people wait until the day a new reg comes out). As you say, many kits change hands long before they are registered, my old Zetec Westy took 11 years and three owners before it got registered.

The chassis will have a VIN that will match the log book.

My understanding is that when a car is registered there are three options for DVLA

New Reg - the car is made from brand new parts with a couple of recon bits like diff, gearbox etc as long as you can prove they are returned to as-new.

Q Reg - mixture of used and new parts (or just used)

Age Related Reg - If you use a donor vehicle, you can be issued with a reg that is from the same year as that vehicle even though it has a later registration date.

There are pros and cons to all these such as MOT emissions, private plate options etc.

Hope this helps?

[gunner]

Thanks Steve, excellent explanation to my questions...