07/08/2026
The Election is coming and it's Time to Tell Candidates Why You Signed the Historic & Classic Vehicle Petition.
Last year, almost 10,000 of us signed a petition calling on the Minister of Transport to change the rules affecting NZ's historic and classic vehicles. That petition was presented to the Hon Chris Bishop, who used his powers under section 152 of the Land Transport Act to introduce annual WoFs for vehicles over 40 years old, and then to abolish the six-monthly WoF requirement entirely.
That was a significant achievement, but it was only the beginning.
The NZ Federation of Motoring Clubs' Historic Vehicle Survey found that the collectible vehicle sector is worth more than $16.5 billion, comprises more than 369,000 historic and classic vehicles that are owned by over 200,000 Kiwis.
NZTA's middle name is Transport. Historic and classic vehicles are not transport vehicles. They share the same roads, but they exist for preservation, heritage and enjoyment, not transport.
Because NZTA does not recognise that distinction, it blindly applies transport fleet rules to collectible vehicles, forcing owners to abandon restorations, closing specialist businesses, and consigning countless historic vehicles to the scrapyard.
On a forum recently, we read a Kiwi collector asking whether his project car was worth restoring. The almost universal advice was: "If it's still on rego hold, restore it. If the rego has lapsed, part it out."
Why?
Because if it is on rego hold, it only has to pass a WoF. But if the rego has lapsed, a whole new set of rules applies, including VIRM 3-4, which requires a vehicle to be referred to a Specialist Repair Certifier if there are signs of repair, rust prevention, acid wash or undersealing to parts of the vehicle structure.
To NZ Minister of Transport on rules for collectible motor vehicles
