Getting a used Caterham titled/registered in the US - how is it done?

[Croc]

OK, so usually on a UK V5 (title/registration), if a car is new when first registered and licensed in the UK, then a specific date will be given when the car is registered, let's say 15th of Feb 1991.

 

 

What I have done in that situation since the build plate does not specify a date is to get factory documentation of build date. For a 1975 BMW I had the BMW Classic people issue a certificate of build which was used as import evidence of 25+ years of age along with the VIN chassis plate. The Lotus 7 Club UK will do the same for Caterhams based on the VIN. One trick about Caterham VINs is that the number does contain its build date (at least post 1990). Getting a certificate of this from Caterham or the club would make for a good evidence package for your import.

http://www.lotus7.club/guides/frequently-asked-questions/chassis-numbers-what-do-they-mean

 

I have never used a registration document as evidence for a build date. I am sure you could but why wait until then.

[Paul D]

Thanks are due, yet again, to all the great replies I'm getting here. I just can't thank you guys enough. It sounds like the US importation & registration of a car is a bit of a minefield, but at least I think I'm beginning to get a basic understanding of the rules now.

 

 

Kitcat - I've sent you a PM.

 

 

Mike - I think what you said about why you'd wait for a registration as proof of age may be getting lost in translation. Here, the V5 is the registration which shows when the car was either first built or registered in the UK, and the owner always has it available, so there's no waiting. If a UK car was being shipped to the US, the UK V5 could be sent ahead, so the importer there would have his proof of age before the car landed on US soil. Or have I missed something again? Of course, this is as long as the date on the V5 is beyond the 25 years. If not, but you think the car was built earlier, then I see the sense in getting proof of age elsewhere. However, Caterham UK are notoriously unhelpful for anything like this - they're just not interested in helping you out. But I didn't know the club could also provide proof of age, so that's almost certainly a better option than Caterham themselves. I seem to remember though, that early cars had a very simple chassis number (VIN) - say something like 'KLC4081R', and as far as I know, the only way to date it from that would be if you knew how the sequence of numbers fell for a particular period, because the letters in that style of chassis number contain no date code, they only relate to the spec of the car - kit built, long cockpit, etc. I think (not certain) that the full length VIN that always begins 'SDK.......' only started coming on stream around '92/'93, but even then sporadically, due to the nature of kit built cars and potential delays in build.

Edited December 14, 2015 by Paul D