VEHICLE AUTHENTICATING

(I.e. getting a car registered for the first time)

DA7C DVLA approved vehicle authenticator Phil Whitter comments on authenticating Austin Sevens

As far as charges go, I get nothing from the Club for this service and do not expect to, so I look at each case on its merits and circumstances.  In broad terms if you are not a club member there will be a minimum charge of £20 depending how far I need to travel and how much form filling and photography is involved.

I will not authenticate a car from photographs and therefore will want to see the vehicle and take photos of it if none exist.

If you are a Club member then I will do my best to help you at minimum cost but sometimes there will be expenditure involved which is unavoidable.  It may for example be necessary to purchase an authenticated copy of a vehicle from a county council archive.

When I inspect a vehicle I need to see one which has all the main components which match the year of the chassis number.  If there are insufficient components on your car to justify either retaining its number plate or gaining an age related plate then I will explain why I am unable to give authentication to that vehicle.

As I only have knowledge about Austin Sevens and dating them, I do not get involved in any other vehicles unless their authenticity is obvious from documentation available.  If you do not have documentation clearly linking your car with its number plate then the DVLA will not agree to letting you have the number – a pair of rusting number plates will not suffice!

To minimise problems in submissions to the DVLA either locally or to Swansea, I like to help as much as possible in completing the necessary paperwork so that if the case is a good one you stand a good chance of being successful.

Phil Whitter

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