GlennB
Silver Level Sponsor
I thought I would clarify the story behind the HLM B9112210 LRX which was/is a metallic blue race car in the USA and Asia in the 1980’s and 1990’s that is now for sale in Europe with the VIN/Chassis number B91101740 HRO. The documentation with the sale is well worth inspecting as it confirms the history of the car but that is not the point of this post. The question is how did the VIN get changed and do we care? Jan Iggbom told me it was imported into the UK by a Sunbeam trader and then given the VIN from the deceased HLM B9110174 colour code Moonstone. He told me not to buy it as it was a fake [his words] (it was around the time I bought my HLM and he had me scraping off underseal to make sure my own car did indeed still have the original Wedgewood Blue under the skin!) Having engaged with the UK's DVLA many times myself over the last 50 years I can offer a reasonable sequence of events.
The car was imported into the UK but presumably the Sunbeam trader could not wait the many weeks for exchange of letters with the DVLA and the subsequent delay for a calendar date for a “VOSA” inspection prior to getting a UK registration. I expect an urgent onward sale to Europe had already been arranged and he just needed a valid UK registration for the car as quickly as possible.
The easiest solution was to simply report a change of colour of the derelict HLM he already owned from Moonstone to Blue with the DVLA via the local Post Office, dramatically reducing the wait time for a new logbook. No inspection was necessary, and therefore the change to LHD would not be noticed either. Once the colour change had taken place the car could be exported to Europe for the sale. (Would a customs officer know or care or even look that HRO meant Right Hand Drive?)
The registry has a photo of B9110174 as a derelict Moonstone hulk yet its registration number XDL979 is still on the DVLA system as the Blue Sunbeam. So it is B9110174 that is the car that should be recorded as RIP in the registry.
Does this represent “dodgy dealing”? – Probably, Yes. Does it affect the integrity of the car now being sold? No. The next owner will get a car with a truly impressive motorsport history and the latest restoration appears to have kept all the original features. The only thing that has changed is the VIN plate. No-one has suffered from this little deception (possibly the DVLA?) and the only gain I can see is the quicker “fast buck” deal by the trader.
As far as the Harrington community is concerned we can accommodate the car with either VIN, and it is something between a new owner and his local Vehicle Licensing agency if they want to correct things. For now our registry will just have these two VIN’s linked together with the reference that there is only one actual vehicle for the two numbers.
Do we know who did all this? Yes, but that is not for print!
Does the DVLA care? Probably – a bit, but since this does not involve serious theft, fraud or unpaid parking or speeding fines then it’s not worth their effort to follow it up – especially after so many years.
Will this deter a future purchaser? Almost certainly not, especially as the story is now in the clear and it actually adds value to the overall history. Hopefully the new owner will make contact with us in due course.
The car was imported into the UK but presumably the Sunbeam trader could not wait the many weeks for exchange of letters with the DVLA and the subsequent delay for a calendar date for a “VOSA” inspection prior to getting a UK registration. I expect an urgent onward sale to Europe had already been arranged and he just needed a valid UK registration for the car as quickly as possible.
The easiest solution was to simply report a change of colour of the derelict HLM he already owned from Moonstone to Blue with the DVLA via the local Post Office, dramatically reducing the wait time for a new logbook. No inspection was necessary, and therefore the change to LHD would not be noticed either. Once the colour change had taken place the car could be exported to Europe for the sale. (Would a customs officer know or care or even look that HRO meant Right Hand Drive?)
The registry has a photo of B9110174 as a derelict Moonstone hulk yet its registration number XDL979 is still on the DVLA system as the Blue Sunbeam. So it is B9110174 that is the car that should be recorded as RIP in the registry.
Does this represent “dodgy dealing”? – Probably, Yes. Does it affect the integrity of the car now being sold? No. The next owner will get a car with a truly impressive motorsport history and the latest restoration appears to have kept all the original features. The only thing that has changed is the VIN plate. No-one has suffered from this little deception (possibly the DVLA?) and the only gain I can see is the quicker “fast buck” deal by the trader.
As far as the Harrington community is concerned we can accommodate the car with either VIN, and it is something between a new owner and his local Vehicle Licensing agency if they want to correct things. For now our registry will just have these two VIN’s linked together with the reference that there is only one actual vehicle for the two numbers.
Do we know who did all this? Yes, but that is not for print!
Does the DVLA care? Probably – a bit, but since this does not involve serious theft, fraud or unpaid parking or speeding fines then it’s not worth their effort to follow it up – especially after so many years.
Will this deter a future purchaser? Almost certainly not, especially as the story is now in the clear and it actually adds value to the overall history. Hopefully the new owner will make contact with us in due course.
