Q plate registration?

Slime101 · 28 Feb 2007 at 17:59

Does anyone know if you can put a private plate on a Q plated vehicle?

Saytan · 28 Feb 2007 at 18:02

Wicksta · 28 Feb 2007 at 18:10

Saytan said:
no

I'm sure someone knows, so you are wrong

FakeSnake · 28 Feb 2007 at 18:11

it really is as simple as the above
No, and there is no agenda at the DVLA to change that.
It was rumoured a few years ago that they may remove the restriction, but it never happened.

Slime101 · 28 Feb 2007 at 18:18

Dam ok - i'll try and avoid Q plate then....the government site is useless for info on age related and other registration issues

Rotty · 28 Feb 2007 at 18:26

I think you used to be able to but they stopped it so that it can't be used to cover cars up that have a dodgy past

tonyyeb · 28 Feb 2007 at 18:35

http://www.dvla-som.co.uk/home/en/FAQ/?id=Q_PREFIX#q_prefix

Slime101 · 28 Feb 2007 at 18:41

Rotty said:
I think you used to be able to but they stopped it so that it can't be used to cover cars up that have a dodgy past

Fair enough but just cos its a Q doesnt mean its dodgy, mines going to be almost brand new but unless its 100% new i cant get a new reg and hence end up on a Q

Rotty · 28 Feb 2007 at 18:44

Slime101 said:
Fair enough but just cos its a Q doesnt mean its dodgy, mines going to be almost brand new but unless its 100% new i cant get a new reg and hence end up on a Q

correct it doesn't mean it is definitely dodgy but there are a lot of Q plate cars that are, kit cars are one example where genuine cars can have Q plates

The_Dark_Side · 28 Feb 2007 at 18:56

Rotty said:
I think you used to be able to but they stopped it so that it can't be used to cover cars up that have a dodgy past

no mate, once a Q always a Q i'm afraid.
the Q actually stands for "questionable" and was given out when the age of the vehicle could not be confirmed, mainly becaise in this country you cannot use a plate that's newer than the vehicle it's fitted to.

as for kits it's all down to where the parts come from.
if 75% of the parts are brand new then the car can be given a brand new registration.
if the kit uses more than 75% of parts from the same donor car then the kit can "assume" the identity of the donor car taking it's registration and in many cases appearing as the same donor car on the logbook.

FakeSnake · 28 Feb 2007 at 19:37

The_Dark_Side said:
no mate, once a Q always a Q i'm afraid.
the Q actually stands for "questionable" and was given out when the age of the vehicle could not be confirmed, mainly becaise in this country you cannot use a plate that's newer than the vehicle it's fitted to.

as for kits it's all down to where the parts come from.
if 75% of the parts are brand new then the car can be given a brand new registration.
if the kit uses more than 75% of parts from the same donor car then the kit can "assume" the identity of the donor car taking it's registration and in many cases appearing as the same donor car on the logbook.

This is why I got a 'Q' for my cobra. I could prove everything else was from the same Jaguar, but I could not prove the origin of the engine

At the time of registration, all major mechanical components had to be form the same car to get the donors reg. IE. Suspension, brakes, gearbox and engine.

NOW I wish I had stuck the engine number on the Jags V5 6 months earlier. Then I would have got an age related plate. Hey ho, I dont care, my car is a 2000 registered, which is about the time a Q plate would have been issued as a normal plate anyway

Dogbreath · 28 Feb 2007 at 19:48

Q's have the massive benefit of not requiring an emmisions test however, just visible smoke test. Not having to have a cat and closed loop fuel injection for me somewhat outweighs not being able fit a poncy number plate that costs a stupid amount of money.

The_Dark_Side · 28 Feb 2007 at 20:11

Dogbreath said:
Not having to have a cat

you're kidding?????
i knew about the visible smoke test but no cat??

Lopéz · 28 Feb 2007 at 20:35

The_Dark_Side said:
you're kidding?????
i knew about the visible smoke test but no cat??

If it only needs a visible smoke test then it doesn't matter if there is a cat or not, surely?

The_Dark_Side · 28 Feb 2007 at 20:39

Lopéz said:
If it only needs a visible smoke test then it doesn't matter if there is a cat or not, surely?

true, but it wouldn't have surprised me if they'd still demanded the damn thing was present even though they weren't going to test it.

Dogbreath · 28 Feb 2007 at 23:13

Well, SVA and MOT are different! If the engine is post 95 it will need a Cat for SVA AFAIK, but for MOT the only test is visible smoke so it can be dispensed with after SVA.