BOVAG Dutch Car Restorers department, FEHAC and KNAC held the Voluntary Classic Inspection (VKI) on 12 January during the preview day of the InterClassics Maastricht. This inspection is intended for classic cars aged 50 and older, which have been exempt from the APK obligation since the beginning of 2021.
At the beginning of 2021, cars aged 50 and older will be exempt from the MOT. Some of the classic owners applauded this, while others viewed this measure with mixed feelings. Anyone who values an independent inspection or inspection of his or her classic can now go to certified companies for the Voluntary Classic Inspection. This initiative was set up by, among others, BOVAG, FEHAC and KNAC.
Safety, environment and conservation
At the Voluntary Classic Inspection, an inspector looks at safety and the environment, but also at points of interest that are important for the preservation of the classic. After an inspection, the owner receives an inspection report on the status of the classic car. If the car meets all safety and environmental requirements, the car will receive an inspection sticker with the classic curl, which is strongly reminiscent of the historic curl of Safe Traffic Netherlands. According to the initiators, the inspection report can serve as a starting point for a maintenance or restoration plan. The classic inspection can also be used as an extra check upon purchase. In that case, an inspector checks all vital and important points of the new acquisition, and the new owner has an indication of the quality of his or her purchase.
Checklist
Stefan Hulman, FEHAC: “To support classic car owners in keeping their classic car in excellent condition, BOVAG Dutch Car Restorers, FEHAC and KNAC have jointly set up the Voluntary Classic Inspectorate. After all: not every classic owner is equally technically versed. The checklist for this inspection is based on the existing MOT for classic vehicles.”
Opinions Ten Broeke (BOVAG) and Staal (KNAC)
The general chairman of BOVAG, Han ten Broeke, thinks it is right that his club draws attention to cars with low emissions. At the same time, he says: “Perhaps we pay too little attention to the beauty of cars. That is why it is good that there is now this Voluntary Classic Inspection, to keep our beautiful mobile heritage in excellent condition.” Peter Staal, chairman of the KNAC, adds. “Especially classic cars need regular maintenance, also to detect problems that are not immediately visible. It prevents worries, it extends the life of your classic car and it is important for road safety and the environment.”
More information
The Voluntary Classic Inspectorate is an initiative of the Voluntary Classic Inspectorate Foundation, in which BOVAG Dutch Car Restorers, FEHAC and KNAC have a seat. Read more information on the website. Here you will also find an overview of the companies certified so far and companies that will soon be certified. This list will continue to be expanded. Companies that carry out the VKI are certified. They are then regularly checked by Aboma to guarantee the quality of the Voluntary Classic Inspection.
In addition to certified garages, clubs are also certified for this VKI. These often know the weak points of their “club cars” even more than the garages. I don't quite understand that according to the readers above the FEHAC supports commercial garages. A. is it Voluntary, that's what the V of VKI stands for and B. de Fehac has always insisted on safety and advised members to have everything checked first if they want to start driving at the beginning of the season. By involving Bovag and Knac in this, the whole thing is only presented more broadly.
I live in the Philippines just see it every year https://www.volvokv.nl/forum/algemene-discussies/31630-apk-filippijnen
m.vr.gr.
John Gers
Strange, the Fehac front has lobbied for the abolition of the MOT for cars over 50 years old and now this.
As far as I am concerned, the MOT obligation should never have been abolished, old-timers also participate in traffic and not every old-timer owner is also an enthusiast who does everything to keep it technically tip top.
And Raymond is the only one who is really right.
Since man is by nature lazy and easygoing….
You are ultimately responsible for yourself!
What should be the purpose of an MOT for cars older than 50 years?
Pollution? They do anyway (but there are relatively few of those old cars, so in the grand scheme of things it's negligible.
Safety? Any idea how many accidents happen with old cars? Very little.
Apk added nothing.
By the way apk adds little anyway, but that's another story.
Dear Henk,
One could have opted to keep the MOT for cars older than 50 years, but with lighter requirements, geared solely to road safety.
The General Periodic Inspection does add something, I can still remember the Tros program Kieskeurig with the (in the eyes of today) great section "the wreck of the road". We have lost those excesses since the introduction of the MOT.
But what I've always had my doubts about with 'our' MOT system is that the person who inspects my car can also earn from it, independence is hard to find.
