Project Street Sleeper
PART 3 It’s time for a break from the tech stuff, in order to get the paperwork trail sorted and obtain a V5. Without one, I won’t be riding this beast anywhere!
Dan’s project involves no fancy paint jobs, just a discreet pocket rocket. This month he jumps through DVLA hurdles and endures a visit from SGS inspectors in his quest for a V5
VAT invoice and Dating Cert
You’ll remember from Part 1 that I bought my scooter from Sam at Lambretta Finder (don’t let the name fool you, he also deals in Vespa). Some people are dubious about buying from overseas, but I have an established relationship with Sam, and knew he was a man of his word, so I had no qualms. At any given time he usually has over 50 scooters in stock, which are all displayed with images, descriptions and prices on his website, www.lambrettafinder.com. More importantly for me, Sam delivers to the UK multiple times a year, and the price you see on his site is all-inclusive of UK delivery, and includes a VAT invoice, which is very important. After the scooter was delivered to me, I immediately visited the British Lambretta Archives website (www.britishlambrettaarchive.co.uk), where I could check their listings of Lambretta frame numbers to discover what year mine was. Having established it was a 1962 model, I then applied to BLA for a Dating Certificate, which only costs £7 and is required as part of the registration process.
NOVA
Having established what year my scooter was, and armed with my VAT invoice from Sam, I next logged on to the HMRC website (www.gov.uk/nova-log-in) to get a NOVA (Notice Of Vehicle Arrival) number. This must be done within 14 days of the vehicle (scooter in this case) arriving in the UK. It only takes 10 minutes to do online.
You will need a Government Gateway user ID and password. If you don't have a user ID, it’s simple to create one when you use the service. Once logged into the
website, all they want to know is:
■ Your name and address
■ Scooter supplier VAT number (if applicable) ■ Vehicle VIN
■ Vehicle details (make, model, etcetera)
■ Date vehicle arrived in UK
■ Invoice details
■ Price paid
■ Mileage That’s all you need to know to get a NOVA number. Once logged in, click ‘Create a vehicle notification’. On the next page where it asks, ‘Do you want to amend an existing application?’ select ‘No’. On the next page select whether you are ‘Private’ or ‘Business’, and then select whether you are ‘Self-notifying’ or ‘On behalf of a purchaser’. Then just go through each page, adding the information listed above, for your name, address, scooter make, model, VAT number and mileage, etc.
Tip: Try not to leave any field blank on the online form. That way you maximise your chances of getting the NOVA number immediately at the end of the online submission.
At the end of this 10-minute online process, you should have a number emailed to you, which will read something like: NOVA19E273369 (example). That is all you need to proceed with the next step of your V5 application.
V5 application
Next we want to fill out a V55/5 form. This is your application for a V5. You can get one from the Post Office, or do what I did and download it from the www.gov.uk website. It’s easy to fill in and consists of pretty much the same information you used to get the NOVA. (See the example image in this article.) The tax class will be either ‘Historic’ if your vehicle was built before January 1978, or ‘Motorcycle’ if built after that. The make, model and date of manufacture are as you would expect (Innocenti, Piaggio, Lambretta, Vespa, SX200, T5) as per your own machine.
Tax and MOT, or not as the case may be
My scooter is a 1962, so falls under the ‘Historic Vehicle’ category. Therefore, I do not need either tax or MOT, and neither do I require insurance to get the V5. I simply posted off the NOVA number (printed on A4 paper), the Dating Certificate (from BLA), the completed V55/5, a cheque for £55 (that’s the fee, not a bribe!) and photocopies of my ID (in this case, passport and driver’s licence). If, however, you do require tax and MOT, you would also need to insure, MOT and tax your scooter first and provide those documents within the application, as well as the relevant tax fee.
SGS vehicle inspectors
I’m not sure what the criteria is for whether or not you receive an inspection before the DVLA issues a V5, but I suspect that if your scooter has been MOTd as part of the application process, that will vastly reduce the chance of a vehicle inspection. As my scooter didn't need an MOT, I guess that’s why it did need to be inspected. I’m working on the assumption that either the MOT tester is acting as the authorised inspector, or the SGS are, and DVLA want a box ticking by one or the other. It is a visual inspection only, to ensure the vehicle is complete (it doesn't have to run), and that it hasn’t had any ‘substantial changes’. If you plan on any radical changes, I’d get the V5 first, as it’s probably easier that way if you are hoping for ‘Historic Vehicle’ classification. Interestingly, most of the ‘substantial changes’ criteria do not apply to the motorcycle (read scooter) category. For example, for the purpose of the inspection, I had a (borrowed) Li150 engine fitted and a new speedo. I informed the inspector of both items, and he said it was not a problem. He did, however, ask a few critical questions: 1: Is the scooter complete? (Yes) 2: Does the scooter run? (No) 3: Is that because it’s incomplete? (No) 4: Is it because there is a mechanical problem, like no petrol or a blocked fuel line? (Yes) 5: If it wasn’t for the mechanical fault, is the scooter complete and would it run? (Yes)
As far as an SGS inspection goes, as long as the scooter is a) complete, and b) would run if required (not tested), you get a tick in the t box. Also, you can change major parts like the engine, as long as they are a like-for-like or o direct replacement. A week later l the V5 for 120 XVE X arrived. Words W & Photographs: Dan D Clare