It seems to me the problem is Manxdavid winding people up.

It was Snoopy that pointed out that it would more than likely need IVA to be legal, Grissly disagreed, I tried to make a light hearted remark, if it came out wrong then I apologise.

Just because two VOSA (DVSA?) inspectors don't know their own rules doesn't change a long established law though.

Ultimately get on and enjoy your buggy no matter what the V5 says but as some have found out there is a slight chance of getting pulled and it has happened in the past.


The changes targeted the expensive classic car criminals where one car ended up as two or more.

GPBuggies thoughts on registration from their build manual in 2000.

[converted]

Apologies dave, but this did stir up a lot of dough about V5 having to read buggy when really it doesn't matter. I had a buggy checked at mot by 2 senior Vosa inspectors at my local mot garage as part of a random check on the garage were doing there mot inspections correctly. I thought when they came in and  my buggy was on the ramp they would rip it to bits as modified so much but no only a few comments on how good it was and points it would need If it needed an iva but then came the comments IT DOESN'T NEED AN IVA!! and I drove away a happy mot, d buugy man 😁  so maybe all the comments about the subject should have been under the carpet. Having built umpteen cars over 55yrs I know dvla having a bloody clue what to do.

Nowhere has it ever been said that a V5 must say Buggy. Back in the day, the older folk amongst us got away with the incorrectly worded V5 and in our defence, most of the LVLA inspectors of the eighties didn't have a clue what to call them as the options available like 4x4 and LDV were really not suitable, so many were left as saying Beetle. Just because we got away with it for so long didn't technically make it right. The problems arose with our split from the EU when the legal inspectors who were literally viewing every single law of the Country word by word were of such a young age that those I spoke with did not actually know what an old Beetle was, as there are virtually none on the roads now. When they googled "Herbie" and realised what a classic aircooled was, the instant response was that our Buggys did not resemble the old cars, they had been radically modified, incorrectly registered according to the IVA/SVA regs and had no place on the roads. They could not comprehend that a Kit Car  from the sixties could still be on the road today. This was about to become law overnight. So what were we supposed to do as one of the largest Car Clubs in the Country then? Just let it slip and find something else to drive? No. I challenged them with both barrels and with the help of so many on here behind the scenes managed to change the law so that we may remain on the road. We won. Now it has to be said that since Brexit, the subject has died down a significant amount but those like yourself who think it doesn't matter are very much mistaken as we are dealing with a younger generation who can only read the rules as they are portrayed to them, and if they see something that says Beetle on a V5 then they may well pull you over for an explanation. 99.9% of the time a roadside chat to politely educate the Powers that be, that it is still mechanically and technically a Beetle will often suffice. It doesn't have to say Buggy on a V5, it just has to be correctly registered in accordance with the rules and regulations at the time that it was converted to a Buggy - and if that is within the last 20 years or so, then yes, it DOES technically require an inspection which may result in IVA/SVA or whatever route you go down and may even just be a simple wording change on the V5 if you meet the criteria for doing so. It doesn't really matter what a senior VOSA inspector will tell you, as they will be reading from the legislative script that we helped to write. If you want to take this up with VOSA or DVLA, go through their team of experts, go higher to their legal team, go higher to their lawmakers and eventually they may just seek the advice from one of their Technincal Experts regarding a specific Marque -

Guess whose number they will call?     Nuff Said.

So please Grissley, stop banging on that we caused this, we didn't - we prevented this from getting worse. There are many rules out there, some we can turn a blind eye to, some we can (ahem) bend to suit our needs  And some that we must adhere to, but the bottom line is that we can still go out there and enjoy our Buggies for a few more years yet.

Please, will no one assume that the 22 year old advice of a long defunct company has any relevance in this day and age, this should be viewed as a historical document, nothing more.

Also note that the auction houses' guide price for this car is £18,000 - £22,000, that is not the kind of money that most folk would want to take a chance on loosing when fully armed with the facts, it is not a crappy old GP thrown together out of parts that were lying around and you can bet that the auctioneers have covered their own backsides if anything were to go wrong. Buyer beware!

GP were it their last few years of trading back then but they were obviously selling swb bodies with a loose warning it may get pulled when you try and tax it.
I guess if they had specified you need SVA for all new swb builds their sales would have been hit hard instantly.

It certainly reads as a chirpy relaxed approach viz keep your tyres low (no lower pressure limit specified); carry extra fuses as 'something is bound to go'... and at the end of the day go in search of a 'sympathetic' PO !

It certainly reads as a chirpy relaxed approach viz keep your tyres low (no lower pressure limit specified); carry extra fuses as 'something is bound to go'... and at the end of the day go in search of a 'sympathetic' PO !

The quality of the bodies that they were putting out then was actually pretty atrocious so you couldn't blame anyone building one to do a half arsed job.

Makes you wonder if folks just read the blurb and go with it, who wants a buggy built happy to say £40,000 fixed price.

The blurb is seductive if you don't know much about buggys. With auctions it's always a case that they are fantastic places to get good deals and great items but only if you really know your stuff about whatever is on offer.

Knowing your skill levels and attention to safety I'd pay you a fixed £40k for a buggy but I'd like it to come with a piece of paper waffling on about Meyers Manx & Thomas Crown and a file including various old MoT test certificates, a current UK registration document, various sundry bills, a current MoT valid until October 2022, and as new all-weather covers. Oh and could you put in big that it is arguably the best beach buggy you have ever made and the best in the UK.

It actually cost £47040, according to the final figure on there site. There, s some numpties daft enough to pay it I bet the sellers is happy 😁

Wow!