Thank you for signing the NZ Vintage & Special-interest Collectibles (VSC) Committee’s petition, https://www.change.org/De-RegNZTA, to ask NZTA to change the rules on VIN and WOF for collectible vehicles.
It’s now time for the next step, having your say.
The Minister of Transport is asking for submissions on WOF frequency for 40+ year-old collectible vehicles. Deadline 5 p.m. on 4 April 2025. This is your one chance to have a say when they are listening. To make a submission, email it to rules@nzta.govt.nz before Friday 4 April 5 pm.
Why such a limited change?
It’s a longer story, which I will explain below. But for now, it is of the utmost importance that all 8,000+ of you who signed the petition not only make a personal submission to rules@nzta.govt.nz but also write the Minister to thank him for kickstarting this policy change and to enlighten him as to why the change needs to be expanded to cover VIN inspections and broader exemptions for WOF on all collectibles, not just 40+
As someone commented on NZTA and collectibles “NZTA regulating historic and vintage collectible cars is like the Racing Commission regulating Pony Club retired thoroughbreds.”
To explain how it works, there are two types of rule changes: regulatory, driven by NZTA and policy, driven by the Minister of Transport (Hon Chris Bishop). This one is a policy change. The Minister is one of the good guys, he wants to see the change go through. Your task is to explain why more is needed than just tweaking WOF for 40+.
This is done by making a formal NZTA submission to rules@nzta.govt.nz and then a personal email to the Minister that captures his attention and support.
After introducing yourself and saying how you want the rules changed, tell your story and why the Minister would want to help you. Policy changes are political, and there are over 200,000 vehicle collectors who vote – that’s more than all the votes NZ First won in the last election. Copy the Ministers and your local MP.
To learn more, especially on the big picture to help write an effective submission, go to our web page specifically set up for this consultation: https://vsc.nz
BACKGROUND
It’s funny how things work out. 18 months ago, when a repair certifier told me it would cost $15,000 to certify my freshly-restored, 55-year-old car for first VIN – because the restoration was evidence of repair, thus triggering Rule 3-4 (A vehicle must be referred to a specialist repair certifier if signs of repair, rust prevention, acid wash or under-sealing to any part of the vehicle structure are evident) – Of course there were signs of repair, it had just been the subject of a proper restoration left in primer so the inspection could see the quality of work!
It annoyed me. I don’t want to spend 25% of the value of the car on a paper that does nothing for safety, much less have to blast off all the finish and cut holes for inspection.
Instead, I called together a small group; we formed the VSC committee and put together a change.org petition on VIN and WOF for collectible cars (AKA classic, vintage, historic, special interest etc). We expected perhaps a few hundred signatures, but our tech-savvy committee secretary, Ella, promoted it on Facebook, and the first day over 1,000 signed. 450 wrote comments that show how out of touch NZTA is.
Hi, I am Claude Lewenz, the VSC committee chair. Soon after the petition went viral, Garry Jackson, President of the NZ Federation of Motoring Clubs Inc reached out to me. We met several times. Before that, our little committee had never heard of the Federation, but it turns out they have been working for a while with NZTA and the Minister for Transport to get fit-for-purpose rules for collectibles.
To open the Minister's door to get to the consultation stage, they proposed changing WOF for 40+ year old cars & motorbikes from 6-month to annual. As a change on its own, we feel it misses the mark, but it opened the door to submissions where today you can tell the Minister and NZTA what really needs to happen. It will only happen if you and all of us make personal submissions.
THE ASK
Our petition asks more than changing 40+ to annual WOF:
- DEFINE: Like overseas, first define collectibles as a separate class of vehicle. Once defined, make fit-for-purpose rules that works with the historic and speciality clubs, not general-transport inspectors for guidance.
- VIN: Drop the first-import VIN on collectibles. It kills the industry and is not necessary. No re-VIN on lapsed registration of collectibles. It serves no purpose.
- WOF: Drop all 6-month WOF, annual to 30 years, 5-year to 40 and no WOF over 40. Use WOF for transport vehicles not collectibles.
- COLLABORATE: NZTA to work with specialist clubs for rules on modified vehicles such as hot rods.
