if it's been in cloggy land. it could have just had the lights swapped over. lots of RHD car on continent. Not sure about 25year rule. after all it is the EU.
 
The Netherlands have Strict regs and they cannot rebuild on a new chassis the chassis HAS to be from a vehicle with a vin number. This may explain why it has a different chassis.

A friend of mine had his 109 ambulance crahsed into and a new chassis wasnt an option it had to be a second hand stamped genuine LR item. A new chassis means it was a new car and would not conform to the latest emmissions and other regs.

Hopefully this is what has happened and all documented
 
The Netherlands have Strict regs and they cannot rebuild on a new chassis the chassis HAS to be from a vehicle with a vin number. This may explain why it has a different chassis.

A friend of mine had his 109 ambulance crahsed into and a new chassis wasnt an option it had to be a second hand stamped genuine LR item. A new chassis means it was a new car and would not conform to the latest emmissions and other regs.

Hopefully this is what has happened and all documented

;)
so, the OP who took his landie for MOT then failed on "rear & front lights"

if he swapped over rear lights / fitted new/ other front lights,
would the confusing numbers on chassis/VIN/stuff be MOT approved..

unless he has "other front lights"-maybe borrow a pair for MOT then perhaps use UK light bulbs in his existing headlights - would that work ??
I mean christ, I have boxes of 2nd hand lightbulbs - even got a packet of used beam deflectors ;)
 
A friend of mine had his 109 ambulance crahsed into and a new chassis wasnt an option it had to be a second hand stamped genuine LR item. A new chassis means it was a new car and would not conform to the latest emmissions and other regs.

a chassis is never 2nd hand, you are buying a car with nothing fitted, then transfering all the parts to your new car, your old car is then a car with no parts fitted

a brand new chassis can be used, and the space for chassis number change on the v5 is when thats used
 
We think we might have go to the bottom of the problem. The dealer and I have delved into the history of the landrover and when it was presented for MOT in the UK in January 2013 by th original owner, the chassis no, Vin plate and V5 all matched. It was then sold to a main dealer who (because of its age) passed it onto a local garage. That local garage then sold it to a guy who moved to holland , hence the headlights, fog light and reversing light being switched to left hand drive. Apparently you can only keep a vehicle in holland for 2 mths before you have to register it there, but the vehicle must be over 25 yrs old (to preserve their car market). It therefore looks like that owner changed the vin plate and "doctored" the chassis no to make the 1997 landrover appear a lot older. This obviously failed due to the different (correct) chassis no on the V5 (which he couldn't alter). He then returned the landrover to the UK and re-sold it to the same garage, but didnt change the vin plate and chassis no back to uts original (correct) No. I then bought it a few weeks later. The problems only came to light when I presented it for MOT some 6 mths later, when the MOT tester discovered the discrepancy. Problem solved???? I don't think so. The DVLA now have the V5 with my request to change the chassis no (which never happened). I now have to get that back from them, with a letter clarifying the position. Meantime I cannot get it MOTd because the chassis no doesn't match the V5. I will then have to change the vin plate back to its proper no and reinstate the correct no on the chassis. When I tried to get sense out of the previous owner in holland (found him on facebook), he pleaded ignorance. I will no doubt get a visit from a DVLA inspector, and the Holland bloke will no doubt get a visit from customs and excise. What do you guys think???????
 
We think we might have go to the bottom of the problem. The dealer and I have delved into the history of the landrover and when it was presented for MOT in the UK in January 2013 by th original owner, the chassis no, Vin plate and V5 all matched. It was then sold to a main dealer who (because of its age) passed it onto a local garage. That local garage then sold it to a guy who moved to holland , hence the headlights, fog light and reversing light being switched to left hand drive. Apparently you can only keep a vehicle in holland for 2 mths before you have to register it there, but the vehicle must be over 25 yrs old (to preserve their car market). It therefore looks like that owner changed the vin plate and "doctored" the chassis no to make the 1997 landrover appear a lot older. This obviously failed due to the different (correct) chassis no on the V5 (which he couldn't alter). He then returned the landrover to the UK and re-sold it to the same garage, but didnt change the vin plate and chassis no back to uts original (correct) No. I then bought it a few weeks later. The problems only came to light when I presented it for MOT some 6 mths later, when the MOT tester discovered the discrepancy. Problem solved???? I don't think so. The DVLA now have the V5 with my request to change the chassis no (which never happened). I now have to get that back from them, with a letter clarifying the position. Meantime I cannot get it MOTd because the chassis no doesn't match the V5. I will then have to change the vin plate back to its proper no and reinstate the correct no on the chassis. When I tried to get sense out of the previous owner in holland (found him on facebook), he pleaded ignorance. I will no doubt get a visit from a DVLA inspector, and the Holland bloke will no doubt get a visit from customs and excise. What do you guys think???????

