Car M-o-t & Tax History when a Private Plate is fitted

[Gary Flinn]

Can anyone offer any advice on the following query:-

I owned a lovely Pimento Red Triumph Stag in the late 80's early 90's and sold it on in 1994, the Registration number of the car was XHD 444R

If you do a search on the registration number for M.o.t & Tax history there are no details found for it?

Could this be because the car was fitted with a personalised number plate, or maybe the car was written off.

Can anyone offer any advice?

PS - I also owned briefly a TR5 and this was sold on in 2018, again there is no M-o-t or Tax history listed for this car when you do a search so I'm assuming again it now as a different registration number.

Regards

Gary

   

 

 

 

[Colin Lindsay]

Sadly under data protection there's a limit to what you can find these days, but if the VRM comes up as no record then that's really all you can use to search. It may indeed have another plate, or be scrapped or undergoing restoration, but there's no other way to tell unless someone on here knows the car as it sits now.

[Gary Flinn]

23 minutes ago, Colin Lindsay said:

Sadly under data protection there's a limit to what you can find these days, but if the VRM comes up as no record then that's really all you can use to search. It may indeed have another plate, or be scrapped or undergoing restoration, but there's no other way to tell unless someone on here knows the car as it sits now.

Colin

The changes in connection with Data Protection issued a few years ago although introduced for good reason are a pain in the A*** if you trying to trace the history of a car you've recently purchased.

I have tried a couple of times to trace the history of my current classic via DVLA and drawn a blank, unless there is some legal problem/dispute over ownership then they don't want to know.

Long gone are the days when you get send a SAE and a cheque for £5 to get photo-copies of the old log books detailing names and addresses of the previous owners 😒

Gary 

[JohnD]

A Stag sold twenty years ago is most likely recycled by now.

A TR5 ditto, even one sold as recently as 2018.     

About 6 million personalised numbers have been sold in the last thirty years, so they aren't that common.

John

[Gary Flinn]

3 hours ago, JohnD said:

A Stag sold twenty years ago is most likely recycled by now.

A TR5 ditto, even one sold as recently as 2018.     

About 6 million personalised numbers have been sold in the last thirty years, so they aren't that common.

John

Do you mean the Stag is no more and a baked bean can?!!!

I hope not, it was in excellent condition so I hope it is still around somewhere with a new registration number

The TR5 was sold to a car collector in Northern Ireland to finance the purchase of my current classic, he then subsequently sold it on early last year I believe and it was advertised for sale last summer at a Classic car dealer for £50K+

I should imagine that is now wearing a personalised plate.

 

[martyn wright]

Hi!  I have been searching for a Porsche 914 which I imported back in the early 80s with a BFPO Number Plate, but have not been able to trace it?  So I sent a message with all the details from the import including the Chassis Number, knowing  that the chap that purchased it from me lived in Leicestershire somewhere, to the Porsche Owners club, but they haven't been able to trace the vehicle!  So assume it went to Spares although it was to good to break??

[Colin Lindsay]

1 hour ago, Gary Flinn said:

The TR5 was sold to a car collector in Northern Ireland to finance the purchase of my current classis, he then subsequently sold it on early last year I believe and it was advertised for sale last summer at a Classic car dealer for £50K+

I should imagine that is now wearing a personalised plate.

 

THAT being the case, it may have been exported to the Republic, so may be wearing an Irish plate. What colour was it?

[martyn wright]

Hi Colin!  Silver with black bumpers/interior and Roof year: 1970, Reg: PL889B  Chassis: 40582271

[Neil Clark]

Martyn - is that a typo for PLB 89 B?  I don't think PL889B would be issued in the UK.

[Gary Flinn]

31 minutes ago, Colin Lindsay said:

THAT being the case, it may have been exported to the Republic, so may be wearing an Irish plate. What colour was it?

Colin

It was a guy who runs a restoration company in Northern Ireland and is a serial Sunbeam Tiger racer, a guy called Jackie Cochrane.

He is well know in Tiger circles and a very successful racing driver.

The car was advertised with its original Registration Number by the dealer BUP 4F here's a photo when I owned it

Gary   

[JohnD]

Well gosh!  If you know who had it from you, and sold it on, why ask here?  Ask him!

[Colin Lindsay]

Lives less than 10 miles from me but my cars are all too small-fry for him! I've heard very good reports of his work. 

https://www.jcrestorations.co.uk

[AndyTV8]

8 hours ago, Gary Flinn said:

 

I owned a lovely Pimento Red Triumph Stag in the late 80's early 90's and sold it on in 1994, the Registration number of the car was XHD 444R

If you do a search on the registration number for M.o.t & Tax history there are no details found for it?

Could this be because the car was fitted with a personalised number plate, or maybe the car was written off.

Can anyone offer any advice?

PS - I also owned briefly a TR5 and this was sold on in 2018, again there is no M-o-t or Tax history listed for this car when you do a search so I'm assuming again it now as a different registration number.

 

   

 

 

 

The MOT history remains with the car against its current registration number - so if a vehicle gets a new plate any search on the old number will come up blank.

The survival rate of Stags is actually very good, so it may well still be alive but under a different plate...... or off the road via age or accident.

I'd expect the same applies to the TR5.

...... Andy

 

[Gary Flinn]

14 hours ago, AndyTV8 said:

The MOT history remains with the car against its current registration number - so if a vehicle gets a new plate any search on the old number will come up blank.

The survival rate of Stags is actually very good, so it may well still be alive but under a different plate...... or off the road via age or accident.

I'd expect the same applies to the TR5.

...... Andy

 

Andy

Ok thanks for the info, I didn't realise that happened regarding the M-O-T History but it makes sense.

I always keep a look out for Red Stags with Private plates at Classic car shows or Triumph meets to see if it might be my old one, no luck as yet though?

I suspect the TR5 will probably be tucked up being pampered in some garage after being sold by the Dealer, it was in near concours condition 

I had a look out for it at the recent TR Register meet last Saturday at the car Museum at Ambergate but again didn't see it or any Valencia TR5's with Private plates. 

Cheers       

[AndyTV8]

10 hours ago, Gary Flinn said:

 

I always keep a look out for Red Stags with Private plates at Classic car shows or Triumph meets to see if it might be my old one, no luck as yet though?

 

Hi Chris, 

you do have a long-shot for it turning up;  if the car is currently wearing a cherished plate, should the current owner decide to sell the car they are  almost certain to place the cherished plate on retention (Using a V778 form). When this happens, the first choice for the DVLA is to reallocate original registration number back to the vehicle - at which point a regular DVLA vehicle search would highlight the car again.

A glimmer of hope for the future  

……… Andy