Sorry that this is not Skoda related but I'm hoping that as well as Skoda enthusiasts you are car enthusiasts in general and will help me solve a problem.

I recently purchased a wee sports car (a suzuki cappuccino - great fun!) to sit alongside my Octy Elegance estate as a fun weekend car! Anyway when I got the Reg. document back from the DVLA I noticed that despite the car being a 1995 car, the registration document says 'date of first registration 20 07 2000' then on the next line it says 'date of first registration in the UK 20 07 2000'.

The car is on Northern Irish plates and is definetly a UK car as I have checked the VIN plate and that it is not of JDM (Japanese Domestic Market) spec. and it came with a full dealer service history partly in Northern Ireland and partly in Scotland. The last owner purchased the car on 20 07 2000 so I am presuming that it has something to do with this.

It's just puzzling me as the last I heard Northern Ireland was part of the UK so why the anomoly on the reg. document?

Any help from 'the experts greatly appreciated! I know I could contact the DVLA but I'm hoping my 'brothers and sisters' can help!

Indeed, it should make no difference. It sounds like the DVLA made an error at the last keeper change and entered the wrong date in the wrong field. If you have some history with the car in the service book including the PDI it should be possible to fix by writing to the DVLA.

During the mid to late 90s cars were much more expensive in the UK than the rest of Europe so a lot of people were buying cars abroad and personally importing them. Dealers in France and Holland were set up specifically to cater for this market, selling UK spec cars. Your Suzuki may well have been one of these and for whatever reason not been registered in the UK until the person you bought it from took ownership.

As it is a Northern Ireland car, it may well have come from the Irish Republic. I know for a fact that cars were cheaper there and I was seriously considering buying a car in Dublin, but decided against it for various reasons, one of which was that the warranty may have been invalid as soon as I registered it in the UK. Maybe yours was previously registered in the Irish Republic? The spec would almost certainly be be the same.

thanks for the replies guys

Hi eddie 2

So is it possible that the main suzuki dealer (Prentice Suzuki, Portadown) bought the car in the Irish Republic then sold it to someone in Northern Ireland? Was this something that the paying public were aware of and therefore the first owner would have known. Your explanation would explain the fact that the car is of UK spec. Would you know whether I could put a private plate on the vehicle and will the history of the car affect it's value if I ever resold it?

thanks for the replies guys

Hi eddie 2

So is it possible that the main suzuki dealer (Prentice Suzuki, Portadown) bought the car in the Irish Republic then sold it to someone in Northern Ireland?

No - that doesn't sound very likely does it? I hadn't realised that you knew which dealer originally sold the car. I can't imagine that anyone in Northern Ireland would pay for a new car that had been registered in the Irish Republic, and would have had Eire plates on it.

If the dealer is still in business their records might show when they registered the car (or if they did).

The DVLA has a sister agency in NI called (unsurprisingly, DVLNI). Vehicles moving from NI and into England* should show as "Imported From NI" on HPI, Experian, Vehicle Check etc... but I'm not sure if this appears on the V5.

If you PM me the reg, I'll have a look at it's history for you.

* England = The rest of the UK, apart from NI. Couldn't think how else to phrase it.

eddie 2

Sorry, I didn't say in my original post about the dealer. The car has Northern Irish plates on it and when I say that they were the supplying dealer I am basing this on the fact that the service book has their sticker on the inside cover so maybe they only put it there when they took on the servicing? I'm beginning to think that when the vehicle was bought by the last owner in Edinburgh in 2000 he had to have it re registered across here but I can see no wording on the V5 to say it was imported here from NI

It does say on the new keeper supplement of the previous V5 which I was given by the garage I bought the car from 'date of first registration 20 07 2000 (declared manuf 1995). The plot thickens!

* England = The rest of the UK, apart from NI. Couldn't think how else to phrase it.

It's called "Great Britain" - as in "The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland".

England is just England, but when you add Scotland and Wales it becomes great.

eddie 2

I'm beginning to think that when the vehicle was bought by the last owner in Edinburgh in 2000 he had to have it re registered across here but I can see no wording on the V5 to say it was imported here from NI

It does say on the new keeper supplement of the previous V5 which I was given by the garage I bought the car from 'date of first registration 20 07 2000 (declared manuf 1995). The plot thickens!

Surely bringing it from Northern Ireland to Scotland wouldn't count as an import? It's still the UK.

The person who registered it in 2000 would have had to declare when it was manufactured but the DVLA don't seem to require proof. In 1997 I bought a "new" Peugeot from an importer, which was first registered in August '97 and 'declared manufactured 1997'. However the chassis plate clearly showed that it was manufactured March 1996 so had been sitting around somewhere for nearly 18 months.

As your car is now 12 years old I can't see that this would affect its value, unless you wanted to trade it in for another car, in which case the dealer would use it as an excuse for a low trade-in offer.

'surely bringing it from Northern Ireland to Scotland wouldn't count as in import? It's still the UK.'

This is exactly my query - I wonder if the previous owner had to re register the vehicle with the DVLA here as they don't share info. with the DVLNI?

Jimbo vRS made the point earlier that vehicles coming across to mainland UK from NI should show up as 'Imported from NI' on an HPI check or an Experian check so he is going to check that for me.

If all this fails I am just ging to knock on the door of the previous owner and see if he can set the record straight - not something I would normally do but I would get an answer quickly!

Problem solved!

Jimbo vRS very kindly did a check for me and the car was registered with the DVLNI as a new car in May 1995. Where motor vehicles are concerned, NI is regarded as a sparate EU country and therefore when the previous owner got it in Scotland he had to register it with the DVLA! Basically he had to 'import' it! Crazy I know but that's the official answer.

So after all, it is a UK car, registered in the UK, but it's not a UK car, if you know what I mean. LOL!

Again many thanks to Jimbo vRS, a true gentleman! Now I can enjoy all 657cc of the liitle car just as much as I enjoy driving my Skoda.