I purchased my motorcycle in April 2018 from a private seller.
I did all the normal checks, Carjam report, checked the rego on the bike etc. and all appeared fine at the time. Had them sign a contract I created agreeing everything was above board (although in more legal-like terms) which they happily agreed.
A couple of months or so after buying the bike and registering it in my name, a registration renewal letter came in the mail which was unusually cheap.
I didn't question it or pay much attention to it at the time and thought it might've been due to the recent ownership change or a balance owing on the registration (sounds stupid in hindsight now that I think about it, nor is any one in an official capacity likely to believe me, but it's the honest truth...).
I've just again received the annual renewal letter and oddly enough it was the same cheap amount ($24 or something).
This time I actually bothered to look in to it more closely and can see for some reason it is registered as Class B - Exempt. From a quick Google, the Class B - Exempt registration is for things like farm vehicles. As a sports bike, it's definitely not a farm vehicle.
From the limited previous records I have, it looks as though the bike has been registered as Class B Exempt since at least 2016. I have an old rego sticker from 2016 given to me as part of the ownership history that the previous owner has obviously fraudulently modified - they have glued on a "G" (for general use) letter over the "B" (for class B exempt) which is printed on the rego label. Unfortunately I don't have a more recent rego label, but I'd hazard a guess the same thing was done to it.
If I try to manually re-register the bike on the NZTA website, it does not let me change its registration status and will only let me renew it as Class B exempt.
I am concerned that if I contact the NZTA or visit a Post Shop, they'll try and make me backdate the registration for all of the years it has been registered incorrectly.
My aim here is to register the motorcycle legally, in its correct registration class.
So...does anyone have an experience in this area, or any wisdom to share?
Is it going to be cheaper to de-register it and pay for a new plate?
Cheers from a frustrated fellow biker...
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