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Sun 17 Jan 2021 01:51

Dad bought a 5 ton van and got it MOTd at a regula - davey4362784678234

My dad went ahead and bought a 5 ton van not knowing it was 5 ton as he put the plate into insurance and it said it was a 3.5 ton van. He got MOT done at a regular garage where they also thought it was a 3.5 ton van and did it.

The van in question is a VW crafter CR50 MWB. How do i go about fixing this without the MOT garage getting in trouble as the fella there is my dads mate and he would be devastated if he caused him some kind of fine or ban from the MOT board.

I understand it needs a test at an authorised testing facility but how do i sort this out

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Sun 17 Jan 2021 02:19

Dad bought a 5 ton van and got it MOTd at a regula - edlithgow

In my new-age-traveller phase I had a Renault-Dodge ex-BT workshop lorry which was probably about the same weight, or a bit more, can't remember exactly now, but I wouldn't have been legal without an HGV license if it had not had a caravan conversion exempting it and me from that requirement.

Legality aside, I shouldn't really have been driving it, especially not in London. It made my mouth go dry, which I think is usually a bad sign.

Couldn't get it MOT'd at standard centres. IIRC this was a physical restriction (in my case, of course I dunno about yours) due to lift performance and headspace limits. I was reluctant to go to an HGV testing centre, which I assumed would be rather strict, and, IIRC, were rather expensive.

I got it done at the London Borough of Enfield Testing Centre. They do their own vehicles (including lorries) but also offer the public an MOT test service, using inspection pits. After the truck got knicked I took my cars there.

I dunno if other local authorities do this but it might be worth making enquiries.

EDIT: Re-reading, I realise thats not your situation, but I doubt a local authority will lose its licence if they test a vehicle in error, especially if its documents say they can.

If that isn't acceptable, good on yer, I suppose. Good luck with the HGV test.

assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/upload...f

I parked outside the Edmonton centre in the Lea Valley for about 10 minutes thinking about it, and then chickened out and drove away.

Edited by edlithgow on 17/01/2021 at 02:47

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Sun 17 Jan 2021 07:21

Dad bought a 5 ton van and got it MOTd at a regula - badbusdriver

I have a few questions.

1, Why did your Dad not know what weight of van he was buying?, adverts generally say what it is, and vans themselves for years now, have given ample info in the names, i.e, Crafter 'CR50' for 5t GVW, Transit 280 for 2.8t GVW. I mean all the clues were there!.

2, It is surely up to the MOT centre to determine whether or not the van in question should be MOT'd at their premises. They should very easily have been able to find out the info, if not from the CR50 badge(!), certainly by putting the reg into their computer.

3, I'm not sure why this would be your problem to fix, it was a genuine (if entirely avoidable with some research) mistake. Just find out where the nearest MOT centre you can use and get it done there.

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Sun 17 Jan 2021 08:39

Dad bought a 5 ton van and got it MOTd at a regula - dan86

I have a few questions.

1, Why did your Dad not know what weight of van he was buying?, adverts generally say what it is, and vans themselves for years now, have given ample info in the names, i.e, Crafter 'CR50' for 5t GVW, Transit 280 for 2.8t GVW. I mean all the clues were there!.

2, It is surely up to the MOT centre to determine whether or not the van in question should be MOT'd at their premises. They should very easily have been able to find out the info, if not from the CR50 badge(!), certainly by putting the reg into their computer.

3, I'm not sure why this would be your problem to fix, it was a genuine (if entirely avoidable with some research) mistake. Just find out where the nearest MOT centre you can use and get it done there.

The MOT centre should of seen by the axel that it was such a heavy van as most panel vans don't havec duel rear axel unless they're of such a weight category as the van in question. It also would of had beefed up suspension over a 3.5t van.

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Sun 17 Jan 2021 17:08

Dad bought a 5 ton van and got it MOTd at a regula - Bromptonaut

I have a few questions.

1, Why did your Dad not know what weight of van he was buying?, adverts generally say what it is, and vans themselves for years now, have given ample info in the names, i.e, Crafter 'CR50' for 5t GVW, Transit 280 for 2.8t GVW. I mean all the clues were there!.

The OP says his father's information on weight came from checking an insurance database. Would the average punter looking for a van be au fait with the (likely ever changing) model nomenclature.

2, It is surely up to the MOT centre to determine whether or not the van in question should be MOT'd at their premises. They should very easily have been able to find out the info, if not from the CR50 badge(!), certainly by putting the reg into their computer.

If there's a mistake on the insurance database then it's likely to have been sourced from DVLA records. Wouldn't be the first time we'd heard on this forum about mistakes at first registration. Is it possible it's already been downplated as suggested in this thread.

3, I'm not sure why this would be your problem to fix, it was a genuine (if entirely avoidable with some research) mistake. Just find out where the nearest MOT centre you can use and get it done there.

Just go to a place with the correct authorisations for heavier vehicles and get it re-tested.

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Sun 17 Jan 2021 09:04

Dad bought a 5 ton van and got it MOTd at a regula - FiestaOwner

The van in question is a VW crafter CR50 MWB. How do i go about fixing this without the MOT garage getting in trouble as the fella there is my dads mate and he would be devastated if he caused him some kind of fine or ban from the MOT board.
I understand it needs a test at an authorised testing facility but how do i sort this out

I think the MOT is the least of your problems. I would assume you could just take it for an MOT at a testing station which can deal with this weight of vehicle (do explain to them that it's a 5 tonne van). A new MOT would replace the current one.

