37 replies to this topic

[scrog]

at the end of the day whats so bad about a q reg as long as its a mini

[Cooperman]

at the end of the day whats so bad about a q reg as long as its a mini

The value is significantly reduced. The Mini is now established as a true classic car and with all classics the value lies in a particular car's history and provenance. A Q-plated car has neither.
Well restored and serviced Minis with good history and documentation are one of the only cars which can be used every day with zero or positive depreciation.

[scrog]

at the end of the day whats so bad about a q reg as long as its a mini

The value is significantly reduced. The Mini is now established as a true classic car and with all classics the value lies in a particular car's history and provenance. A Q-plated car has neither.
Well restored and serviced Minis with good history and documentation are one of the only cars which can be used every day with zero or positive depreciation.

but thats the whole point if an old shell is used (just swopping plates) the paper work is
worthless and you could have it crushed
if you are unsure and dont want any reprisales tell dvla you have used another shell
as long as both v5's are in your name it can be done legal but will be a Q reg

[Cooperman]

Let me give you a scenario which has happened. You have a Mk.1 Cooper 'S' worth around £18000 and it gets damaged outside of its insurance cover. Now, do you scrap it and lose c.£18000 less what you get for selling the parts, or buy a second-hand Mk.1 shell which you restore to pristine condition and re-build your 'S' into it? The other alternative would be to buy a new Heritage Mk. 7(?) shell and build the Mk.1 into it. Would it still be a Mk.1 Cooper 'S'? Of course not and a Mk.1 'S' on a Q-plate has virtually no real value either.
I actually sold a Mk.1 850 Mini shell, completely restored with its V5 and a load of other bits like the sub-frames, etc. I know, although it was not discussed, that this shell is now on a 1965 Cooper 'S' and I am pleased that it has kept one of those superb cars in original specification and in rust-free condition. There really is no way that could ever be discovered as it was not an illegal thing to do only a few years ago and who would know or care anyway.

[Demondrifter]

Heres one you what if your car is down as 1989 on v5 but when you start stripping you find that the shell is older let's say late 70s could you apply for log book for the shell and run it on that

[Cooperman]

Heres one you what if your car is down as 1989 on v5 but when you start stripping you find that the shell is older let's say late 70s could you apply for log book for the shell and run it on that

They would probably check the identity of the shell, if it had its original number stamped in somewhere, then give you a Q-plate. If it didn't have any ID, just your observation that it must be an earlier shell, they would probably do nothing as in 1989 it was not illegal to re-shell.

[miniman24]

Surely all this could be avoided by buying a second hand, fully restored shell with its original V5 and plates and then build it back up with everything from your car except your cars number plate, vin plate etc? Ie use the number plate and vin plate of the second hand shell youve bought - the second hand shell would retain its original identity, and you would have effectively reshelled your car. What can the mot people/police spot, so long as you update the engine number? Unless youve got some sort of attachment to your plate, I dont see any problems - someone more in the know may tell me differently though, just an idea

[Cooperman]

The problem comes with really early cars which have a high value and/or a 'history'. If the shell becomes damaged or too rusty to restore, do you say 'goodbye' to your car/money and scrap it, or re-shell it into a fully restored identical shell. That is the point of the petition to gov't.
Now there is an ex-works rally Cooper 'S' (well, several in fact) that have been re-shelled and which command a value approaching £100k. They are all probably legal as they were re-shelled before it became illegal to do so. In fact, BMC did this a lot themselves. Think about this, if you were lucky enough to own one of these and I wish I was, if it required re-shelling wouldyou just scrap it, or would you find a good shell of the exact correct year and do the re-build? Of course you would re-build it, you just wouldn't talk about it and you would know that there is no way it could ever be detected in a vehicle that age.
That goes for all Minis really. The only body ident is on the usually very rusty scuttle panel which gets replaced and leaves the shell with no stamped-in ID and the VIN plate which is rivitted on.
I've asked the question about whether when the scuttle panel is changed you should get a set of metal stamps and re-stamp the correct number into the panel, but no-one seems to know. My MoT place simply said "don't bother, we never look there anyway".
The big risk, if a risk there is, is to go around telling everyone how you just re-shelled your Mi i into a 2nd hand shell. Now, that is b****y silly really.