Make sure you keep any and all evidence that you have of all of this. If you ever got pulled by plod and they find ground out or re-stamped vin numbers they could take the vehicle. You want all the proof that you can find of what actually happened.
 
so has he just changed the year number/letter on the chassis? so 13 of the numbers are right

as for the v5 blame the mot station for not being able to read it properly, say they told you the number on it, but after washing it and scraping all the paint off you can see the number is correct ;)

p.s. after all this i'd like to see the mot man check my vin as one of the mounting plates for the winch bumper covers it lol
 
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Quite a lot of the number is different. The holland guy possibly bought a v5 with the other number on it. I have probably convinced myself that this is what has happened, but I not going to get the landrover out of its "hiding place" just yet. i cant believe what a mess this has become. I am also beginning to wonder what else this guy in holland can be up to.
 
oh well, at least your getting somewhere at last.


Its been a good education for us readers on what to avoid in the future,
so for that, thanks Keithjeep.
 
I had a police inspection at my own request on a landy i brought some years back but they couldnt prove it was stolen despite obvious pointers that i found.it was a stolen landy forsure in my mind.

they gave me a letter saying the vehicle was as described on the V5 so i sold it after that.
 
blimey what a nightmare, just read the entire thread.

i reckon once you proven it either way, get shot and start again. bad omens and all that
 
What a nightmare mate, glad the dealer helped out in the end after the quivering "keep me informed" initial statement..... You'll be stressed out I'd imagine and hopefully persistence pays off. I wouldn't worry about the dude in Holland receiving a visit-if there's nothing to hide they will find nothing. Yourself on the other hand should be able to reap the benefits of your laborious task of painstaking hours spent in this minefield. Really hope it is as simple as stated and you come out a winner. Best of luck man.
 
Update. Have rung the DVLA for guidance and they tell me that they have not yet received the V5. (I sent it mid January!). They say it takes about 4 weeks to register as "having been received" on their system. They will then send me a letter asking for details etc. Meanwhile the landrover has run out of MOT so I can't use it. I could get it re-MOTd on the dodgy chassis number, then what happens when/if the landrover returns to its proper chassis no? Do I have to get it re-re-MOTd on on the proper number to conform with the V5??????????? I will keep you guys updated..........Watch this space
 
Apparently you can only keep a vehicle in holland for 2 mths before you have to register it there, but the vehicle must be over 25 yrs old (to preserve their car market).

This is the only bit which still doesn't ring true.

What car market? The Netherlands doesn't have a car production facility to speak of, so all its cars are imports. In which case how would an import, of whatever age, damage its car market.

Even though it still produces commercial vehicles (DAF), they don't have a model which would be threatened by a Land Rover. I'm not doubting what you have now been told, but the story given to you by the previous owner in the Netherlands sounds sus.
 
This is the only bit which still doesn't ring true.

What car market? The Netherlands doesn't have a car production facility to speak of, so all its cars are imports. In which case how would an import, of whatever age, damage its car market.

Even though it still produces commercial vehicles (DAF), they don't have a model which would be threatened by a Land Rover. I'm not doubting what you have now been told, but the story given to you by the previous owner in the Netherlands sounds sus.

Over here it gets difficult to bring in cars over a certain age, eg 8 years, because of emissions, safety standards etc. But that then gets waived once the car is past another certain age, eg 30 years, as its then classified as a "classic". So there's a 'grey' age between roughly 8 and 30 years old where its difficult to bring cars in.
 
SteNova: where do I find that garage that won't look at the chassis number? And how do I ask that question without looking suspicious. I will definitately try a few more garages tho. Need desperately to get it up and running again.
 
SteNova: where do I find that garage that won't look at the chassis number? And how do I ask that question without looking suspicious. I will definitately try a few more garages tho. Need desperately to get it up and running again.

If you have the old mot take it with you and hand it to the tester,often they will take the vin number off the old ticket as they can't be assed to check it
 
Over here it gets difficult to bring in cars over a certain age, eg 8 years, because of emissions, safety standards etc. .

Which is hilarious as when I visited the average Kiwi bloke drove a beat up old ute (aka man-van) putting out more pollutants than Bejing whilst the missus drove the more environmentally friendly MPV.
 
Which is hilarious as when I visited the average Kiwi bloke drove a beat up old ute (aka man-van) putting out more pollutants than Bejing whilst the missus drove the more environmentally friendly MPV.

lol, it is true although getting more difficult to live that dream :)
 

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