12 replies to this topic

[David Birchall]

Vitesse2 (Richard) has helped me tremendously in researching the history of my DB2 but there is a gap in ownership that I would like to fill.  I have tried to get the records from DVLA but they first returned my money order and then said that I must be resident in the UK!  I live in Vancouver...

 

Do any members of this forum have a reliable, helpful contact within DVLA?   I am not trying to break the law or anything just get some ownership info.

 

Many thanks.

[PlatenGlass]

I used to work there. Not any more though, sorry!

[Allan Lupton]

Are you a member of the Aston Martin OC or if not do you know someone who is?

It is not only possible that their DVLA Liason person could ask DVLA, but the AMOC itself has pretty extensive records.

[David Birchall]

Thanks Platenglass and Allan.  

Allan the records at AMOC are not good for this car-I have been researching it for ten years now and have made good progress but there is a gap after the second owner that I want to fill.

 

Platenglass (interesting name-my family used to work for Pilkingtons):  Do you know anybody still working there who could/would help?

[Jagjon]

DVLA do offer a facility to investigate the history of a car if you give them a good enough reason!   They are only likely to consent to do it for  a  car registered in   the name of a UK resident with the car also registered in UK.  You in Canada & car in Canada sounds unlikely you will get anywhere. The whole searching for past history is  a  disgusting situation caused by idiots in the civil service, who were totally unsympathetic & ignorant to our motoring heritage.

The major problem is that when the centralised records were set up in the 1970's  some half witted civil servants decided that if  any vehicle had not been taxed on the road during the previous  2 to 5 years then they could safely destroy all the records held by the vehicle offices scattered around the UK.  Luckily a lot of local archivists rescued records & many did not find the way to Swansea and so survived, about 50% ended up at various storage sites in South Wales & ultimately were destroyed.  

It seems since that even early issues  of computer registrations done in the 1980s are now not recognised. The whole place is a general nightmare & it is unsafe to believe much that comes from them regarding history.

Many records from major offices such as London, Middlesex,  & other towns & cities had either been destroyed during WW2 bombing raids or destroyed before the DVLA was set up.

From my own experience  the DVLA do not seem to have anything totally accurate after about 1960, even post 1970  is inaccurate to what I already know!

Some replies I had such as for several Triumph TR2 & 3  gave the 2nd or 3rd owners as the only owner, & date of registration was wrong.

In another case my Maserati records missed out  owners for the first 2 years.

I would not have much hope of success.  I think it rather depends if the car has continuous use and not laid up  off road untaxed,- if there is a gap in taxed records or many owners that then  filled up the RF60 older registration book then it seems unlikely they  have  any record.

Registration books were replaced & renewed & they never bothered recording everything. When they requested people to send in & claim their vehicles registrations they expected a few thousand and were snowed under with tens of thousands.

Depending where it was registered you might get help from various archives & others such as the Kithead trust who hold records that fortunately never reached Swansea.

[David Birchall]

Many thanks for that Jagjon.   The situation is not helped by my car having three different registration numbers while in the UK!  It would seem that the first two owners kept the numbers they registered the car with.  The final number was TKR51 and when the car was exported to Canada in 1974 I believe the original log book was still with it but was seized by the Montreal registration office!  They have destroyed it.

I live in hope of making contact with a living, thinking individual at DVLA...

[group7]

probably no help in the search for your cars history in the U.K., but was your Aston once owned by Bill Worobess in Ontario, Canada ?

 

PM me if you would rather keep the information off the forum.

[bradbury west]

David, have you  heard of the Kithead Trust? They have a range of old local reg office info.

Roger Lund

[bill p]

David, have you  heard of the Kithead Trust? They have a range of old local reg office info.
Roger Lund

David

I was able to obtain original details from the Local Council where my car was first registered. I paid a £9 fee and received the information within 2 weeks. Local Councils looked after registration etc before the DVLA existed, though it is unlikely that they will be able to fill in ownership details after first registration

Good luck, Bill P

[Sharman]

David

I was able to obtain original details from the Local Council where my car was first registered. I paid a £9 fee and received the information within 2 weeks. Local Councils looked after registration etc before the DVLA existed, though it is unlikely that they will be able to fill in ownership details after first registration

Good luck, Bill P

Regretfully I must add that it is only SOME councils who keep details, and trying to get information on E type E 141 was a most disagreeable experience, I found the DVLA obdurate and ignorant of even their own procedures.

[PlatenGlass]

Platenglass (interesting name-my family used to work for Pilkingtons):  Do you know anybody still working there who could/would help?

Unfortunately not. I didn't work at the main centre in Swansea, and the office I worked in closed down, so everyone was made redundant that I knew who worked there.

[David Birchall]

Thanks for all responses-I will try Kithead Trust although they seem to concentrate on pre-war registrations.  I will also try the Kent registry.

 

Group7--your information is interesting.  My car was in Ontario for a while-the only owner I am aware of was a Bruce Marshall--Do you think your man also owned it?  It is possible.

[kalila]

Sorry if this was already addressed somewhere on here, but do you know the first letters of the registration number? That can at least tell you where to start to see if any historical records exist. For example, we have a car here at the collection that begins in "LE" which all of the records have been destroyed, but another car that begins with "AP" and I was able to contact the local archive that still retains the records for that car. I have a copy of "How to Trace the History of Your Car" by Philip Riden, he lists all the records according to letter and whether they are located somewhere or have been destroyed. I can have a look and let you know. I have only used this method for early cars so I am not 100% on how recent those particular type of records go but it might be worth looking into.