I lived in die Heimat for several years and the Hauptuntersuchung (HU) is independent there. You can have it inspected at a garage, but the inspector who passes by is always from, for example, the TüV or Dekra. Or you go to an inspection station of these authorities themselves.
In France also independent Contrôle Techique (=CT=MOT inspection)
And if you want to see the usefulness of an APK, https://www.youtube.com/@JustRolledIn/videos
'The wreck of the road' was of course a very nice section, but absolutely not representative of even the smallest part of the then Dutch fleet. Even then, it was very rare for accidents to be caused by a technical defect. The former Minister of Transport, Public Works and Water Management who introduced the apk, Mrs. Neelie Smit-Kroes (then) herself admitted that the apk was introduced to maintain the garage companies and not so much because of possible road safety.
The classic cars are generally well cared for, they are rarely driven and the number of accidents with them due to technical defects is nil.
Setting up a complete MOT system for it is actually capital destruction.
I am happy with the MOT exemption for my classics.
In addition to 2 MOT cars from 1988, for which I have to pay the full road tax (suspended in turn), I still have 3 classic cars from before 1961 in a garage, which are technically kept 100% in order by specialists, but for which I do the bodywork restoration myself to the extent that money is available. This sometimes takes 10 years, with the cars only being moved from the garage to the specialist, sometimes with a 2-year break, 1 classic has had its last mandatory MOT in 2009, and has driven less than 1200 km since then.
In this way it is safe for me to keep this hobby.
If there were to be a mandatory MOT for cars before 1960, then the fun would be over for me and my classics would all disappear abroad.
Recently I replaced tires that were 13 years old, with less than 1000 km, just for safety. I think it is nonsense that cars of about 70 years old without proper maintenance are kicked off in the daily commute.
One of the inspection points is the carbon dioxide or carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions.
What a blunder! Here, of course, coal vapor (CO) or carbon monoxide is meant. It is better to determine the lambda, to know whether the exhaust gases are still acceptable.
With cars of 50 years and older, the ratio sometimes tends to be richer than is currently permitted, because otherwise the engine will not run properly.
That was already an issue at the beginning of the MOT, so that before signing off the car was put on lean so that it was approved, after which the adjusting screw was given another stroke to run smoothly.
Ergo, determining the mixing ratio is not that easy and certainly not perfect.
Why not state what such a VKI costs
Totally agree. I own 5 vintage cars
and they are rarely used. The APK inspection always helped me by having a professional look over my shoulder.
I can still use the current APK, but the car cannot be rejected. So I continue to use professionals who can tell me whether my car is safe for little money.
what's wrong with the classic apk ?
it is true that it is no longer obligatory, but what are you paying attention to?….
I do understand that the Bovag is launching and supporting this revenue model for garage owners. But I don't understand why the Fehac and the Knac get involved in this commercial business. Such a voluntary inspection is nice, but is this the stepping stone to something mandatory?
And if you want to have your classic car inspected, that is of course already possible.
As far as I am concerned, the organizations could have spent their time and money more usefully, for example on retaining the possibility of continuing to drive classics in the further future.
Totally agree Hank
Completely agree Now it seems that the Fehac will help commercial agencies to earn money on the backs of old-timer enthusiasts. It could just be that because of this unfortunate plan and experiment, the insurance companies will demand business again. which the Fehac initially wanted to avoid. If someone wants to have their 50-year-older car technically inspected by an authority because you do not have enough technical knowledge yourself, you simply go TO AN MOT GARAGE FROM OWN INITIATIVE For us, with the example of a car mechanic training, I do not see that an inspection does more for me.
Commercial and regulatory. Woke, rascals and usually even A technical.
I mostly agree with your last qualification.
A-technical and therefore think that everyone is a-technical.
Woke and deugers are known to me as guiding words that are used by extreme right-wing figures from the margins.
I'm quite technical I might say.
Have my own E company and enough knowledge of technology to save my ass without the help of others.
I therefore do not have to have my vehicles inspected for safety by others as a former MOT inspector.
This lady can do that herself.
Those three old-timers or not don't give the problem. (1965, 1970 and 2001)
And the other two (2006 and 2010) I just take to the garage because I don't take the time for that.