Moving house with a SORN car

jojonic

Hi,

We're on the move and will need to bring my other half's BMW with us, which is currently off the road and SORN with no tax or MOT.

My question is, how do we move the car 200 miles legally? Can we tow it on a dolly, or does 'off road' have to mean all 4 tyres? Can we trailer it? How do we know if we are exceeding the maximum towing weight if we are towing with a 'normal' car?

Any advice would be gratefully received as its about as clear as mud on the DVLA site.

LincolnshireYokel

You either have to trailer it or tax, test and insure it. I dont think you can tow it if it is capable of self propelling.

BobQ

Put it on a trailer and tell the DVLA when you move it.

rxbren

its a grey area where there is nothing in print so to speak

basically if you tow a car with a dolly it is treated as a trailer, a dolly can only be used to recover to a safe haven so 200 miles is too far, also if the vehicle weight is more than 750kg it would need to be "braked" if a dolly has brakes it still does NOT count as a braked vehicle as the rear car wheels will not be so would be illegal to use

there are dollies/a frames that can apply the brakes on the towed car but they are expensive and the car being towed has to be modified for it to work

but that all applies to vehicles that are t&t as its sorn none of the wheels should touch the ground

to be safe the only thing you can do is trailer it or get it moved by a recovery truck

towing depends on a few things:
do you have a trailer license?
weight of towing vehicle and towing capacity
weight of bmw
trailer (needs to be braked) weight capacity
experiance

if by "normal" car you mean hatchback? then no trailer and bmw will be more than the weight of the towing vehicle you will need something transit size or 4x4

200 miles is a bit much if you have never towed a car before so you will be better off getting quotes to have it trailered, transported or recovered for you

jojonic

Thanks very much for your helpful replies. Strangely I seem to have a trailer license but my partner doesnt? Did they change the rules at some point? If we're going on the pics on the back of the card, I seem to have every combination of vehicles up to and including a large transit pulling a caravan!

I agree 200 miles is fairly ambitious for people who have never done any towing, and appreciate the advice on the dolly etc. We'll get some quotes (Im trying shiply first!) but if anyone has any recommendations that would be grand.

If recovery is expensive then there is always the option of testing and taxing it... no idea what it needs for the MOT but was in daily use until 5 months ago. :cool:

Norman_Castle

If recovery is expensive then there is always the option of testing and taxing it... no idea what it needs for the MOT but was in daily use until 5 months ago.

It will also need insurance to be driven to the MOT and for the 200 mile journey. If you are not planning to use it in the near future paying someone to move it may be the cheapest option. You could also fill it with household items to cut your removal costs. Have you got a roof box

http://www.deliveryquotecompare.com/vehicle-delivery/car-transporters/

ian103

why not tax and insure it, then drive it. It may work out cheaper -its what I had to do with an old triumph spitfire

marlot

jojonic wrote: »

Thanks very much for your helpful replies. Strangely I seem to have a trailer license but my partner doesnt? Did they change the rules at some point?

Yes, in 1997

rxbren

try these for a quote on car transport services
http://www.cartransportbroker.co.uk/

forgotmyname

A towing dolly is for emergency only, Even if its braked the cars rear wheels will be unbraked. 200 miles no way.

Trailer but that will need a 4x4 or van to tow it. So maybe costly. There are companies that transport cars using trade plates. Do you trust some stranger not to take the scenic route and thrash the thing to near death?

rxbren

^^ you can get dollies that can control the rear brakes although not cheap and towed car has to be modified