Looking for advice, please can you help?

Discussion in 'Introduce Yourselves' started by AmandaC, Oct 23, 2021.

  1. I would much appreciate the expertise of you all as you will know far more than me about VW T2. I am due to view a VW T2 camper tomorrow in London. It is well loved and looks to be lovely inside with running water, hob and sink. Its a 1.7 engine from 1973. Its had a new engine in the last few years. I have the registration and so I did checks online on its MOT history, which revealed it doesn't have a current MOT, lasts one was 2018. I have also checked whether its Taxed, and its not. The seller is telling me that its definitely MOT and Tax Exempt, however from the reading I have done online, looking at the government guidelines, as an owner you have to apply for you vehicle to be MOT exempt by registering as a Vehicle of Historic Interest (VHI) and that includes stating that its not been substantially altered. With engine replacement being listed as one of things that could be classed substantially altered.. I have asked if she has the paperwork to confirm its VHI and MOT exempt and that the engine avoids it being classed substantially altered. I don't think she has it because she hasn't confirmed. Also, the last two MOT it did have in 2016 and 2017 say "Vehicle structure has slight corrosion" and I have asked if that has been addressed and no reply on that either. She know wants to know if I will still view it and emphasised the price has just dropped from 16k to 13k. Am I right to think these things are all red flags? I appreciate I'm at the budget end of the market but I do want to know its roadworthy and for it to be legal to drive. Thank you in advance for any advice you can offer
     
  2. vinnyboy

    vinnyboy Supporter

    Hi, you have done the right thing asking for advice before handing over any cash. Lots of good people on here. Someone might even be in that area to have a look with you.
     
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  3. bernjb56

    bernjb56 Supporter

    If it’s a like for like engine replacement it shouldn’t effect the MoT exemption, but it still has to registered as a historic vehicle to make it tax free.
    I’d certainly want to have a really good look underneath, the big price drop suggests to me that someone might have pointed out some issues.
     
  4. vinnyboy

    vinnyboy Supporter

    Don’t rush in to anything. You could post lots of photos on here of anything you go to look at
     
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  5. Pudelwagen

    Pudelwagen Supporter

    There's no such thing as tax free. All vehicles have to be taxed to be street legal. The only difference with "historic" vehicles is that the rate of tax is zero.
     
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  6. Baysearcher

    Baysearcher [secret moderator]

    As said, a replacement engine won’t alter mot or tax exemption. The V5 will show you if it is registered as a historic vehicle.
     
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  7. Chrisd

    Chrisd Supporter

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  8. @AmandaC do you have a link to the one you are considering?
     
  9. Good idea! We like pictures and many on here will tell you if it's a good 'un, or not, just from an advert. Best find out before you part with your hard earned cash and the good folk of TLB will tell you if it's worth the trip.
     
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  10. scrooge95

    scrooge95 Moderator and piggy bank keeper

    'Slight corrosion' to the underside is likely to be MOT-man speak for surface rust, but it's best to be sure and take a serious look underneath yourself when you go to view. The fact that the MOT chappie can see some 'slight corrosion' could be viewed as a good thing, as it may mean the whole underneath isn't coated in a layer of black rust camouflage / underseal -- rust you can see is better than rust that is hidden, if you get what I mean. Does the Ad you have seen have any pictures of underneath?

    As for the tax and MOT status - a vehicle of that age certainly can be exempt from both, and as you know it needs to be registered as a historic vehicle for this to apply, but... there's always a but... if I check on the government website ('Is my Car Taxed?'), my campers reg will come up as being taxed, even though I pay nothing. If the one you are looking at actually says it's not taxed, then you can assume it's off the road and not being used. Not necessarily a problem, it might be that the owner decided to sell and didn't bother to go to the post office when last years licence expired, but it would be worth finding out when it actually was last on the road (if it is the case that it isn't actually taxed, as opposed to just being exempt)

    Look at the link that @Chrisd posted, it's a great thread to read - and was invaluable when I bought mine 7 years ago.
    Take your time when viewing tomorrow, and definitely take something to lie on underneath, and a torch to see properly.
    Check the gutter area around the roof - whilst not impossible to fix, it's one of the hardest - and holes up there is the bit that would cause a lot of people to think rather hard about whether it's worth it or not.

    Good luck.
     
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  11. Even though it's .MOT exempt it doesn't stop you getting an MOT . Having a current MOT is a good indication of the condition of a vehicle .
    I would ask the vendor to put it through an MOT .
     
  12. vinnyboy

    vinnyboy Supporter

    This is good advice but also be warned that a Vehicle with an mot might still be rubbish.
     
