Chatting with my wife earlier this week we were talking about all our old cars / motorbikes.
I remember all the registrations (15 cars / bikes in my case! and I'm only 34!).
Is there any way of tracing whether they are still on the roads using the reg numbers or is everything so private that it is untraceable?
I am not nessasarily looking to trace owners I am just curious to see if the cars and bikes are still alive.
Having said that I know a few are dead as I drove them to the scrap yard...........You used to get £25 for them then!
Poor old Fiat 127 (x2), Astra MK1, Capri MKII..........
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There are various car data check sites on the web which would answer this question, www.rac.co.uk/myrac/vehicle_data_check is just one of them. Though you have to sign-up to the website, which is free. If it's not listed when you type the reg in, it's usually too new to be in their database or scrap :-(
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Mike Farrow
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Thanks Mike, I will have a look. Unlikely to be too new though.
I used to have a policy (budget driven) of never paying more than £100 for a vehicle. 2 Fiats and quite a few Motorbikes all fell into this category and each one ran for at least a year before expiring (every one covering at least 10k miles). And in each case I got back nearly £50 either for scrap value or sold for spares. One Fiat 127 bought for £80 with no MOT sailed past the MOT the following day and lasted me 2 years. When it finally died (massive oil leak that would cost £150 to fix) I got £25 from the scrappy - £55 loss in 2 years! Mind you, did nothing for street-cred.........
How's that for depreciation?!
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Oh Dear, Oh Dear.
Have just checked out the site Mike and, by the look of it the only ones not dead are the two cars on my drive!!!!! Still, I have the memories............
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Checked out my cherished plate which i've owned for 12 years and on current car for 3 don't exist either!
oh dear..2
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Sounds like we might need another source!
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Sounds like we might need another source!
www.carwatchuk.com
less information and the website seems a bit more flaky, but more up to date.
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Mike Farrow
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www.vehiclelicence.gov.uk/EvlPortalApp/index.jsp
Go to 'Vehicle Enquiry' and as long as you know the reg number and manufacturer you'll be able to find out a few details, including whether the vehicle is currently taxed, or when it last was.
PP
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what does date of liability mean ?
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= when road tax due (try harder next time)
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Excellent link!
Date of liabilty means when tax runs out so if there is a date here then your old car must still be on the road?
If this is blank then chances are it's scrapped or Sorn'd.
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Indeed an excellent link, thanks PeterPerfect.
Interesting to see quite a few of my previous cars still running, and my first company car still only on it's second owner if the date of last V5 is anything to go by.
My hugely enjoyed 2000W Vectra GSi Estate is however no longer recognised. Of course it may have been private plated, but I suspect more likely is that it's been wrapped around a tree. If so, what a shame. I had so much fun in this car, even driving it to the Czech Republic where it served as my wedding car, and on the day the leasco took it back, even the engine bay literally shone as new.
The most amusement however came from my first Vectra V6 Estate, a 1997 SRi model. Engine capacity? 12498CC I wish!!
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I checked on mine , even SORNed ones still show up.
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Excellent link, been looking for something like this for ages. I am quite surprised my old Metro kept going for so long after I sold it ... really thought it would have been scrapped.
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Thanks for the link, was interested to see my old 1973 Mk1 Escort
1.3l auto was sold at least once more after I had to let it go in 1995. It was reregistered and taxed in 1998 but never taxed again. Looks like it was severely modified as its details showed a 2000cc engine.
Hope they uprated the brakes....originals were unservoed single circuit drum brams on all four wheels. Or perhaps that is why it was never taxed again.
StarGazer
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If you know the VIN of any particular car you can find out details about the vehicle from, amongst others:
www.analogx.com/contents/vinview.htm
www.autobaza.pl/ab/en/web/homeaa0100
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What\'s for you won\'t pass you by
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woooo The old mans Austin 7 is still alive and going strong. Current tax. Turns out it was a 1932.
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Link of the week, methinks.
All the BXs we ran appear to have bought the farm, but the 94 ZX Avantage I had is still going strong. Very annoying though is that my ZX Volcane TD that was written off in a flood appears to have been resurrected and is on the road again....
Thanks PP
-- Lee Having a Fabialous time.
