Laws On Towing

pothole50

Some guy bought my car on Ebay I specified spares or repair and a trailer had to be used to take it away, he called me up and said his friend would be round with him to tow it away. Although the brakes and lights all work fine I am unsure on how I stand in this situation. Once the green slip has been handed to him and the V5 has been signed does the car become his responsibility, for example if he tows it away and gets stopped who do the law throw the book at. The car has no MOT and with the new laws is not taxed, not sure on the insurance as it will not show up on the database, he does say his mate is in the trade but they are using a rope to tow it, and its not round the corner it a distance of 25 miles. So is he responsible as soon as he signs the V5 or is he responsible when DVLA receive the V5 from me. Whats stopping him getting stopped and giving my name and address as it would show up as I am the registered keeper.

AdrianC

If any of the towed car's wheels are on the ground, then it needs to be road legal - and comes under emergency recovery rules, which restrict distance and speed.

For towing a non-road legal car, it needs to be on a trailer or flatbed.

But it's not your problem - it's his problem entirely. Yes, you would show as the RK - unless you do the keeper change online before he leaves - but if you've got his name, address and signature on the V5C and you've got his signature on a timed receipt saying "I understand this car is not roadworthy, and will not be driven away." you've done all you can.

But - if it's just a question of expired MOT, he could quite legally drive it away - so long as it's to a pre-booked test. That's for him to prove, should he need to.

Mercdriver

AdrianC wrote: »

If any of the towed car's wheels are on the ground, then it needs to be road legal - and comes under emergency recovery rules, which restrict distance and speed.

For towing a non-road legal car, it needs to be on a trailer or flatbed.

But it's not your problem - it's his problem entirely. Yes, you would show as the RK - unless you do the keeper change online before he leaves - but if you've got his name, address and signature on the V5C and you've got his signature on a timed receipt saying "I understand this car is not roadworthy, and will not be driven away." you've done all you can.

But - if it's just a question of expired MOT, he could quite legally drive it away - so long as it's to a pre-booked test. That's for him to prove, should he need to.

Might be prudent to take a photo of the completed green form to be sure. Do it with your phone and it is time and place code if you have the location on your mobile activated.

AdrianC

Mercdriver wrote: »

Might be prudent to take a photo of the completed green form to be sure.

There's no benefit at all in keeping a copy of the green V5C/2. That's purely for the new keeper to demonstrate his purchase until such time as he gets his own V5C through. The OP will still have the main section, or a copy of that if he's already sent it off, plus the receipt.

shaun_from_Africa

AdrianC wrote: »

If any of the towed car's wheels are on the ground, then it needs to be road legal - and comes under emergency recovery rules, which restrict distance and speed.

For towing a non-road legal car, it needs to be on a trailer or flatbed.

But it's not your problem - it's his problem entirely

Are you sure about that?
http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1988/52/section/75

75.
Vehicles not to be sold in unroadworthy condition or altered so as to be unroadworthy.

(6)A person shall not be convicted of an offence under this section in respect of the supply or alteration of a motor vehicle or trailer if he proves—

(a)that it was supplied or altered, as the case may be, for export from Great Britain, or

(b)that he had reasonable cause to believe that the vehicle or trailer would not be used on a road in Great Britain, or would not be so used until it had been put into a condition in which it might lawfully be so used,

I realise that it's unlike to cause any problems, but if the buyer was stopped for towing an unroadworthy vehicle and it was shown that the OP knew that it was being towed and not trailered away. there is a possibility that they may be prosecuted. (A very small possibility I agree, but still a possibility).

Joe_Horner

As Shaun says, it's not strictly "not your problem" once sold because parliament has seen fit to forbid the sale of all unroadworthy cars - by private and trade sellers - unless the seller has reasonable grounds to believe they won't be used on road without being repaired.

Towing by rope may or may not amount to using as far as that law is concerned. It would need a court to decide but, given that rope tows need to meet all the requirements of tax, MOT and insurance, it's fairly likely that it would amount to "use".

Beside that, if the car is working, it would be slightly odd for them to rope tow it the full 25 miles rather than tow it out of sight and then drive it. Rope towing isn't the nicest way to travel and that's such an obvious thing to do that you could argue the seller could reasonably expect that to be their plan - thus invalidating the permitted defence to a charge of selling.

On the other hand someone turning up with a trailer or low loader is showing a fairly definite commitment to recovering it properly, so are much less likely to unload it and start driving half a mile down the road.

The chance of anything coming from it for the OP is probably negligible, but advising that "it's not your problem once sold" is wrong as the law stands because it could become the OPs problem.

Personally I'd probably go ahead with it in that situation, but I'd be doing so aware of the implications and the slight risk and would have no one to blame but myself if there was comeback.

AdrianC

shaun_from_Africa wrote: »

...but if the buyer was stopped for towing an unroadworthy vehicle...

Do we know it's unroadworthy? The OP doesn't say, merely that it's not legal because of paperwork - tax and insurance never transfer on a sale, so we're only talking about an MOT) and he's advertising it as sold for spares or repair (and we know that carries zero legal weight).

shaun_from_Africa

AdrianC wrote: »

Do we know it's unroadworthy?

No, we don't know and without knowing this, it was wrong to state that "But it's not your problem - it's his problem entirely".

Give the OP the facts on how they stand legally then let them make an informed decision rather then stating something that might be incorrect and could leave them open to prosecution.