42 replies to this topic

[Designer]

Hi,

 

One thing you must consider is what the Insurance companies consider a modification. If you do as Coopertaz says he does above and has an accident while running with the type of plate he should not be using his insurance could be invalid.

There was a case of a standard car(cannot remember the make) that the owner had stuck higher spec badges on to his pride and joy to make it appear it was a better car that he had. Had a minor accident the car was not as spec as far as the insurance company was concerned, they had not been told of the addition of the misleading badges, so did not pay out.

 

Paddy

[PoolGuy]

Hi,

 

One thing you must consider is what the Insurance companies consider a modification. If you do as Coopertaz says he does above and has an accident while running with the type of plate he should not be using his insurance could be invalid.

There was a case of a standard car(cannot remember the make) that the owner had stuck higher spec badges on to his pride and joy to make it appear it was a better car that he had. Had a minor accident the car was not as spec as far as the insurance company was concerned, they had not been told of the addition of the misleading badges, so did not pay out.

 

Paddy

I’d be interested to see the outcome of that case, any chance you can provide any more details?

[beardylondon]

I think you mean Jimmy Tarbuck, unless he has sold it to Rowan

https://www.regplate...er-plates-6.htm

Just put COM1C on your car and let Rowan Atkinson take your points.


(Not that it needs to be said, not seriously)

[JXC Mini GT]

Whether you are legal to use Black/Silver plates for cars constructed after 1st Jan 1973 seems to be a bit confusing as various websites give conflicting advice, the statement below is taken from the MG Car Club:-

Following the change in definition of a historic vehicle for vehicle tax exemption purposes in 2015, an issue was identified in the regulatory requirements for the valid display of a black and silver number plate. This resulted in an unintended consequence where any vehicle over 40 years old and registered in the historic tax class would be permitted to display an old style black and silver number plate. This was despite the law previously requiring all vehicles first registered after 1 January 1973 to only display the yellow and white number plates with black characters.
As this was never the intention, DVLA have sought to rectify this through a legal correction which will shortly be implemented. The change seeks to prevent any vehicle constructed after 1 January 1980 from the ability to display the black and silver number plate despite being recorded in the DVLA’s historic tax class. Those vehicles with a construction date prior to 1 January 1980 will continue to be able to legally display black and silver number plates to avoid any undue costs of replacement.

I believe the conflicting advice on websites is because many websites have not been updated since the error in making the black/silver plates align with the Historic tax rolling date was corrected by the DVLA but could not be then backdated to the original 1973 cut off date.
ie The cut off date for old style black/silver plates is now 1979, any website which says 1973 is out of date information.

I think you’re correct, I have black/silver plates on my 1979 manufactured 1980 registered Mini

Edited by JXC Mini GT, 09 October 2024 - 08:43 AM.

[beardylondon]

I watched that shed and buried classic cars the other day, the only with Henry Cole. He had a 1970 mini, which had black and silver plates when he got it, and he took them off and put the original plates back on, which were with the vehicle, and they were white and yellow with raised letters, looked much nicer.
My mk1 has black and silver plates, and I think they look good, but I don’t get everyone’s obsession with them!

Edited by beardylondon, 09 October 2024 - 09:04 AM.

[mab01uk]

I watched that shed and buried classic cars the other day, the only with Henry Cole. He had a 1970 mini, which had black and silver plates when he got it, and he took them off and put the original plates back on, which were with the vehicle, and they were white and yellow with raised letters, looked much nicer.
My mk1 has black and silver plates, and I think they look good, but I don’t get everyone’s obsession with them!

 

I think the black and silver plates are desired by many because they are a much rarer sight on the roads and a more exclusive look, compared with reflective plates which can be seen on every modern or brand new car since the 1970's. In the same way that some spend a small fortune on personal plates or modifying their car from standard  just to stand out from the crowd. Later Minis often get away with black/silver plates simply because few traffic Police or motorists know, care or have a clue what year a Mini is without doing some research....few non-enthusiasts would even know the classic Mini was in production up to 2000 and a majority amongst younger generations only know of the BMW MINI from 2001....a classic Mini is now a rare sight and when seen parked amongst modern cars and SUV's now amazes people on how small it is!

Edited by mab01uk, 09 October 2024 - 11:05 AM.

[Gaz66]

I planned on putting black plates on my 87 after transferring a 1968 plate onto it.
I was hoping the F reg, MK1 rear lights and black plates would have plod looking at boy racer chariots rather than me 😁

[stuart bowes]

probably not something you want to publicly announce, making a ringer and partaking in a bit of tax avoidance.. 

[Gaz66]

How would it be a ringer? If the plate is transferred through the DVLA it's still an 87

[stuart bowes]

Oh I see, sorry.  not changing the V5, just putting a different plate on

 

my bad

[beardylondon]

But still, even if the reg number is from 1968. when its on an 1987 car, as a "cherished transfer", you aren't meant to put black and silver plates on it, as everyone knows, its when the vehicle was registered, but I'm sure everyone above on this thread knows that!

I think the DVLA got it bang on, anything post 1980 with black and silver plates looks wrong. mab is correct above, but what uninformed people don't realise is in the 80s, you never ever saw black and silver plates retro fitted to cars, as they looked old fashioned!

What really winds me up is when people fit black and silver plates using the Charles Wright font, which was only introduced in 2001 for yellow and white plates, to allow for the country emblem on the left. The font on the original black and silver plates is not a pre determined font, as the rules were more lax back then, so there are a handful of slightly different ones, most still available. One of which I have used for my example below...

Edited by beardylondon, 09 October 2024 - 05:19 PM.

[Designer]

Hi Poolguy,

 

This case happened in the eighties I think it was.

The other thing that insurance companies will look at is if the vehicle is road legal.

If you have the wrong plates on for the year of your car it is highly likely they would deem it as not being road legal.

 

Paddy 

[coopertaz]

Hi,

 

One thing you must consider is what the Insurance companies consider a modification. If you do as Coopertaz says he does above and has an accident while running with the type of plate he should not be using his insurance could be invalid.

There was a case of a standard car(cannot remember the make) that the owner had stuck higher spec badges on to his pride and joy to make it appear it was a better car that he had. Had a minor accident the car was not as spec as far as the insurance company was concerned, they had not been told of the addition of the misleading badges, so did not pay out.

 

Pad

this is if the assesor actually comes to look at the car, when mine was written off they assesed it at the salvage yard 2 weeks after it had been moved to my house by a friend with a trailer to ensure i retained the salvage of the heavily modified car, so would not notice the plates anyway.