Vehicle Reg Cert is Wrong

overshoot

So bought a car last year and admittedly missed this at the time, its a standard golf hatchback but the Registration (RF101) Cert says estate. Its on the cert since the car was first registered back in 2015 so presumably a checkbox mistake on the original form.

I assume this is best fixed as if i ever have an accident its a way out for the insurance company. Is it the RF111 Change in Particulars form and into the motor tax office? Dont see something more appropriate for correction over change

User1998

This is fairly common. Not really an issue as far as I know. Is it a Golf?

overshoot

Yep Golf. Have today off to do a few things so thinking Id get it taken care of quickly!

Arnout

A lot of car manufacturers (used to?) register their cars as estate instead of hatchback, because of the larger footprint an estate typically has. That way it is (was?) easier to get a good energy rating (I don't think it applies anymore these days, it's all about CO2, but then again it might be different in other parts of the world).

It's of course a very grey area when a hatchback becomes an estate or vice versa, as they both have four doors and, well, a hatch at the back. It's just that the distance between the hatch and the doors varies.

Along the same lines you'll see even small cars registered as MPV. Again: the design is the same, the dimensions differ.

overshoot

Volkswagen fudging energy ratings? Never!

Ok well maybe its best left so. Was assuming it was a dealer error but sounds like its likely just coming from Volkswagen

Realise estate to hatchback is fairly minor but when filling out insurance and clocking it, couldnt help thinking the joys of something happened!

Arnout

Oh it's certainly not just Volkswagen.

This Kia is an MPV: https://www.flickr.com/photos/padicha/17305325538

Don't believe me? Just look it up here https://ovi.rdw.nl/ (this is the official database of Dutch vehicle registrations, which as you can see makes a lot of details public)

Enter GB001B in the yellow box and hit the button next to it, it's all in Dutch but the second line, carrosserietype, is quite self explanatory. If you Google some more cars with a Dutch license plate (use the word "kenteken" in your search, that's the Dutch word for registration number), you can also look them up on that website and be amazed. You want to know about a Golf, I found an ad here: https://www.proveiling.nl/Volkswagen-Golf-12-TSI-Business-Edition-R-Connected-Benzine-Bj-2015-Kenteken-RX-783-B/2145574/detail , and sure enough RX783B is a "stationwagen" (Anglo-Dutch for estate).

R.O.R

All golfs have been registered as estate's for quite some time. It's not a dealer error, may be something not quite correct between VW Ireland and Revenue, but it actually looks like it's an EU thing.

I dug out the VRT summary for a Golf we got registered towards the end of March and that's down as a Station Wagon, against the EU Bodywork section. Googling EU Bodywork comes up with the following

EU Category Body Work Code Description

M1 AA Saloon

M1 AB Hatchback Saloon

M1 AC Station wagon

M1 AD Coupé

M1 AE Convertible

M1 AF Multi-purpose vehicle

M2, M3 CA Single deck

M2, M3 CB Double deck

M2, M3 CC Articulated single deck

M2, M3 CD Articulated double deck

M2, M3 CE Low-floor single deck

M2, M3 CF Low-floor double deck

M2, M3 CG Articulated low-floor single deck

M2, M3 CH Articulated low-floor double deck

N BA Lorry

N BB Van Lorry

I suppose AB Hatchback Saloon might work better, but that's a silly description anyway.