Year of Registration vs VIN conflict!

Honest John Back Room » Motoring discussion
What is life like with your car? Let us know and win £500 in John Lewis vouchers | No thanks
View Threaded
Sun 17 Oct 2021 14:19
Year of Registration vs VIN conflict! - Joseph Harrold

Hi, newbie here looking for some help!

Yesterday I went to check out an old Lada the seller had advertised as being from 1979 and hence with the status of a historic vehicle (v. important for me as I live within the ULEZ!). I checked the registration plate on the DVLA's website and it's down as being registered for the first time 01/01/1979 and he has the logbook with the same date. All seems to add up!

However, when I checked out the VIN number, I noticed that the year on the manufacturer's plate has been defaced and the year letter within the VIN is a "D". I looked this up online and it seems to suggest that the car is actually originally from 07/01/1982-06/30/1982. Checking the VIN on the logbook it's not the full number, just the "D" and the following 7 digits

I have a couple of questions...
1) Is this as it seems and he has passed off a 1982-3 car as being from 1979?
2) If so, how has he got this past the DVLA? Surely the VIN would be a giveaway?
3) If I bought the car, has the question of its age been determined now it is registered? I.e. would I risk it ever being changed to 1982-3 by some sort of check?

Thanks for any help!

Joe

Edited by Joseph Harrold on 17/10/2021 at 14:40

Reply | Report as offensive | Link
Sun 17 Oct 2021 14:54
Year of Registration vs VIN conflict! - Bromptonaut

January 1979 would be a T suffix for the registration I think.

Was the vehicle new at first registration and is it a RHD version built for the UK market?

I've only looked as far as Wikipedia but that confirms my recollection that consistent VIN's in a standard format didn't appear until after 1980.

Would there be differences between a 1978 build and one from 4 or 5 years later?

Reply | Report as offensive | Link
Sun 17 Oct 2021 15:10
Year of Registration vs VIN conflict! - Joseph Harrold

Thanks very much for your reply. The car is a LHD import from Latvia and was registered with the DVLA this September. Hmm yeah I had read something similar which makes it even more suspicious. I think these cars were almost identical for 30 odd years, unfortunately I don't think there are any other tell tale signs from the build. I'm fairly sure it isn't as old as he says it is but wonder how much it matters now that it's registered!

Reply | Report as offensive | Link
Sun 17 Oct 2021 15:30
Year of Registration vs VIN conflict! - badbusdriver

174972377045

Is this Ebay car the one?.

The defaced letter on the plate sounds highly suspicious, but presumably the car was inspected to get its UK reg, so if the DVLA didn't question it I don't think I'd worry too much about it.

Would there be differences between a 1978 build and one from 4 or 5 years later?

No, it (the Lada/VAZ/Zhiguli 2106) was in production from 1976-2006(!) with very little changes. I actually had one of these, a UK car, badged Lada 1600, it was a B reg and was identical (bar the colour) to the car in that Ebay listing.

Edited by badbusdriver on 17/10/2021 at 15:31

Reply | Report as offensive | Link
Sun 17 Oct 2021 15:47
Year of Registration vs VIN conflict! - Joseph Harrold

Yeah that's the one. Hmm interesting, yeah the guy did say someone came to inspect it. Might give the DVLA a call on Monday to get their view on it. If they're satisfied though then I guess I'd be good with it!

Reply | Report as offensive | Link
Sun 17 Oct 2021 15:31
Year of Registration vs VIN conflict! - Andrew-T

I have a couple of questions...

1) Is this as it seems and he has passed off a 1982-3 car as being from 1979?
2) If so, how has he got this past the DVLA? Surely the VIN would be a giveaway?

AFAIK, there has never been any bar to re-registering a car to make it appear older than it is - the opposite is clearly not permitted as an attempt to increase its resale value. Of course on a Lada of your vintage that consideration is irrelevant :-) Perhaps that rule may be revisited if it affects entry to the ULEZ. Maybe the fine details of your car's parts may give evidence ?

Reply | Report as offensive | Link
Sun 17 Oct 2021 17:22
Year of Registration vs VIN conflict! - bathtub tom

The tampered VIN plate's a dead giveaway, as is the advert highlighting the tax exemption.

I suppose if you kept it for another year it would become genuinely exempt.

Reply | Report as offensive | Link
Mon 18 Oct 2021 00:02
Year of Registration vs VIN conflict! - Terry W

By posting on this forum there is a risk you may unnecessarily have exposed the problem.

Otherwise if your paperwork ties up with the DVLA, and there is nothing about the vehicle to suggest it is newer (bar a damaged VIN plate), why would the issue be flagged up by DVLA.

You bought the car in good faith. The documentation ties up. The congestion charging systems are (I assume) integrated with DVLA records. The chances of discovery were low.

I can understand why classic cars may be popular in London to avoid charging - but there are numerous pre 1980 cars on Autotrader and Ebay that (to my mind) are more attractive than a Lada unless very very cheap.

Reply | Report as offensive | Link
Mon 18 Oct 2021 07:35
Year of Registration vs VIN conflict! - SLO76
Quality control was awful with these so I’d wager that it’s been like that from new. We used to get them in against used Protons then papped them on to a contact that shipped them back to Russia. The previous Proton dealer to us also had the Lada franchise and had been quite successful at flogging them to the locals. Even the pointless Samara was abundant but unwanted even back in Russia, they’d only take one if we had a Riva or Niva to offer them too.

I get the appeal (robust simplicity) but I hope you’ve driven one before committing to using one as a daily, they’re pretty horrid things to drive and greedy as a Range Rover.

Edited by SLO76 on 18/10/2021 at 07:36

Reply | Report as offensive | Link
Mon 18 Oct 2021 15:16
Year of Registration vs VIN conflict! - badbusdriver

I get the appeal (robust simplicity) but I hope you’ve driven one before committing to using one as a daily, they’re pretty horrid things to drive and greedy as a Range Rover

Although I don't remember mine being horrid to drive, trying before buying is good advice. Very heavy and vague steering on these. Not just because it was unassisted but because the Russians changed them from the (precise) rack and pinion steering (of the Fiat 124/5) to worm and roller, thinking it would cope better with the terrible quality of their roads. I'm pretty sure the Lada got heavier duty suspension for the same reason. They also used thicker gauge steel to (hopefully) fend off harsh winter weather.

The handbook in mine stated that the cars maximum cruising speed could be done on paved or unpaved roads!.

Reply | Report as offensive | Link

Will you have to pay the low emissions charge?

Use our ULEZ checker to find out if your vehicle is subject to ULEZ charges. Simply enter your number plate into the Honest John ULEZ checker to see if you will have to pay to enter the London Ultra Low Emission Zone.

Check your vehicle