Steven rhodes
Member
How did you get on with comfort as they are saying it must say motorcaravan?
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Insurance
- Thread starter Katie
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Steven rhodes
Member
sorry not my intention I've spoke to three different advisors now and everyone said it's void and they won't pay out ! What she did say is they give you 8 weeks to change it ,now I spoke to DVLA who said the dealers are giving them the wrong info ie mpg,so I was told contact the dealer who sold and you need a letter from them and send back the log book and they will send me a new one ,I spoke to said dealer and they have posted me a letter so it seems I'll have to do that as the other way is a lot more effort photos ect ect
BabaJen
Active Member
Don't panic. If it says MPV then it is registered as a car, M1, and not a van, N1. In the early days of the VW California a few came through with category N1 and were subject to special restrictions. You can see vehicle category as item J on the V5 and it should say M1.
Body type on my V5 is "Motor Caravan". "MPV" is a people carrier which indicates a totally different use to a Motor Caravan which is seen by specialist brokers such as Comfort as a low use leisure vehicle, hence the ability to offer a competitive premium.
Body type on my V5 is "Motor Caravan". "MPV" is a people carrier which indicates a totally different use to a Motor Caravan which is seen by specialist brokers such as Comfort as a low use leisure vehicle, hence the ability to offer a competitive premium.
GeorgeG
Active Member
Hi BabaJen, my V5 list the vehicle category as M1. What is the signicance of this? BTW, I should know because about 12 years ago I was the first owner to challenge the DVLA over their listing of the California as a car (or similar) for the purposes of emissions, which meant it would have been dragged into the £500 a year road tax category. I went through Exeter DVLA and the they re-listed it as PLG at the lower VED of about £260. I posted details of my case on the Facebook forum and many owners followed suit.
I was surprised when I was looking at a new California, before deciding to buy an MP, that it was now categorised in relation to its emissions, so something must have changed in the interim.
GeorgeG
Active Member
You posted the above while I was writing my post! I must be getting senile because I don’t remember all the details from 12 years ago. So are you saying that if it is registered as an MPV (which it is) I could face difficulties getting insurance with a specialist insurer? The California was in a similar situation back in 2007 and I had no trouble then insuring with Saga, although it was expensive.
Steven rhodes
Member
They honour your existing policy george which is not what i was told three times by different advisers now they have said to all people with comfort they will honour it as apparently this has only come to light in the last seven day s,but for any new policies must say motorcaravan so when your policy comes up for renewal you would need it to be changed
GeorgeG
Active Member
I Steven, that’s really useful. You will see in my reply to BabaJen that I had a similar experience with an earlier California. What will the letter from the dealer say? That it’s a Motor Caravan? Also, which dealer are you using?
Many thanks
mptripsaway
Active Member
Hi, I didnt get anywhere with comfort so I have stayed with LV on a multi car policy and I also have a three year "return to invoice" GAP policy on the MP.
Steven rhodes
Member
Yes it should say that it's a motorcaravan id like to use comfort as they were a lot cheaper ,the dealer I'm using is Cheshire oaks Chester thansk
Steven rhodes
Member
Ok thanks
GeorgeG
Active Member
Just spoken to my supplying dealer - Mercedes Southampton - about the MPV classification. They called me back after they had spoken to the Product Support Team at Mercedes UK hq. Mercedes advised they were unaware of this issue and it had never been raised with them before. As far as they are concerned, motor insurers should be well aware that the Marco Polo is a “Motor Caravan” and whatever the V5 says is of no great consequence. It is a conversion of a V-Class and not a Vito, so they are technically correct. However, if insurers are refusing to insure the MP as a Motor Caravan precisely because it’s classified as an MPV, then it clearly is a problem.
I’m going to email Mercedes to see where we go from here.
I’m going to email Mercedes to see where we go from here.
Steven rhodes
Member
Intresting ,I believe confusion on insurance company's part is that the marco polo has two variants and the (mpv) on the v5 is for the horizon ours should be motorcaravan which in my case halfs the insurance cost
BabaJen
Active Member
I just love it. The arrogance of MB dealers is almost climbing to the same lofty heights as some VW dealers.
"We have sold you a motor caravan. We have described the body as an MPV, or to most people, a people carrier. Simply not a problem old chum, insurance companies should surely know better and insure you as they would a motor caravan".
Probably not a problem to most insurance companies. They will just assume it is a car, in regular use, Sainsbury's, school run, commute to work etc, and charge you the going rate for a car that indulges in all the hazards of that sort of driving. When Aviva tried to insure me they quoted a couple of hundred quid more than Comfort, on the grounds that they leave insurance for leisure vehicles to specialist brokers but would happily insure my camper as a car.