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  13. Merlin Cat

    Merlin Cat Moderator

    Mine is tax free tho I still have to inform the DVLA. This year I got my MOT dates muddled up and missed the date last years ran out. As I wanted to use the van it is currently without MOT. I looked on the DVLA web site to see if it needed registering as such, even though it’s old enough to be MOT exempt, but it said I didn’t have to. Unless I read it wrong! :confused:
     
  14. mikedjames

    mikedjames Supporter

    The rules about changes to vehicles invalidating MOTs mention that if a modification is made that was common up to 10 years after last manufacture then it doesnt count.

    Even changing to a Subaru engine is not sufficient as a result.

    Mine has the "wrong" engine number but a VW engine .. Never caused a problem with the MOT.

    If the VIN is ground off or missing that worried the MOT man more than the VW engine swap like for like ...mine had thick paint on the stamped VIN number on the raised part of the engine surround to the left of the engine bay looking in the back.

    Theres some funny stuff happened where T2 buses were made to appear over 40 years old before 2019 when they all became over 40. To make them tax free as if the cost of road tax was really any major part of the cost of running one of these busses...

    Not an issue any more but you do see "1971" busses with construction features that post- date 1974 ish...

    Worry more about rust and how much extra money and time you have for it to be off the road having it fixed and finding a garage to do bodywork .. or not..

    My wife was basically right, she reckoned to double what we paid for it to get it right ... when we paid £6250 eleven years ago, it cost us £5500 in extra work almost straight off.
    For that it had holes in the floor where the road went past underneath, and front doors falling apart..

    Scabby rust on the surface is often less of an issue than bubbles under paint - these bubbles are due to metal so thin it has holes in it, while scabs may just be small pits that can be cleaned up, the bubbles are nastier.
     
    Last edited: Oct 23, 2021
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  15. Download this app for free, enter the registration number and it’ll tell you the details of the vehicle, you can see all the past Mots, what it failed on, advisories etc. It also shows the mileage graph over the years, original colour. It’s a great free app! 1BB74A95-721B-48A8-AEC9-249498A189ED.png
     
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  16. Thank you all very much for your comments @vinnyboy, @bernjb56 , @Pudelwagen. @Baysearcher, @Chrisd, @3901mick , @F_Pantos, @scrooge95 , @jivedubbin, @Merlin Cat, @mikedjames

    Regarding the pictures, the autotrader advert expired, and I've asked her to send me the photos, and she has so I will upload those now, bear with me.

    There were no pictures of the underneath of it on the advert.

    Earlier this morning after posting I have asked her to confirm if its registered as a vehicle of historical interest (VHI) and if so I'll come and view.

    @Baysearcher where about on the V5 will it tell me its a historical vehicle?

    Thank you @Pudelwagen for pointing out that it does have to be taxed, with zero cost.

    My understanding is that either I need the Historical Vehicle (VHI) registration, or a valid MOT, for it to be legal to drive. I am interested however I am not prepared to buy a vehicle that is illegal to drive. That is what I replied to her to say.

    She since has left me a voice message to say she checked on the Government website regarding whether she needs to tax it and it tells her "nothing to pay" when she enters the registration and the V5C number. So sounds like it must be historical vehicle? However following @Baysearcher's tip I have asked her to look at the log book and confirm what it says. She is going to tell me later when home

    She has said that she has just renewed the tax this afternoon. However I have just checked again and it still says untaxed so not sure how long it will take to show up on the Government website?

    It definitely doesn't have an MOT currently.

    I asked her to confirm was that engine change like for like with her mechanic and he's come back to say "thinks its 1800" and she says she was advised against putting a completely different newer engine in.

    My Dad and I are not mechanics however we will look underneath to see how rusty it looks
     
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  17. Where about In London is it.

    I once went with a mum of a friend of one of my kids , to see a classic bus in Islington she wanted to buy. It was running when we arrived, I’d asked for it to be cold so could see what it did …but even warm it wouldn’t start again. Underside was OK…but non starting when warm was a red flag…and trying it on was another. Few other bits and pieces. Was pricey, and the seller was a bit spivvy.

    It all revealed to the mum that you needed to be a ‘tinkerer’ at least, to have one of these, and be prepared to know what rust actually is, for example.

    saw her at the school the next week…she said’ I got a Brazilian’…’I said didn’t it hurt :)

    Think she’s still got it after 10 years, and runs a gardening business out of it,

    Sorry if it’s a boring story
     
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  18. This is what you want to see :thumbsup:
    20211023_183901.jpg
     
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  19. I think road fund / tax is pretty instant nowadays. Has she asked for a deposit to secure ?
     
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