Some queries though:

I think that car driving licences issued since 1997 only cover up to 3.5 tonne. Do all the drivers of this van have a suitable licence?

If it's over 3.5 tonne gross are you using the tachograph? It should be fitted on a van of this weight.

As the van is over 3.5 tonne, does your Dad have an operators licence?

Do the drivers have (or need) driver CPC training?

You (or your dad) need to check what is needed to operate this vehicle legally. There can be exemptions to some of these rules depending on how the van is being used, but you do need to check if they apply.

You will still need the correct driving licence though.

Penalities will be severe if you get stopped by DVSA (formally VOSA) and are found to not be complying with the above rules/ regs. Also if the vehicle is involved in an accident the police are bound to check on the above.

If the above issues causes problems, the best option might be to sell the van and buy one at 3.5 tonne or under.

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Sun 17 Jan 2021 09:54

Dad bought a 5 ton van and got it MOTd at a regula - FiestaOwner

Just having another thought. Has the van already been downplated to 3.5 tonnes (3500kg).

Check the weight on the V5 and here: vehicleenquiry.service.gov.uk/

Downplating is explained here (don't have any connection with this company): www.svtech.co.uk/our-services/downplating/

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Sun 17 Jan 2021 17:20

Dad bought a 5 ton van and got it MOTd at a regula - dan86

Just having another thought. Has the van already been downplated to 3.5 tonnes (3500kg).

Check the weight on the V5 and here: vehicleenquiry.service.gov.uk/

Downplating is explained here (don't have any connection with this company): www.svtech.co.uk/our-services/downplating/

On another note regarding the MOT and things may have changed but I used to work in an MOT testing station and cars and single rear axel vans are one category yet twin rear axle are a separate category and come under the same as 7.5 t vans if I recall correctly. So the MOT station should know what categories it can test. Where I work now they can test all categories of vehicles as its a local authority that tests its own HGV and PCV vehicles.

Edited by dan86 on 17/01/2021 at 17:21

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Sun 17 Jan 2021 18:30

Dad bought a 5 ton van and got it MOTd at a regula - badbusdriver

The OP says his father's information on weight came from checking an insurance database. Would the average punter looking for a van be au fait with the (likely ever changing) model nomenclature.

Checking an insurance database to find out what the GVW of the van you plan to buy is an odd (IMO) way to go about it. This is surely something which came up after purchase when the OP's father insured it?. Type "VW Crafter CR50 GVW" in to Google and the very first response is from Parkers website saying, "the Crafter comes in three GVW options, CR30 (3 tonnes), CR35 (3.5 tonnes) and CR50 (5 tonnes)". As for the nomenclature ever changing?. It doesn't, this isn't cars. The number part of a van name relates to its GVW unless you go back around 20 years or so, when some makers, including Ford, used the payload in the number (for example the Ford Escort 55 van has a 550kg payload, Citroen Relay 1500 has a 1500kg payload). But I would expect someone looking for a van to do some homework regarding what type, size, and weight they need and most importantly, can legally drive it.

If there's a mistake on the insurance database then it's likely to have been sourced from DVLA records. Wouldn't be the first time we'd heard on this forum about mistakes at first registration. Is it possible it's already been downplated as suggested in this thread.

When I got the insurance documents for my VW Caddy 2.0SDI (non turbo, 70bhp), it was listed as a 2.0TDI (140bhp) but the registration document lists it correctly, so I wouldn't assume the insurance database is linked to the DVLA.

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Sun 17 Jan 2021 17:33

Dad bought a 5 ton van and got it MOTd at a regula - davey4362784678234

Thanks for the reply. After looking at his license he is not covered to drive it so he will stop doing that.

He doesn't think its worth it to get his license uprate and will now lookto downplate to 3.5T as he found it pretty cheap and in very good nick so doesn't want to sell. I think he paid around half of what webuyanyvan are offering.

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Sun 17 Jan 2021 20:14

Dad bought a 5 ton van and got it MOTd at a regula - FiestaOwner

As I asked earlier, have you checked the log book (V5) and online to ensure that it's not already downplated?

vehicleenquiry.service.gov.uk/

If it's already been downplated, that would explain why the MOT centre tested it as 3.5 tonne and why the insurance thought it was 3.5 tonne.

I am glad he found out about the licence issue.

Just something to bear in mind, the payload of a van that's been derated to 3.5 tonne will be less than the payload of the same size of van built as a 3.5 tonne version. Will the payload still be enough?

Edited by FiestaOwner on 17/01/2021 at 20:24

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Mon 18 Jan 2021 08:37

Dad bought a 5 ton van and got it MOTd at a regula - skidpan

A mate of mine bought an ex RAC or AA Transit to tow his large (very large actually) car transporter. He needed the Heavy Duty Transit because of the weights involved but unusually for an HD one it only had single rear wheels. He was frequently pulled up by the Police at checkpoints since they suspected he was over the weight limit, once they ahd checked the facts he was never fined.

His MOT's were done at the local Councils depot.

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