Comfort are old school. They assume the leisure vehicle spends most of it's time in the drive where it is lovingly polished, packed and repacked and any bird going anywhere near it to crap would be blasted to smithereens with the same old blunderbuss that great-great grandpa Jack used at Waterloo. Low mileage, gentle mileage, pottering around on nice trips to camp sites, and the mileage allowances reflect that. I have to insure for business use as my mileage is over 15k a year, but even then it's about £350 a year.
The simple answer would of course have the vehicle classed as a motor caravan, but on the VW forum just go and read the reams of threads where Beach owners don't want that because they can use stuff like Eurotunnel cheaper if they call it something else.
Horses on roundabouts and swings on courses I think.
Steven rhodes
Member
Nice post I like it , could you enlighten me as to what the differences might be as I'm a complete novice on the subject of pro and cons on classification that would be really helpful to me ? Thanks in advance
Epigram
Active Member
If it helps anyone, the Go Compare comparison site allows specific Identification of Mercedes Marco Polo from the pulldown menus so they are clearly familiar with the vehicle model. It brings up a good selection of insurers at reasonable prices bearing in mind the value of the vehicle. I’m not sure how these compare with specialist insurers but many insurers ask for annual mileage and amend quotes accordingly.
We usually use the ferry for travelling to the continent where, for campervans the size of the MP, dimensions rather than vehicle classification appear to influence the ticket price.
Vehicle classification is a minefield of inconsitencies;
I recently made enquiries in France about buying a 4WD VW Beech which is not available in the UK. The cheaper beach attracts more tax than the more expensive 4WD California because it is not classified as a motorhome in France. As a result they end up at the virtually same purchase price after tax.
BTW, the French VW dealer was extremely helpful and not at all haughty, as we went through the subtleties of the specifications. There are still some good dealers around!
We usually use the ferry for travelling to the continent where, for campervans the size of the MP, dimensions rather than vehicle classification appear to influence the ticket price.
Vehicle classification is a minefield of inconsitencies;
I recently made enquiries in France about buying a 4WD VW Beech which is not available in the UK. The cheaper beach attracts more tax than the more expensive 4WD California because it is not classified as a motorhome in France. As a result they end up at the virtually same purchase price after tax.
BTW, the French VW dealer was extremely helpful and not at all haughty, as we went through the subtleties of the specifications. There are still some good dealers around!
GeorgeG
Active Member
Very useful, thanks. I’ve emailed Mercedes and will let everyone know what they say and if they intend to do anything about it.
BabaJen
Active Member
@Steven I would also consider myself novice. I picked up a camper, described as a motor caravan, used as one and I really do not want the hassle of trying to kid someone that it is anything but.
I'm not sure of all the intricacies, it goes over my head, but apparently cars under 2.1m height can travel cheaper than motorhomes, which to people like eurotunnel a camper is. Ferries also apparently differentiate.
I don't really care. I just buy a virtual-carnet of 10 eurotunnel one-way trips and it costs me only £53 anyway, @20 more per trip if I travel peak. When it comes to ferries I book through the Caravan Club who always seem to find amazing deals.
I bought a leisure vehicle, the last thing that I want to do is stress over my leisure
Method7
Active Member
I’m not so sure about that, the California comes in two shapes where only the Ocean will qualify as a motor caravan.
This motor caravan class must also reduce your road tax (when we eventually get off the hook)?
I bet it’s just down to MB not being bothered with the admin when they allocate vehicles for conversion. It’s rather typical in all this confusion I might see if I can get MB to reclassify my Horizon.
Brian Drought
Member
Be careful what you wish for. Classification as an N1, i.e. Van would reduce your speed limit by 10mph. 50 on single carriageways, 60 on dual carriageways (still 70 on Mways...)
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Paul Merritt
New Member
Collected my replacement MP last Saturday 30th March, insured with Comfort. Got the V5 in the post today registered as MPV, so firstly called the dealer and told them it should have been registered as a Motor Caravan, the reply was that DVLA had auto filled form so not their problem. Secondly called DVLA who were very helpful and checked the electronic registration that the dealer had filled in and con firmed that the dealer had filled in MPV, so dealer needed to return the V5 along with a letter to confirm it should be registered as a Motor Caravan. Third call was back to the dealer who was a bit put out after I passed on the DVLA information. Fourth call to Comfort who were very helpful and said as long as it it was in process of being altered they would keep the insurance valid.