Trabi/IFA Chat Forum

Kev, I have a 21 figure number and an 8 figure reference number on the email they sent me. Which one is it likely to be?

As far as I know you have to register the car/bike within 3 weeks of it arriving in the uk to avoid being fined

Mine are 15 number reference numbers but this is an old one as it was imported last year is one of the numbers your vin number as this is also on the form

The bike I've just sold had no nova and there was a £360 payment before a nova was issued but that had come from the U.S. Hopefully the cost is less from Europe

I have not heard of anyone paying anything for a Trabant imported from the EU . I don't think you have to worry about a bill. Did you get an MOT ? Edit just read your earlier post. Congratulations

No nothing like the VIN number. I don't think there will be any fines imposed on me as the guy who owned it before me had it in his garage in Leicester for 3 years and the same probably before him going right back to the 1990s. Maybe that 3 week rule didn't apply then.

On my paperwork theirs only 3 numbers the vin no,the nova application no and the nova number,it will be good if there's no fine you didn't import it so you shouldn't have to pay but the powers that be say who does what I hope your lucky

Dayum! I live in Massachusetts, the strictest state for automobiles in the USA. I go in, get my Trabant inspected, get my inspection sticker (our MOT), pay my 35 bucks, then drive away.

Yes but when you first imported and titled your car i bet it was a lot more complicated and expensive in Massachusetts ,than in the UK . When you first register a foreign car in UK .It is couple of forms and £55 first registration/title

Is it legal to drive an unregistered vehicle to and from an MOT? I know it is for a registered one, but this is certainly food for thought!

Igor's MOT is tomorrow. I just need the foglight hooked up, which the garage will do. Wish me luck guys!

I drove my Barkas to it's MOT and also to a DVLA inspection . I insured it first on chassis number and made it clear to insurance i was driving it . While i was waiting for V5 to arrive i used it to collect a new carpet . A traffic warden threatened to give me a ticket because it was parked on double yellows .As it had no registration plates on it of any kind i wasn't bothered .

If it passes, I may drive it home myself then. I've already booked my regular transporter to take it there.

Did you not get pulled over for having no plates at all?

Unregistered or registered vehicles over three years old can legally be driven to and from a PRE-BOOKED MoT as long as the vehicle is insured. My insurance has the current DDR plate details and the VIN and as soon as I get the UK plates, I have to tell them

In Tennessee as long as the car has a clear title from another state, the DMV will give you a licence plate for anything! Whether it would pass inspection or not. Since there is no inspection system in this state.

They do make a big fuss about car titles. Especially if someone has signed off on it then the buyer signed it but never registered it. I ran into a problem with a Fiat Spider like this. I asked if I could just pay the tax on the $500 the guy paid for it (written on the title) and they said they wouldn't do it and he would have to come back and register the car before I could!

They also make a big deal out of "open titles". This is where someone buys a car from somebody, the seller signs it but the buyer never signs it. That way if the buyer wants to repairs on it or repaint it then "flip it" and make some money, he doesn't have to pay any tax on it. The state want's to make sure they get every penny they can.

The women down at the DMV think they are gods. I was down there one day and this Spanish speaking guy with very poor English was trying to register a car he acquired. From what I gather it was the same case I ran into with the Fiat. Due to the language barrier he was having issues trying to figure out what she was telling him. He eventually gave up or figured it out. I was about to tell him on the way out, "Welcome to America!".

I think the car being 30 years old without any documentation was technically written for "barn finds". Where the owner passed away, nobody knew who last owned it, etc. and someone rescued the car. Not 2 strokers made of plastic brought in from Eastern Europe because they were not legal for US roads to begin with.