Thread: Series III SWB Soft Top Rear Seats - Advice Needed

Originally Posted by harry

Not that helps you too much, I suppose, but my 71 2a shorty is registered as a utility, the full word, but it is a station wagon. I bought it in nsw and it was a utility on the nsw papers, which was transferred to qld rego.

Yep. Funnily enough earlier in this thread it was also pointed out that soft top 4 seater Mokes are variably called UTE, Tourer and Utility depending essentially upon what State you are in and what side of bed the person keying the information into the computer got out of when (s)he got out of bed that morning.

The net conclusion thus far is there is no logic to any of this, none of it is supported by law or formal documentation and that WA DoT hasn't got a clue but seems to have being as obstructive as possible in its mission statement.

Apparantly though my latest email has now been escalated... right back to the department where I started. Hurrah! Full circle!

I will see if on Monday my issue has been moved up a pay grade or if I am actually back to the person who had not a clue 3 weeks ago.

Sounds to me as if it is about time to talk to your local member - I doubt if he/she will even ask for your citizenship status, just your address, and even if it does arise, all you have to do is to point out that the whole question arises because you are an immigrant (seeking citizenship).

John

Originally Posted by JDNSW

Sounds to me as if it is about time to talk to your local member - I doubt if he/she will even ask for your citizenship status, just your address, and even if it does arise, all you have to do is to point out that the whole question arises because you are an immigrant (seeking citizenship).

John

I think I will prod them on Monday to remind them to look at the emails and then follow up again on Wed.

This is one of these situations where I genuinely don't mind being proved wrong (in fact it would probably be equally helpful to the Land Rover community's collective understanding of these matters if I was), however I do want to be proved wrong (or right) by coherent reference to documentation. I don't think that should take someone who works in this area more than a couple of hours to put together.

After that I think that your suggestion is probably the best way forward.

Hi Guys

I was just writing an email to WA DoT to give them my Monday morning poke when I came across a reference from NSW DoT - Vehicle Shape Codes Guide.

http://www.rms.nsw.gov.au/documents/...odes-guide.pdf

It is pretty clear that, in NSW at least, my soft top Series III would be considered a Convertible, not a UTE. And by implication the vehicle could quite happily have 6 seats with two bench seats in the back.

So basically either WA has significantly different legislation to NSW or WA DoT have screwed up. Based on current performance I am pretty certain which of these scenarios apply.

Also interestingly the document contains this statement at the top:

----------------------------------
Some of the risks associated with having an incorrect shape code entered are as follows:
?
an incorrectly registered vehicle could cost the customer more money in registration;
?
the vehicle could be defected or breached if it
is unsafe and not correctly registered; and
?
there may be insurance and claim issues for a customer if the vehicle was incorrectly registered

---------------------------------

So if it transpires that WA DoT have screwed up (which it seems pretty likely they have), they have also opened the possibility that my soft top could be defected and, if I had an accident, my insurance company will likely use it as a loophole to avoid payment.

Which is nice.

So I sent them the email as per the thumbnail below. I am pretty certain that they will just completely ignore that one as well though.... They seem to regard themselves as being absolutely unaccountable.

Originally Posted by Alistair

Apparently though my latest email has now been escalated... right back to the department where I started. Hurrah! Full circle!

I will see if on Monday my issue has been moved up a pay grade or if I am actually back to the person who had not a clue 3 weeks ago.

I got very brief response to my Monday morning email in the post below. I guess that this represents an improvement as at the moment only about 50% of correspondence is being acknowledged.

It transpires that the same office who made what I contend was the wrong decision in the first place is indeed looking at my issue again, but not a higher level . And the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting a different outcome...

So I have now sent them a chivying email and copied it to the WA Minister for Transport.

Not holding my breath.

Hi guys

Still no response from Land Rover Australia in respect of my email 2 weeks ago about whether the new Evoque convertible is going to be registered in Australia as a Utility/UTE or a Convertible/CON.

So I gave up and rang my local dealer.

He tells me that the car is going to be a Convertible/CON. Which, as a vehicle without a roof (and with a canvas soft top), does kind of make sense.

So now we have 2 Land Rovers, both 4x4 and both built in the same factory as soft tops with rear seats. They are separated in age by 35 years. Australian DoTs (or WA DoT at any rate) hold that one is obviously a Convertible because it is a car without a roof, whilst the other is obviously a UTE because?

I then rang the local Jeep dealer and asked him if he could tell me how the current Jeep Wrangler soft top is categorised. The answer "Convertible"... So not UTE? (sounding slightly incredulous) "No. Of course not. Why would it be?" Couldn't have put it better myself.

So anyone knowing why the Jeep Wrangler soft top and the Range Rover soft top are Convertibles wheras a Land Rover soft top is "a UTE", please send your answers on a postcard to WA DoT care of the Technical Policy Services section.

Series 3 SWB soft top with rear seats:
Nick's 1975 Series 3 SWB

Originally Posted by Mick_Marsh

Series 3 SWB soft top with rear seats:
Nick's 1975 Series 3 SWB

Yey!

We've got one!

I will PM and see what he has to say about it in terms of history and registration. The only issue will be if it turns out to not be registered as a 6 seater or was originally a hard top and no-one mentioned to DoT that it is now a soft top...

Many thanks for pointing this one out.