MAN 8.136 ~ A small truck for the Sahara
Guidelines for registering
the MAN (and things like it)
Docs you need to make the application at a local DVLA
office:
- MoT
- Insurance
- Evidence of date manufacture (see below)
- Photo ID
- Recent utility bills to prove address
- V55/5 form
- VAT 414 form
- Invoice for the vehicle (showing UK VAT paid)
- Invoice for mph speedo fitting
- Picture of the vehicle
Step 1
MoT the lorry as a campervan (other options exist, but this
is simplest for private use). Matt read that a ‘campervan’ must
have a permanently fixed sink, cooker and bed to be described
thus, so he found a little sink unit (left) on ebay, chucked
a bed in the back, tacked on a fog light, fitted some Landrover
headlamps for UK roads and rolled off to Farmers MoT Services
who passed it without even looking for the sink which was
a lucky break.
Step 2
Get insurance as a campervan. I recommend the special vehicle
department of Footman James. They'll understand it has
no reg number yet and will issue a cover note with the
chassis number until you can get a plate. They may want
a picture.
Step 3
Get a blue V55/5 ‘Application
for the first license for a used motor vehicle and declaration
for registration’ either
sent from Swansea or picked up at a local DVLA office. It
looks daunting but not all boxes need to be filled out. Fyi
I filled out:
2. 'PLG'
3. '12 months'
4. Fee
5. Make
6. Model
7. 'Campervan' (or flatbed lorry)
8. '2 axle rigid'
9. Colour
13. Length
15 Unladen weight (guessed)
16. Number of seats
21. GVW (under 7500kg - beyond that may be another category)
22. Start date of new tax disc
29. Type of fuel
30. Chassis number
31. Engine number
32. cc
33. CO2 “295” I guessed but it's in the ballpark
42. Age
......... All the other boxes were left blank or are filled
in by them
The VAT 414 form
was no drama - something you fill out easily to prove
to Customs that UK VAT has been paid. In my case it appeared
on the invoice from Leavesleys who'd actually done the
importing and VAT paying.
Step 4 - Light a candle
at the altar and approach the DVLA counter on hands and knees
On my first DVLA visit (Nottingham) they
vet your forms while you wait to go to a counter, giving
an entirely unexpected and, it has to be said, genuine impression
of helpfulness and efficiency. I was advised in advance that
the photocopied translation of the Danish first reg doc was
not acceptable at dating evidence so I should take a non-age
related Q plate for the MAN. This required writing a letter
saying “I
accept the issue of a Q plate for lorry X ”. I wrote
this right under the guy's nose, he checked all my forms
where good - but the application was rejected anyway and
then the whole lot got lost in the post.
I got duplicates of everything
I could, the Danish originals from Leavesleys, and went through
it all again at a local DVLA (Wimbledon). This time I was
told the Danish original reg with date along with my home
made translation was not acceptable as dating evidence -
no drama, get a Q, but now I was now told a Q plate
required a dreaded Single Vehicle Approval (SVA) test or
inspection. Don’t
know what that involves but it must be tougher, more expensive
and slower to get than an MoT and I had to drive the
MAN to Algeria in 2 weeks...
On hearing that I may have to buy another
van to get the job done, helpful and sympathetic DVLA matey
told me that to get an age-related plate, a letter from MAN UK (not
MAN in Germany or Denmark) was needed, stating when the vehicle
was built. That looked daunting but apparently every manufacturer's
country HQ has access to a database which comes up with these
details once they key in the vehicle’s
chassis number. I found where MAN
UK where, rang up, explained,
got put through to the guy who deals with this and luckily
he sent it next day. I know others who have had to pay and
wait for months for similar letters.
I went back ready to get
my number but this time matey said I need
a picture of the lorry and proof that the speedo
had been changed to mph (apparently there had been a court
case after a crash involving kph/mph speedos so they want
to be in the clear). I got the former and Matt sent me an
invoice for fitting the latter. I went back one more time
to witness the happy birth of the lovely 10983-pound mini
MAN christened 'F98 SYE' and now can book a ferry to France
with eleven days to spare.
Moral: For a sub-7.5 ton
vehicle over 10 years old imported from the EU, even with
something weird and archaic like an 8136, a reg
number can be obtained without any challenging emission
and safety tests, SVAs or
even an inspection. Hope this helps.
