Stats.

[norseman]

An odd question maybe, but any opinions as the the accuracy of the web site 'how many left' ?

I browsed my late 'nineties BMW model on the site & the numbers for both licenced & sorned were zero up to the last quarter of 2024, which is interesting as I've had mine for over 5 years always licenced & I'm not naïve enough to believe it's the only one

 

[carmanmemoranda]

From the site

This website is a hobby project and all statistics are provided for entertainment purposes.

From other similar places, it's all about the EXACT model type and detail, such as (old fords) l, xl, gl, gls, gt etc

 

[Mottie]

A bloke I know claims to have a rare Nissan ZX model, the only one in the U.K. that he is restoring. A mate of mine who fits windscreens tells him they have three windscreens for that model and asks if he wants to buy them. He shuts up at that point….

 

[Avocet]

It's a very good question, I think! And a Carmemoranda said, it is only as good as the DVLA's database which, in turn, is only as good as the data that was keyed into it by the registering dealer.

As a case in point, if I search for my car, and I put in "Alfa 164", I get 5 of them left. If I put in "Alfa 164 Lusso", I get 15 of them. If I put in "Alfa 164 L", I get 4 of them...

...and so on. But if they did some sort of limited edition, it could be registered as that, even though it's actually the same car. We get the same thing today with our "Sales Admin" people at work and it drives me nuts! Some will register a car as the "such-and-such long wheelbase", other's will register exactly the same car as the "such-and-such L2". Both technically correct, the but the DVLA computer can't tell that, so the data it downloads to "howmanyleft" ends up being a bit of a mess!

I just have to content myself with knowing that there are "about 2 dozen" cars registered with DVLA that are "probably the same as mine", but trim specs may differ.

 

[norseman]

It's a very good question, I think! And a Carmemoranda said, it is only as good as the DVLA's database which, in turn, is only as good as the data that was keyed into it by the registering dealer.
I just have to content myself with knowing that there are "about 2 dozen" cars registered with DVLA that are "probably the same as mine", but trim specs may differ.

I take your point regarding the vehicle's original input, for example I have a 1987 Range Rover which would have been built by Land Rover Ltd. but the car is registered as a Rover, the company that built the RR's prior to LR becoming a stand-alone company within BL in 1978.

In the case of my enquiry the exact model (523i SE auto) is listed under BMW on the HML website, but accordingly shown as non-existent
Mind you viewing the downward curve from the last quarter of 2004, when there were over 11000 listed licenced/sorned examples, I'm not altogether surprised.

 

[Avocet]

I take your point regarding the vehicle's original input, for example I have a 1987 Range Rover which would have been built by Land Rover Ltd. but the car is registered as a Rover, the company that built the RR's prior to LR becoming a stand-alone company within BL in 1978.

In the case of my enquiry the exact model (523i SE auto) is listed under BMW on the HML website, but accordingly shown as non-existent
Mind you viewing the downward curve from the last quarter of 2004, when there were over 11000 listed licenced/sorned examples, I'm not altogether surprised.

Out of curiosity, I just searched for "BMW 523" and left off the rest. This is what came up:

So it looks like there could be 944 of them, if they're the same animal? (Plus maybe another 143, if "523i SE A" is some dealer's shorthand for the "Auto")?

 

[norseman]

Your research is much appreciated, it appears there is more than one HML site of the same name & obviously not the one I have used.

Regardless of whether dealers chose to use the term auto or just A official stats are just that, so how can two sites purporting to use them be so far apart with their figures?

Thanks to all for the replies guys.