1973 tax exempt question

[stuartp]

i'm looking at buying a particular mk1 escort that's in my (fairly low) price range

only downside (apart from needing a complete respray but that's another story) to that one is it's registered july 73 - just half a year away from the free road tax

wondering if there's any way to prove the vehicle was manufactured prior to january 1st 1973

the dvla details form says "date of registration or manufacture of the vehicle prior to 1 january 1973"

surely it's very likely that the car was manufactured well before it was registered/ sold - could well have been 6 months

it goes on to say "if you think the age shown is incorrect, you will need to produce a dating certificate from a vehicle enthusiasts club or evidence from the vehicle manufacturer"

anyone got any experience of this?

[paul spence]

i asked mexicomark the same question about 3 weeks ago,gave him the chassis number and he told me the build date
hope this helps

[stuartp]

ha

nice one - thanks

i shall call upon the fine gentleman once i have seen the car and got the number

it's not a real rs though - would that make a difference?

[Banishit]

ooops

PM me the number I will decode the date for you

1st of Feb for tax free

[vinny]

as above depends on the build date

[Andyc]

well done gents

[Mexicomark]

Just look at the 5th letter of the chassis number.
If it's an M it was manufactured in 1972. If it's an N it's 1973.

To be tax exempt your car needs to have been built before January 1st 1973.

[stuartp]

ah well

typical of my luck

built in june 73 registered start of july

even an 1100 automatic flew out of the showroom!

ah well no free tax for me

[stuartp]

not that i'd want to do anything illegal but are there any ways around it?
complete rebuild of car, reshelling, re registering, buying the log book from another vehicle? erm i dunno

do all cars pre 2001 conform to the engine size rule?

Not over 1549 - £120.00


Over 1549 - £185.00

[Tim]

no legal way to gettin tax free if the car was built after jan 73

[stuartp]

ah well

thanks for all the info