WHY
The VSC believes the proper role of government regulation is to protect people and property. Motor vehicles used for transport need VIN/WOF regulation, as crash statistics and insurance premiums show. Older motor vehicles used as collectibles do not need VIN/WOF inspectors. NZ and global stats show their owners drive them less, keep them in good condition and have very low incidence of crash or injury. Further, VIN/WOF inspectors are neither trained nor qualified to inspect collectibles. For collectibles VIN/WOF is a rort. It’s like the Ministry for Racing making rules for Pony Club riders who adopt retired thoroughbred racehorses.
In VSC’s view, most regulation is shaped after lobbying. The VIN regime became toxic for collectibles after cowboy-used-car importers bought flood-damaged cars in Japan and sold them in NZ, giving the used car industry a bad name. The WOF regime is designed for dealers to sell more cars – in our view, it’s market manipulation not safety. Why a three-year no WOF on new cars that then fail on bald tyres and bad suspension? Because when the first WOF comes due, the owner does not drive into the service department, they walk over to the showroom and trade it in, buying a new car. Three-year WOF sells more new cars to the high end of the market. Why as of 2013, did all cars made before 2000 require a 6-month WOF? Because 10-15 years is about the limit a used car dealer wants to sell. After that they are privately listed on TradeMe. By adding a 6-month WOF on last-century cars, used-car dealers make more sales.
WHAT
Last year, the Federation of Motoring Clubs commissioned a study that found our collectible economy has a $16.5 billion footprint. We NZ collectors own over 369,000 vintage and special interest vehicles. So why does NZTA fail to make rules fit-for-purpose regs? Because we don’t pay lobbyists. We lack a unified voice. There are over 200,000 of us, but we don’t have a spokesperson in Parliament or NZTA.
This consultation is our one chance. This message goes out to all 8,000 plus who signed the petition. If we all write personal submissions, the Minister and NZTA may finally hear us.
The petition will stay open so we can use its bulk email function to keep everyone who signs informed. Ask every collector you know to sign it and write comments explaining why they signed. Let's keep growing the petition numbers.
HOW
If you don’t know how to best write a submission, see https://vsc.nz/how-to-write-a-submission/ for some hints. Basically, after stating who you are and what you want changed, grab the attention of the officials by telling your story.
Politicians and media love the personal story; the human touch. Historic preservation and enjoyment of collectible vehicles is a good-news story that resonates. Did you know that Kiwis own more cars per capita than any other country? We love cars, yet NZTA acts as if classic and historic car collectors don’t exist. NZTA does transport, not historical preservation.
In telling your story, it’s about love, not money. It’s a passion not a vocation. It’s a virtue, not a vice. It’s fun and brings people joy. It also is a huge contributor to the national economy, but unlike car dealers, it is not an industry, which is why we don’t have a voice.
Tell them why you love your collectible car or motorbike. Include photos especially pics showing friends and family gathered around your collectible. Tell about how social the collectible hobby is, how it makes friends and inspires young people. Tell how restoring and maintaining your collectible helps small businesses in NZ. Tell them about the joy of a barn find (to see a great barn-find story, see Richard Hammond on the greatest barn find of all times: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZWCTmyOFKik the first Land Rover).
But also tell them how out of touch NZTA rules are. You want to spend your discretionary money on parts and labour that makes your collectibles better, or on another barn find you found somewhere in the northern hemisphere, not on inspectors who have no clue but hold the NZTA-mandated ticket you need to drive your collectible on the road.
NZTA rules are part of the problem, not part of the solution. We need to change that.
VSC will submit the 8,000 + signature petition and the 450+ comments, but be assured, while it impresses, it will be the 8,000+ of you (and all your friends and fellow collectors who have not signed) sending in personal submissions before the 4 April deadline that will drive the message home.
And once that is done, email your elected officials and remind them as a voter, this issue is important to you.
CONTACTS:
Chris Bishop – Minister for Transport
chris.bishop@parliament.govt.nz
David Seymour – Minister for Regulation
david.seymour@parliament.govt.nz
Simon Bridges – Chair NZTA
simon.bridges@nzta.govt.nz
Your local M.P. (see https://www.parliament.nz/media/11568/member-contact-details-as-at-29-january-2025.pdf to find your MP)
To read the NZTA explanation, go to https://www.nzta.govt.nz/assets/consultation/vehicle-standards-compliance-amendment/Vehicle-Standards-Compliance-Amendment-2025-Overview-for-consultation.pdf
Thanks for your support,
Claude Lewenz, Chair
Vintage & Special-interest Collectibles Committee
Email: vscnz2025@gmail.com
Web: https://vsc.nz
Petition: https://www.change.org/De-RegNZTA