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Cracking link. I put in the details of my curent car which was an ex NTL lease car, bought new in Wales. I live in N.Ireland and so the car is taxed throught the DVLNI (N.Ireland DVLA) but still has its original 'English' registration number. The link shows the correct details and that the Export Marker is set to EXPORT. Under vehicle status it is listed as Unlicensed (Correct it is not taxed with DVLA but with the DVLNI).
So I wonder if I drive the car on the Mainland (England, Scotland or Wales) am I likely to get pulled by one of these automatic number plate recognision devices as being untaxed?
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Unfortunately my mums old Escort (JHP 991N) which had been in the family for 22 years was un-registered the year she sold it to someone who said they were going to do it up :-(
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Mike Farrow
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My dads Merc 220D 1972 was running till 1990 - had been sold on in 1980 with 1000000 miles on the clock
My 1987 309 Sri ran on till 1998 - not bad consideirng it had 87000 miles in 1994 when I sold it
A cousins 1984 VW Scirocco which I used lasted till 2000. It had 60000 miles when it was sold
Similarly, his 1988 Renault 5 Turbo sold with 30000 miles in 1992 lasted only till 1998 - no prizes for wondering what happened !
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Whoops. I've just found out that my much loved Rover 214 (Taz) is still going. We were in a motorway smash in November 2003 and I was told by the insurance company that he was a Class something or other write-off. They told me that this meant this vehicle was never to be driven again and had to be scrapped and that's why I couldn't buy it from them. The chassis was twisted - lucky my chassis wasn't twisted too I reckon! It was last sold in April 2004 according to MyRac. Someone somewhere is obviously driving round in a car which was deemed unrepairable. I loved that little car - its the only one I've ever looked after and he was only four ! Does this happen a lot ?
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Marilyn - I've just checked up on my old cars, and something similar happened to one of them. Insurance write-off in Jan 2002, but the date of last V5 issue was Dec 2004, and it is taxed until July 2005.
Why, if it was not worthwhile for us to have it repaired, was it worthwhile for someone else to get it repaired?
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Slightly off topic, but does anyone know of a website or otherwise where I could find out what the original specification of my 1980 Mini is? A previous owner has done various alterations but I would love to know what it would have looked liked when it was first purchased.
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Checked up on our previous cars too.
Vauxhall Cavalier (1991), stolen, insurance write off 1993 last registered 5/10/04
Citroen Xsara (1999), crashed by me and written off 2003 last registered 7/12/04
All of our other recent cars still appear to be going fine too though I can't recall the details of any car ealier than 1990 (when I was a mere 7yrs old). One of them is currently unlicensed, though not SORNed though.
Rather concerning that cars have been written off by insurance companies as not economically viable to fix, but then repaired. I wonder if this is because by the time they've paid for the courtesy car etc its not viable. I'm particularly concerned about the Xsara as the impact was bad enough to put the engine in the passenger footwell, and a V in the bonnet up to the back of the bonnet too. Hmmm
Chris
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When an insurance company get estimates for work on a damaged car the price is usually for their apprived bodyshop to fit brand new genuine parts so both the parts and labour charges are high.
However go to a smaller independant bodyshop with lower labour rates and use either pattern parts or even parts from scrap yards and the cost of repair drops dramatically.
It may not be economical for the insurance company to repair but that doesn't mean it can't be done.
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My wifes old J reg Fiesta was written off after an accident 3 years ago. Before the accident we thought scrapping would be imminent anyway as was just scraping through the MOT.
Yet it now lives just 5 minutes from us- although is looking a little bit ragged.
What amazed us was the accident happened some way from where we live as she was visiting a relative. Yet the car turned up on our doorstep!
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Sadly the "date of last V5 issue" is not a guide to when it last changed hands. My bike which I've owned since 1998 shows 2005 as last V5 change - then I twigged - they're counting sending out the new style one.
At up to 800 quid each for airbags, 500 for plastic bumpers etc it doesn't take much to write a car off - using new manufacturers parts.
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At up to 800 quid each for airbags, 500 for plastic bumpers etc it doesn't take much to write a car off - using new manufacturers parts.
It takes even less to write off an old fiesta!
Even a basic bump smashing the headlight and denting the bonnet and bumper can be a write off. The parts could be got for about fifty quid from a scrapyard and it would be as good as new.
