The Pain

February

Spoke to the Factory and have emailed the MAC serial number, car VIN and colour so they can produce a Certificate of Newness. Also spoke to the DVLA about what forms I need and these are being sent to me - very helpful.

Wait, wait wait....

Gave up on the posted forms and went to the local VRO - Very helpful, so, the forms/bits'n'bobs are:

Certificate of Newness (from the Factory)
MAC (SVA Pass certificate)
V55/4 (first reg of a new car)
V627 (build up report)
All the receipts etc (a big folder with dividers and everything)
All the proof for the engine rebuild (see above)
A cheque (£38 for initial reg and £110 for a years tax - £148!)
Insurance documents
Shed loads of stuff to prove who I am - Passport, Driving licence, utility bill, DNA fingerpring, retinal scan, letter from the Pope etc etc...

So come Monday I should be able to hand in the necessary documents and await (with baited breath) for my inspection appointment!

In fact, after a bit of a mix up (and the insurance company not in fact posting the corrected cover note when they said) the documents went in on Thursday. I found the young lady at the VRO very helpful and prepared to take time to ensure that all the necessary documents were there and that all was well. They took photocopies of all the main receipts and handed back my big folder, just keeping the MAC, my cheque (damn it) the Cert of Newness and the DVLA forms. She then arranged an appointment to have the car 'inspected' and assured me that it would have an 04 plate and be ready for the next Surrey WSCC meeting in mid March - easy :-)

March

The inspection:

Drove six miles to and six miles back from the Brighton VRO for an inspection this PM. Five minutes of number copying and the job was done, of course the real event was the drive. Took it very carefully on the way there and was impressed with the ride quality (hmmmm, AVO) and point-ability of the car. The brakes are very nice... no sponginess and lots of 'feel', or so it seems. The drive back was a bit more..... interesting is as good a word as any :-D The car pulls from ridiculously low rpms and just keeps pulling (and this with only 0.3bar on the boost gauge, partial throttle), it would, I am sure reach very illegal speeds in a very short time interval and was doing it's best to unglue the rear wheels on a dry road at dual carriageway speeds! So, so far - so good.

Oh, and the nice lady at the VRO said I should have all the registration bits and bobs by the W/E.

Come Friday I still hadn't heard anything, so I called the Brighton VRO. Well that's a lie actually.... I called the Swansea DVLA call centre that was pretending to be the Brighton VRO. After 10 minutes of me asking a question, the young lady on the end of the phone not knowing the answer and phoning the Brighton VRO (on a secret bat phone) and then not asking them the question I originally asked her.... and you know, the powers that be think this is an adiquate system - oh dear oh dear oh dear :-)... She got them to call me, which they did within about an hour. The chap I spoke to was very helpful and said that all the documentation was with his boss to sign off and he'll try and get it in the post tonight for me.

Saturday and a letter from the DVLC! The tax disc, all my bills etc and the numberplate authorisation certificate! A phone call to Halfords to check what the needed by way of scientific evidence I was who I said I was and brum brum. Only to find that even though they knew I was on my way to them for a set of plates, their computer system was down - the idiots! All the common sense of a stunned dog.

So, Partco of Newhaven did the biz in 15 minutes flat - THE CAR IS ROAD LEGAL!!!!

And I got a nice 04 plate :-) yummy.

The build process is now finished: 6^th March 2004 - Total Hours on ~@£^%$ paperwork/running around: 7 Hours