Lancia Beta Forum

The Gov.UK site has just clicked over to vehicles built or registered before 1st January 1980 for the exemption. I think that there are plenty of 1979 Betas around? Annoyingly, you have to take your V5c to the Post Office in person. Hardly an essential journey in these current times!

What do you do with your V5c at the post office? Once it’s safe to go again.

You just hand it in and they check your insurance and MOT (or form V112 if you are claiming exemption). No other form is mentioned. It states that DVLA will send you a new V5 within 30 days, but you can use your car in the meantime.

Great, hopefully I’ll have the car roadworthy this year to try it out.

Thanks for the info

Ian

I had to go to my local Post Office (who do road tax) on Saturday so took my documents with me. They were clueless to the historic vehicle rules and I had to show them what the DVLA website said. After that they grudgingly agreed to send off my V5 but for some reason pointed out that they would not stamp it (!?).

As MOT and Insurance details are all available online to DVLA I can't see why this process can't be done online rather than in person.

I’m not looking forward to getting this done. My Past dealings with dvla have always been. . . Tricky.
But for free road tax it will be worth the pain I guess.

 Thanks for the update, look forward to seeing what you get back from dvla

Ian

I too tried my local(car tax) post office and they were up to speed with what to do but as my coupe was built in May 79 (Thanks again Alan & Neil) then finally sold in 1981 I have sent V5 etc to the DVLA as the DVLA set up on the post office computer system cannot deal with year of build versus date of registration!  Fingers crossed :)

Hi Tim, so was something meant to be done online in the Post office? As above, my lot were just sending it off to DVLA.....

Hi Neil, I actually tried three local 'car tax' post offices, first two were useless but I know the sub postmaster at the last place I tried and he said doing by the registration date was straight forward but I would have to send all my details to Swansea as the post office/DVLA computer set up had no way of working out year of manufacture... none of the post offices offered to help with anything online and certainly did not offer to send the V5 off... some people only want to pick fruit off the low branches, I have always had to use a very long ladder!!!

Tim.

Hi all.

This sounds like a bundle of fun.
Can this not be done by contacting the DVLA direct rather than messing about with the post office?

George

No, that's the frustration and seems contrary to the online direction of DVLA. My Post Office didn't enter anything on their system, so I just know that whenever DVLA start full working again I will get my V5 back with a query that I haven't followed the correct procedure!

I have to say that the process was very straightforward for me, albeit based on registration date rather than build date. Local PO sent off the V5 and it was back within a couple of weeks.

My V5 arrived back from DVLA last week with a 'refusal of tax' letter. I went to the large Post office in Shipley this time and they actually consulted the guidance. They taxed the car at zero rate for me from 6th January and re-sent the V5 to DVLA. In the meantime they gave me a receipt as proof of taxation.

I’m hoping to go through this process next week if the car is ready for its first road test.
On my visit to the post office I’m intending to do the mot exemption as well.
I’ve printed out the V112 form from the dvla website and intend presenting (With log book and insurance) it at the same time as requesting tax exemption.
Has anyone else done this?
Problematic?

Cheers
Ian

When buying my car (79 plate) the dealer followed due diligence and checked on the DVLA site for any tax obligation, with the expectation of zero cost, but still a conscious registration (a bit like SORN). The car had not been declared as tax exempt so I ended up paying tax.

So I'm about to go through the process once in possession of the V5 of the trip to the post office so really interested in the comments here. I wasn't aware of the MOT exemption declaration so good to know.

An update on my experience at the post office on Monday.

Took the log book, insurance certificate, V112 mot exempt declaration and a few pages printed out from the dvla website regarding historic status tax and mot regs, and asked for my free road fund licence VED.

The lady was helpful although very minimalist with her use of words. Initially she said only ‘72 or older vehicles qualify. I said I think it’s changed to 40 years or older and she started reading the printouts and tapping on the computer.
Then she wrote on the log book in a section for changing the vehicle status to “historic vehicle”, tore off the front half to send to dvla and gave me a receipt for 12 months VED.
This morning I Tax checked the car on the dvla website and it’s showing as taxed for 12 months.

Now waiting to see what happens to the log book.

Happy days (although it’s peeing with rain and forecast for 3 days) I want to go drive.