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Was a bit more damage than that- was in a collision with a van on a slip road.
My wife said she was surprised to see the car back on the road after the extent of the damage.
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>>500 for plastic bumpers etc>>
A replacement front airdam for my VW Bora (which I presume is the same as the Golf) is £52 at GSF.
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What\'s for you won\'t pass you by
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Rather concerning that cars have been written off by insurance companies as not economically viable to fix, but then repaired. I wonder if this is because by the time they've paid for the courtesy car etc its not viable.
I never thought of that! (though Mr Haddock's point did occur to me as a possiblity.)
But it takes me back. I remember being a bit shocked to be told "Right, your car has been written off - please bring in your courtesy car in 3 days." We were basically left carless. But the
insurance co. would have been paying about £100 per week for that car, and knowing repairs might take 3 or 4 weeks, they would have reckoned the best course was to write it off as quickly as possible even though the car was worth repairing - if only just.
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Have had a lot of fun with this link. Thankyou.
1962 Volvo 121 last taxed in 2002, probably Sorned now.
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"Right, your car has been written off - please bring in your courtesy car in 3 days."
This is because the car is usually supplied by the repairing garage (and charged on top of the repairs). If they don't get to fix your car because it is written off then they want it back sharpish.
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I checked on my car which I know is SORN and it clearly states that it is. So am I right to presume if it states a car was last taxed in 2002 then its now scrap??
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My Dads Fiat Tempra is still goin after he part-ex it in '98 but has had 6 owners since!
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Its not what you drive, its how you drive it! :-)
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My dad owned a 1924 Bentley 3 litre for a few years in the 1950's and sold it for next to nothing after I was born as it was totally unsuitable for babies to travel in.
The car still exists and has been restored and is probably worth many tens of thousands. It didn't look bad in the photos of when my dad had it, mind you.
cheers, SS
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An interesting link. I found a fair few of our old stuff. Most surprising was the Alfa 155 sold in '98 and still going. Although I was amused to see that my old Orion sold in '97 with almost 100k mile is still going, assuming the site is accurate. Of course both of them could be being used as garden accesories!
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Hi Chris,
Of course that ex write-off COULD be a ringer. A stolen car with your car's identity!
Clive.
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My father's 1982 Audi Coupe and 1989 Audi 90 are still listed, both on their third owners.
My 1985 Audi Coupe and 1989 Audi 90 are also still listed and on their third/fourth owners.
I wondered how much it has cost to keep them all running as my Audis had 125,000 when I sold them?
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Maybe dici is right and the car registered under my old cars details is a ringer. I was definitely told that it was a Class A write off which meant that it was never to be on the road again and had to be scrapped. It had twisted chassis, broken drive shafts, disconnected and wrecked gearbox, front wheels bent out and up and facing kinda the wrong way, wrecked bonnet and totally out of alignment boot etc etc. and disconnected steering rack (or whatever worked the steering)and all four tyres shredded. The only intact part was the number plate! Not a pretty sight. Maybe someone loves him again !
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A mates parents owned a something-or-other in the early nineties that had quite a heavy side impact. Chassis was twisted also but miraculously the car was just on the borderline of being economical to repair. Not surprisingly they got rid very soon after.
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Mike Farrow
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One of my old cars is out there unlicensed!
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Its interesting to find our old car was still going for 5 years after we got rid of it having been told by a national garage chain that it required completely rebuilding!! If we had known at the time it was repairable we would have kept it ourselves.
I can only presume that if the car is listed as unlicenced and the date of liability is ages ago, the car has been scrapped, may be someone here can clarify that.
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Does anyone have or have owned a VW 'used to be Beetle' 17 RKK?
I saw this being built by my father in late 70s.It looks like a Morgan.2 seater with long body.Has ALP on steering wheel,wheel hubs,Car badge on bumper & key fob.
Singer radiator,Sprite doors,Lotus 7 windscreen etc...
It was last in my brother's pocession in the 80s.
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That registration plate is now on a Triumph Stag. Maybe the "Beetle" no longer exists.
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Many thanks for the info.Maybe someone will know what happened to the car!
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Someone will have known but finding them... All I did to find out what car the reg was on was check the motor insurance database BTW.
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