Help finding out info about my golf

Hi guys, I'm new to this and have not long brought a mk1 cabriolet 😃

I need to get some parts for it and am having trouble as my reg doesn't bring up any info as its a Q plate, it was imported from South Africa, so iv been told. The log book doesn't have detail either.
I was wondering if anyone knows how I find out more about my car. The reg is Q443 FLK and the code under the windscreen is this SABTVR03528082136

I'm guessing it's a later golf as its got electric windows and hood

Any help would be much appreciated, thanks in advance Deena  

Hi Deena,
Can post a picture up please.
It will help us identify the car better.
Reason is your saying it's a SA car when all the Cabbies were made in Osnabruk Germany.

I'm not saying that it comes from SA just wasn't manufactured there.

You can order a birth certificate from VW Germany that will show info. But if its a MK1 Cabby you shouldn't have any trouble getting most stuff for it.
What did you need in particular?

I see your problem a quick search shows that it was manufactured in 1998 so therfore isn't a MK1. It's a MK3 Golf.

https://www.vehicleenquiry.service.gov.uk/

Plus there is an issue with the Number. I've used various searches and they say invalid number?
Only one came back with a search result and that was for a Bus made by OPTARE?
Are you sure you have the right Info.

You can ring your Dealer up and ask for the information if you are the cars owner.  I'm sure someone else will know better than me but I allway's thought that on Import a car was given a year related Reg number, Q plate being for kit cars and cars that have been written off in accident then repaired  and re registered?

all the info needed is on the white sticker in the boot, if its still there and readable this should have all the ioption codes, paint code, box and engien code plus the proper VIN number

Q plates are for vehicles where there date of manufacture cannot be determined or is in doubt. Kit cars fall into this if there is not enough of the donor car used.


Vehicle registration: 'Q' registration numbers - GOV.UK

 

Best to post a pic, since the Q plate means "can't determine age" or something like that. Sometimes cars get to go onto Q plates merely out of laziness to find out the year of manufacture, which is pretty easy to do by simply decoding the VIN number or referring to the registration document of the country it was previously registered in. But it could be because its substantially rebuilt, etc too.

As has been said, Mk1 Golf convertibles were only built in Onsabruck, AFAIK!

chortle said

I see your problem a quick search shows that it was manufactured in 1998 so therfore isn't a MK1. It's a MK3 Golf.

https://www.vehicleenquiry.service.gov.uk/

Date of first registration doesn't relate to a car's true age, especially for a Q reg car. It simply means the car can't be any YOUNGER than that date.

Done a bit of research, the World manufacturer identifier (first 3 digits of the chassis number) SAB is issued by DVLA as a "renumbering". German VWs have the code WVW and South African ones AAV.

If you can't find the car's actual chassis number, then there's a good chance its a stolen-recovered, or the scuttle panel has been cut out in addition to the VIN plate on the bonnet slam panel removed. Whilst this could have been done innocently, it could also mean these were used to "ring" another car.

If you can find and tell us the 'VIN' Vehicle Identification Number we should be able to give you more info! 

Any update on supplying more info on the car or a picture?

Hi guys thanks for all your replys I really appreciate it. Here's some pics, if there no good let me know.
I also looked in the boot for the sticker but it's worn away and can't get anything from that.
Deena x

the pics don't show up, for me. Is the folder they're in public or private access?

Didn't upload them right the first time, you should be able to see them now :-) 

Aaaaah I see them now!

Yeah its definitely a Mk1 Golf (not 1998 Mk3). I guess you've checked on the scuttle panel and VIN plate on the bonnet slam panel too, these are where the VIN number should be - if its not there and the only visible one is the SAB number, then its going to stay on the Q plate.

In theory you could probably determine the year of manufacture by going through many many details of the car eg slight variations in electrical wiring layout, engine emissions equipment, equipment fitted, mechanical parts etc but I don't think DVLA would accept it as evidence.

For example, the fuel tank and exhaust system changed in 1986-1988; fusebox changed in 1982, hubs changed in 1988-1990 (I think?) depending on other spec, steering column spline diameter, etc

I did a little more digging around, basically a vehicle ends up on a Q plate for one of three reasons:

1. Age is not possible to determine. This includes many import cars which are reregistered with the DVLA, without the supporting admin/documents from the previously registered country.
2. Identity is not possible to determine. Normally because chassis number is missing (and gets a reallocated number, as yours has done).
3. Car is a mix of major components from different cars, possibly of different age/newness. For example a kit car with secondhand engine, suspension etc; a stretch limo where the rear of a car is joined to the front of a different car; a 'cut-n-shut' due to major crash damage, etc

Sometimes the first reason earns the Q because of oversight, lack of info or laziness, and can be later corrected to receive an age related plate. This occurs quite a lot with imported classic cars where they're so old that they go back to a time before standardised chassis numbers, it was imported when there was not much interest, then later a car club/association is able to verify its age.

Its not possible to say too much from the pics but it looks like it might have a Clipper kit added to an older (pre 1986) bodyshell? I'd not worry too much anyway, although they evolved over its production lifetime Mk1 convertibles didn't change that much anyway, so things like finding correct parts etc shouldn't be too difficult.

paul all the major chassis changed happened in 1984, fuel tank, boot floor, exhaust, driveshafts, cvs, bearing carriers etc.

if its got 100mm inner cvs and a 1.8 carb engine that would suggest its more towards 1988 or after, this is about when its supposed to have changed according to etka but in reality some have found this is not the case.

I'd not rely on engine capacity to show age of car on a Mk1 Golf, they're possibly over 30 years old and I imagine most of the older Golfs aren't on their original engine any more. Given the ease of swapping to a later (which will probably be larger) engine, this is commonplace. Hubs/driveshafts could have been swapped with the engine too.

yeah the line 'that would suggest' is key in my post above

no way to know 100% without original VIN and boot sticker/service book data

I dare say (not 100% sure) there's a way to determine the age, maybe not to a precise year but certainly to a year range, by detail changes of the bodyshell eg brackets for age-related equipment, other slight differences. And of course, it could be changed but its unlikely (less likely than an engine swap). I don't know enough about the 1984-on cabbys to say with much certainty, my interest has always been in the pre-1984 cars (hatchbacks mainly but cabbys too).

In any case, if it helps the OP I've had trouble buying parts for a 1982 Golf simply because parts suppliers are geared up for more modern cars and either don't have older stuff on their database, or don't know to look at the car and easily identify a part being right or wrong. It happens a lot too, for newer cars. Garages tend to use the more reputable/better suppliers who are better at this kind of thing, where a DIY motorist can try save money and has the time (well…) to do a more thorough online search and select the cheapest or cheaper parts.