How do I get sorn car back on the road?

ComputerUser

My sons car has been sorned for the past year as he has been working away. He now wants me to get it MOT'd so that he can sell it. Please advise if I insure the car is the insurance valid while I drive it for an MOT as I've looked at small print on policies and it says insurance is not valid if no MOT. Without MOT, I cannot tax it and the insurance appears not to be valid. How can I get the car back on the road... what do I do first?
Thanks

ComputerUser

fivetide

Generally it is accepted to be ok to drive without tax if you are driving to a pre-booked MOT. As the car is insured and being used within the law you shouldn't have an issue.

Check with your insurance or let them know what you are doing and argue that you are not breakign the law by doing this. You should find you are covered to do this.

Once MOT'd you will be needing to go off and get it taxed though. Don't be tempted to drive it to the local Post Office to do that as the police could rightly pull you over for driving an untaxed car on the road.

That is my understanding at least.

bortone1

I have just had a similar situation and would suggest that you get the car transported to the mot station.
There are many places that advertise this service at a reasonable cost, try your local scrap dealer for a really good price.
Then when the car is freshly mot'd arrange insurance, tax, etc as normal !

jackieblack

Our local garage collected our car (free of charge) and took it for the MOT - covered under their insurance.

Lum

The law allows for an untaxed car to be driven to/from a pre-booked MOT perfectly legally.

Insurance companies often have the no MOT = no insurance clause. This is regularly overrulled by the FSO. They are still legally liable for third party claims anyway so as far as the law is concerned you are insured.

Insure the car, book the MOT in advance, drive it there, drive it back, park it off the road, tax it.

The advice in post #3 may be worth following if the transportation is cheaper than the insurance, and you don't intend to tax or insure the car once it's got an MOT. May also be worth asking if the garage will collect in that case as then it can be driven on their insurance.

paddedjohn

Do you own a car yourself? You may have drive other vehicle (dov) cover on your policy, if so you can use this to take the car for its pre booked mot but you will need to insure the vehicle if you intend taxing it.

forgotmyname

Except the DOC may specify not insured unless the cars already insured. And not belonging to anyone in the household etc etc...

Insuring a car thats not in your name may put a few insurers off. Get the garage to collect it?

Rover_Driver

The small print in most insurance policies require that the car has a current test certificate if it is required to have one - consider a car less than three years old.

A car being taken for a test is another case where a current test certificate is not required.

Ultrasonic

jackieblack wrote: »

Our local garage collected our car (free of charge) and took it for the MOT - covered under their insurance.

I'd be trying to do this. The decent independent garage I used to use when I lived in Southampton collected and returned my car every year for it's MOT, which was very handy.

This option would also be advantageous if the car has little value and it fails its MOT, leading you to decide whether it is worth rectifying the faults.

Have you checked the car starts?

Yorkie1

Lum wrote: »

The law allows for an untaxed car to be driven to/from a pre-booked MOT perfectly legally.
.

Please could you provide the link to the legislation providing this exemption from the VEL laws?

I am familiar with the exemption from the requirement to have an MOT in this situation, but not the VEL requirement.

Ultrasonic

Yorkie1 wrote: »

Please could you provide the link to the legislation providing this exemption from the VEL laws?

I am familiar with the exemption from the requirement to have an MOT in this situation, but not the VEL requirement.

Not sure about the exact law, but will the exemption sections on this Avon and Somerset Police website do?

http://www.avonandsomerset.police.uk/information/InfoCentre/ItemDetails.aspx?sid=3316#2