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MG MGA - Pre 1960 MOT exemption

Its coming soon but been unable to discover is it for vehicles built, registered or first used before 1960.
My Mga ist registered in april 1960 looks to have been built in 1959. So will it be MOT exempt? Working on the theory a 1973 registered car built in 1972 is Tax exempt.. Can of worms springs to mind.

Roy
R Mcknight

Roy

The consultation document says built before 1 January 1960.

Of interest, my V5C document has the date of first registration in the UK as 1 May 1998, but there was never a problem getting the free Road Fund Licence for pre 1972 cars. I recall they used the Heritage Certificate to note the build date, so it's recorded somewhere in the DVLA database.

You should be okay, but get a Heritage certificate if you don't already have one. This would then add weight to any dispute you may have in the future.

Steve
Steve Gyles

Just noticed that the V5C/2 (new keeper's section) notes that it is "Declared Manufactured in 1958". That would have come from the Heritage Certificate, reinforcing my advice for you to get one.

Steve
Steve Gyles

Roy, Did you get your presumed build date from Clausager or did you have another source? I think I'm on a loser with my first registration date of July 1960. .......................Mike
m.j. moore

Hi Mike, I dated my MGA from this site .. Try www.mgcars.org.uk , look up MGA and then MGA production, it gives the first 1960 chassis number as 82921.

Roy
R Mcknight

What a pity! I don't think I'd be able to swing it with a car no. of 95108!...............Mike
m.j. moore

My view is to get an MoT check every year, regardless of when the car was registered. The new regulation exempting pre 1960 cars is mad. There are many faults that an inexperienced owner won't pick up on and although the MoT doesn't guarantee absolute perfection - it's better than nothing.
D J Hill

I wonder if the new Transport Secretary appointed today by the Prime Minister will change anything? I suspect he will be too wrapped up in the 3rd runway for Heathrow to worry about the pre 1960 cars.

This is the official view: "Research in the impact assessment show that the pre-1960
manufactured vehicles made up only 0.6% of the 35.2m licensed vehicles in Great Britain and
were involved in just 0.03% of road casualties and accidents. Two-thirds of them are driven
under 500 miles a year and their initial MoT test failure rate (10%) is only a third of that of post
-1960 manufactured vehicles. The Government is of the view that the pre-1960 manufactured
vehicles will largely continue to be well maintained by their owners, and as is the case for all
motorists, insurance premiums are likely to be high for high risk drivers."

Steve
Steve Gyles

I met someone the other day who has just retired from the dept of transport. He told me the reality is many MOT stations are simply not geared up to MOT the older cars. Especially the younger engineers who dont know what to look for on older cars.
He has a 1934 Rolls and said the only way to test it properly is to take it on the road. No MOT station wants to do that.
Graham M V

Graham

Your colleague would appear to be correct. The FBHVC states the following on its site:

"Federation members have contributed to this list of MoT test stations that understand the special requirements of historic vehicles.

The majority of addresses on the list only accept cars but there are also some that can test commercial vehicles, motorcycles and three-wheelers. We welcome further additions to the list, which will be updated regularly."

This is the list of MoT stations that FBHVC members have compiled:

http://fbhvc.co.uk/files/2011/02/MoT-testers-21-May-2012.pdf

Steve
Steve Gyles

Typical, almost 400 stations and not one within an hours drive!
N McGurk

Good to see that my local MOT garage is listed ( Church Garage - L40 9RT) - and they give all our MG club a discount- mine misses out by 5 months being built in May 1960.
Cam Cunningham

Cam

I was surprised to see any in the Liverpool area. I thought all old cars had been burnt out or bricked-up and wheels taken many years ago!

Steve
Steve Gyles

Steve - what a thing to say about Merseyside!
Church Garage is actually in Scarisbrick , which is in Lancashire with a Liverpool postcode -- just as I have living in Ormskirk (what a snob I am!)
Cam Cunningham

<< Two-thirds of them are driven
under 500 miles a year and their initial MoT test failure rate (10%) is only a third of that of post
-1960 manufactured vehicles.>>

Presumably because they are tested each year and all faults rectified before a retest.

Imagine what the first-time failure rate would be if all pre-60 cars were tested in five years time.

There are a number of faults that cannot easily be seen without putting the car on a lift.

Personally, I think it's a bad idea, and that's NOT because my cars are post 1960.
Dave O'Neill2

This thread was discussed between 22/08/2012 and 08/09/2012

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