Car History Conundrum

Hi Guys,

Just wondering if anyone would know where 'Region 210' would have been as a delivery location in the UK in 1986? - Apparently it no longer exists and all regions have since been re-categorised.

According to my Chassis number and VW UK, my Mk1 was manufactured on 26th March 1986 and delivered to 'Region 210' in the UK on 30th April 1986. However, according to the DVLA the car was never registered with them until it was 'imported in to the UK' on 12th August 1997.

So where was it for those 11 years?

It has a Northern Irish plate so VW UK suggested I phone the main VW dealers in Northern Ireland - However, no-one in NI has any record of the car.  I also called VW in Dublin and they also have no record of the car ever being in the South of Ireland.

Does anyone know if there is a Republic of Ireland equivalent to the DVLA?

The DVLA suggested I contact HMRC Customs and Excise for the Import information. However, HMRC can't help without an import declaration number - which no-one seems to have.

It seems I have maybe hit a brick wall - There is no Service Booklet with the car. and the previous owners with DVLA appear to have moved on.

Does anyone know if I have anywhere else to go with finding out a bit more about the history of my cabby?

cheers

KP

I think 210 is the VW code for the UK, at least from various data i have with elsawin this is the case. not much help to you I know!

If you post up the letters of your NI registration it might give us an idea as they are county orientated if that makes sense.
Andy

Cheers Guys.

The current plate is UXI xxxx - which the DVLA recognise as first being registered on 12th August 1997.

One thing I did notice is that there is an different number etched on the windows of the vehicle - that is Cxxx DYR - which according to the government Vehicle inspection website was an identical car to mine and first registered on 1st May 1986 ( 1 day after my car was delivered to location 210). - it was last taxed on 18th February 1991. Could this mean that cxxx dyr was my car's original plate? and was maybe exported from the UK sometime after 18th Feb 1991 ? and then re-imported on 12th August 1997?

is it safe to publish the actual registrations up on here?

thanks again.

cheers
KP

A UK C plate would date to 1986, if the vehicle was then taken over to Northern Ireland and registered there with the DVLA NI you were given a new number (i.e. UXI ####) and NI log book, this is something we did in the military as it was not good to have UK plates on your cars then as they stood out due to the troubles in Ireland at the time. If the car was then brought back to the main land and re registered with the DVLA you had the option of keeping the NI number or getting a new UK number or keeping the NI number.
Andy

andyphill said

A UK C plate would date to 1986, if the vehicle was then taken over to Northern Ireland and registered there with the DVLA NI you were given a new number (i.e. UXI ####) and NI log book, this is something we did in the military as it was not good to have UK plates on your cars then as they stood out due to the troubles in Ireland at the time. If the car was then brought back to the main land and re registered with the DVLA you had the option of keeping the NI number or getting a new UK number or keeping the NI number.
Andy

Thanks Andy - that does sound like what may have happened. Is there a separate DVLA in NI?

And would anyone know where in the mainland UK the 'DYR' plate would be from?

cheers KP

KP
Although Northern Ireland is part of the UK the DVLA NI is separate to the DVLA UK as is the MOT process over here although that is a whole different story. You can legally drive a car registered here no matter which it is registered at, however if your home address etc is in Northern Ireland you are supposed to re register the car with the DVLA NI where you have the option of a new NI number or as most do now days just keep your UK registration number.
Andy

DYR was a London (Central) registration.

andyphill said

KP
Although Northern Ireland is part of the UK the DVLA NI is separate to the DVLA UK as is the MOT process over here although that is a whole different story. You can legally drive a car registered here no matter which it is registered at, however if your home address etc is in Northern Ireland you are supposed to re register the car with the DVLA NI where you have the option of a new NI number or as most do now days just keep your UK registration number.
Andy

Andy, do you think that would that mean I could maybe find out where the car was mot'd ? Or even find out where the car had been prior to 1997 when it came back into the mainland?

KP
Try their web site www.nidirect.gov.uk you might get something from there, it gives the different departments etc and they might have some info. It is worth a try.
Andy

My MKI was manufactured in August 1983.

It was first registered in the UK soon after, and still retains the original 'A' plate assigned to it at that time.

The car remained in mainland UK from first registration in 1983 until late 1995 when it was permanently brought over to Northern Ireland, where it has remained since.

Andyphills right in saying that at that time (and for sometime afterwards) NI's regulations regarding the registration and taxing of vehicles had a number of significant differences to the rest of the UK, so much so we even had our own local head office to administrate them.

Vehicles such as mine, permanently coming into NI from GB were effectively treated as imports and a replacement NI registration document would have been issued to replace the GB original.

This might not have been done straight away, for example the vehicle was sold with road tax remaining and/or the new keeper was slow to notify change of ownership… but it would have been done at some point if the vehicle was formally registered to a NI address.

In 1995 NI was still using the old 6 sided green folding cardboard registration books… V5(NI)

Misleadingly the vehicles 'date of registration' will be recorded on this as the date the replacement book was issued and not the true date of first registration (though the declared date of manufacture will be mentioned as note elsewhere on the document)

During the process of being issued a replacement NI registration document the new keeper would have been offered the opportunity to re-register the vehicle with an appropriate NI number (usually for the County in which the local tax office being used was situated) or if they wished they could retain its original GB number.

In my cars case the owner retained the original GB number.

If the offer of a new NI number was taken up, then whatever the then current prefix happened to be was assigned and not as you might expect an older age appropriate number.

When NI later moved over to the current larger 4 sided paper registration documents the incorrect date of first registration from the green log book wouldn't have been rectified, though again the correct declared date of manufacture will be in the 'special notes' section.

I'd guess that whomever brought your car into NI chose to have it re-registered when the new NI registration document was obtained (UXI was issued by the Belfast Office) which would explain the missing years and also the incorrect date of first registration which stems from the inaccuracies caused by the since replaced green log book issued at that time.

Pictures are always better than words!

Here's a scan of my cars replacement V5(NI) issued on the 01/11/1995, remember it's an 1983 car -

And the error is carried on into the current document -

Here's the portion of the green log book highlighting what to do if you wanted to find out more info on your cars history.

I'd be amazed if they can help now, but you never know!

wow. Thanks for taking the time guys.

I've tried to call the DVLNI but they no longer hold vehicle details in NI and referred me to the DVLA in Swansea. - Who cant' tell me anything about the car before 12th Aug 1997.
I may write to the DVLA in Swansea to see what they can tell me.

thanks again.