Converting a van to a car

demac

Hey,
I'm considering converting a 02 Golf from a van into a 3 door car and go the legal route to have it privately taxed and insured. I understand the class of veichle would be changing from commerical to private.
Does anyone know the costs on doing this ?

De Hipster

I'd think the work, hassle & cost might be extreme. Why not just buy a golf car?

knifey_spoonie

you would have to re-register the golf and pay vrt which would be 25% of the recomended market value of the car it is changed to you will slso have to pay for a conversion you would be better to sell it on as car vans are in demand, then buy the 3DR golf

bazz26

demac wrote:

Hey,
I'm considering converting a 02 Golf from a van into a 3 door car and go the legal route to have it privately taxed and insured. I understand the class of veichle would be changing from commerical to private.
Does anyone know the costs on doing this ?

Another thing to take into account is the insurance factor. Insurance companies don't like these type conversions and hence it might end up costing you more through your premium than a standard 3 dr Golf would.

Probably more hassel than it is worth. It might be better to trade the Golf van in for a similar year 3dr Golf car. Or sell the Golf van privately and then buy a 3dr Golf.

bazz26

knife_fighter wrote:

you would have to re-register the golf and pay vrt which would be 25% of the recomended market value of the car it is changed to you will slso have to pay for a conversion you would be better to sell it on as car vans are in demand, then buy the 3DR golf

Also isn't there the issue of VAT? The van probably had VAT amount claimed back if it was registered as a comercial vehicle? Would this have to be paid also?

Squirrel

Also fitting seats in the rear mechanics usually won't touch fitting seatbelts because they can be sued after an accident, it'd be easier to sell the van and buy a car

Con9903

The actual conversion process is quite easy as long as you have the equipment and you are competent enough to use them properly. But like everyone said the legal side of things very complicated and alot of hassle. It's not like 20 years ago where you could throw 2 windows and a seat in a van and get away with it.

demac

Hi all,

Thanks for the feedback. This Golf was previously a 3 door car prior to being registered so I'm pretty sure there should be all the holes in the right places for bolting in the seats and safety belts. How this is proved to the insurance companies might be another story. Don't ask me why the car was converted into a van. It's my brothers company veihicle and will be sold off on it's 3rd birthday, hopefully at the right price

I guess the motor tax office might have some information on this for me.

I'll keep ye posted anyway.

Rodney Trotter

demac wrote:

Hi all,

Thanks for the feedback. This Golf was previously a 3 door car prior to being registered so I'm pretty sure there should be all the holes in the right places for bolting in the seats and safety belts..............................

All car derived vans, and jeep derived vans, were passenger vehicles before being converted to vans. (SOme manufacturers import vans now, to save on the expense).

The procedure for conversion is to cut the seat anchors out, to prevent seats being popped back in, (therefore you have to weld new seat anchors into the car, if you want to convert back) and destroy the seats and windows that are taken out. TOYOTA Ireland were cutting up and breaking up to €3m worth of seats and windows because of this instruction from Revenue.

The final instruction was for the rear floor area, behind the driver, to be made into a flat cargo area, i.e. cover the area that was the rear seat and footwell with a flat floor.

In short, if you get the van, trade it for a car. Conversion would be too expensive, and you will have a car that is worth nothing. Would you buy a van that has been converted to a car? I wouldn't, especially given vans get driven much harder than cars.