Hypothetical question...

[pogweasel]

Here is a 'for instance'...

 

Say a member of a boring-old-cars-internet-forum espied a vehicle that they liked.

Say that vehicle was advertised as 'tax exempt' on an age-related basis.... but looked very much as if it shouldn't be through the presence of later & non-standard parts.

If said forum member purchased said vehicle, would you be straight on the phone to VOSA, or would you be not particularly interested (or even pleased for a fellow mingebag motorist)?

 

How long would it be before someone else 'took an interest' and the VOSA blokes come and investigate anyway???

[Claypole]

Voted but as far as I'm concerned, it's nothing.

 

We get bummed for everything going these days tax wise so if some council misses out on a few quid from the government to spend on banners on the streetsigns telling you they are doing a good job then too bad.

 

I'll do whatever I have to in order to get my BMW roadworthly just so I can smile everytime I drive it and have that little £0 on the tax disc.

[barrett]

If it's a Land-Rover or a Mini or a P6 or something, I doubt the VOSA bods would ever notice, they don't seem too clued up on that sort of thing.

 

As for your hypothetical question, I would salute the said forum member and demand pix of said illegal wagon

[Tayne]

.

[Gompo]

None of my business really, but I dont think I'd buy one knowingly.

 

If I owned such a vehicle I may be tempted to put it on an obvious private plate so you couldnt necessarily tell that it was being passed off as an older vehicle without looking at tax details - obviously the plate couldnt be newer than it was registered.. but you know what I mean.

[Guest Leonard Hatred]

I recently spotted a Range Rover on eBay which is clearly a 1980s model with a 1971 VIN and plates on it. To be honest I wouldn't be averse to doing it myself if I could get away with it!

[Timewaster]

That Range Rover is a school boy error. 4 door 1972, hmm I think not.

You could get away with being a year or two out as a pre production model but I think a decade is pushing it.

 

As for the hypothetical question, unless you had a personal vendetta against the forum member I say keep your nose out.

Much better that you shop a dole cheat who bums the taxpayer for the price of a disc every single week. (and I'll bet there is 100x as many dole cheats as engage in VED shenanigins).

[Minimad5]

Assuming its safe, solid on good tyres etc then its fuck all to do with me.

 

Fully agree with you there Tayne.

 

I R DEMANDING PICS

[Mr Lobster]

None of my business really, but I dont think I'd buy one knowingly.

 

 

This seems about what I think. It's not right, it's not ok but I probably wouldn't do anything about it tbh...

[dollywobbler]

Our H van was a tax dodge. Bought it knowing it wasn't quite right (wrong wheelarches for a start, seatbelts REMOVED but mountings still there looking used) and to be honest, it was a pain in the arse - mainly because of my job (yes, someone spotted it wasn't right!). What was I going to do though? Tell DVLA it wasn't right? Can't imagine the pain in the arse that awaited me if I poked that beast.

 

I did what everyone else has done and left it as it was.

 

I really disagree with the idea of it myself, but I wasn't the one who swapped the VIN plates and the person who bought it from me knew exactly what they were getting.

[Mike D]

Unless I had a particular issue with the vendor, I wouldn't go dobbing them in, It does amuse me and make me wonder how people get away with 'obvious' ringing though, at a local mini show earlier in the year, the majority of tax exempt ones had the later gutters, side repepaters and switchgear, the one that took the biscuit was an obviously 90's car on a mk1 C reg... Oi mate, where's your external hinges?!

[Mash]

I bet you the price of a tax disc it's a Bedford HA....

[Albert Ross]

I would mind my business. However, this kind of thing always leads me to suspect that the vehicle is in fact stolen, with an incorrect identity, and ideally should be reunited with it's rightful owner. As long as it wasn't parked on my street, I would keep the fuck out. Unless of course I heard someone bragging about it or driving like a cunt....... And I have reported a good dozen "tax free" coil sprung Land Rovers over the last 5 years or so. After all, it's in my interest to make sure vehicles stay legal. The best was a 1956 Td5 90....... and a 1960 110.

[Cavcraft]

I wouldn't say anything to the authorities but I may feel inclined to post a message on the thread questioning the originality and 'suspectness' of the tax exempt allegation.

 

People upgrade vehicles all the time, it could have been done years ago or could be because parts from newer models are easier to get hold of.

[v6pop]

If it's a Land-Rover or a Mini or a P6 or something, I doubt the VOSA bods would ever notice, they don't seem too clued up on that sort of thing.

 

How very wrong can you be,if they suspect something and are not 100% sure,they will get an expert in...simple as that.

They know much more than you would ever want them to know,its there job and have all the resources and contacts they need.

They look at magerzines,go on the net such as here,on ebay etc.

So if your going to expose someone on here or there vehicle think first before you type anything.

[chaseracer]

Back to the Range Rover for a moment. They rot like bastards, yes? Separate chassis? So, if someone had a 71K with a decent frame but a terminal 2-door shell, a good 80s 4-door body could be used quite legally as a replacement.

 

Just a thought...

[autofive]

just read this thread and thought of this from the Scimitar forum

 

http://www.scimitarweb.co.uk/sgwrs/view ... f=1&t=7190

 

making a scimitar tax free is almost as popular as mini / land rover / P6

 

and with the usual mistakes, its easy to spot, although with a seperate chassis, the body only gives a clue

 

i wouldnt bother faking a tax free scimitar, its not worth it, but i have seen about 8 this year that were obvious fakes, and a couple of 'suspect cars' where the seller refuses to discuss originality

 

police and vosa are wise to the scam, and im too pretty to go jail with big ron in his leopard skin g-string

[garethj]

I probably wouldn't dob them in, but I'd voice my opinion that it's a cunt's trick.

 

Best thing about the internet innit, you get to share your opinion of others without getting a punch in the mouth that you'd get in real life. See Leonard Hatred for details

[pogweasel]

Well it will remain a hypothetical question.

 

Mr_Hatred was bang on with the Range Rover, seems either someone else got there first, or the Land Rover nazis bombarded him with VOSA threats...

As someone mentioned, it may be possible to scrape a 4-door body through a legitimate tax-exemption, but then binning large amounts of the grubby bits in favour of shogun pieces would surely tip it over the edge, though of course it may have happened over a number of years. Shame, as it looked a cool old thing, and the free tax would have been enough to 'swing' it with The Management.

[martc]

It's all very well avoiding the road tax this way but what about insurance?

 

Lets imagine this hypothetical vehicle ploughing through a hypothetical bus queue causing so much hypothetical carnage that the car is taken away for investigation. And guess what? It's not what it's registered as - the insurance company washes it's hands and walks away - road tax fraud, in-correct registration documents and probably un-decalared "modifications" etc etc. And the hypothetical forum member is now in deep do-do.

 

Is it worth it?