Car at dealer indefinitely - can I SORN it?

scottishminnie

My car (purchased new 31st March 2019) developed a major water leak last year. I won’t bore you with the details however after numerous failed attempts at fixing it the dealership took it in on December 18th and gave me a courtesy car. Well, In short it is still there, not fixed (waiting for parts) and the dealership is closed indefinitely. 

The road tax renewal arrived late February and I paid it for 1 year as we expected the car back first week in March but that didn’t happen.

my question is - can I declare the car off road, reclaim road tax and then  simply tax it again when the garage finally fix it ? 

Like many others I’m desperately trying to keep costs down as hubby will not be paid for the foreseeable future (own business) but I’m worried there are implications I haven’t thought of.  I’m thinking there is no chance of the car being returned before end of May at the earliest. 

Please no pointing out I was a stupid cow for taxing it when the renewal came in, that’s already been discussed at home, but I did so can’t change that. 

AdrianC

Yes, absolutely. It should be safely off the road in their compound. Make sure you notify them in writing, so they know to put trade plates on for any eventual test-drive.

The_Rainmaker

How much are we talking about?  Is it worth the (minimal) hassle?

rsvtoddy

You cannot reclaim the VED 'used' up to the end of April but you can SORN it from the 1st May.

scottishminnie

The_Rainmaker said:

How much are we talking about?  Is it worth the (minimal) hassle?

I paid £465. The problem is we have absolutely no idea when we will get the vehicle back. This has been the biggest f**** up known by the dealership. The car is now a year old and has spent almost 6 months in the garage due to their utter incompetence at fixing the problem. It’s only done 4000 miles

 I know I’ve lost March and April already but frankly getting anything back would help right now when one of is isn’t earning at all. 

scottishminnie

AdrianC said:

Yes, absolutely. It should be safely off the road in their compound. Make sure you notify them in writing, so they know to put trade plates on for any eventual test-drive.

Thanks. Although they are closed I will definitely email them. I’m also unconvinced that it’s off the road - at one point they advised one of their staff had taken it home over a weekend to give it an extended test drive. I have the emails stating I wasn’t authorizing the use of it other than for a necessary test drive.
perhaps when they finally return to work the news that it is untaxed may  encourage them to move a bit faster - then again they can stick trade plates on and run about freely. 

DoaM

The news it's untaxed won't bother them, because it is YOU that will get any fines and penalties for keeping a SORN'd vehicle on the road.

lopsyfa

As above, if you SORN it, you have to make sure it is not on public road. Are you sure it is not parked at a road near the dealer or still at their employee's house for "test drive"? When you declare SORN, you declare the vehicle is off road and if you are not in possession of the vehicle, you can't guarantee that. It is not the dealer's responsibility to keep it off road.

You have already lost April, and even if they give you back towards the end of May, you still need to pay for the whole of May so no savings. If you get it towards the end of June, you only save one month's payment (May).

For all these hassles, I will keep it taxed.

Scrapit

If it is on a "test drive" how is it insured as the business is closed. I'd have it sorned.

lisyloo

Scrapit said:

If it is on a "test drive" how is it insured as the business is closed. I'd have it sorned.

Why do you think insurance cease if a business temporarily ceases trading?

It's not out of business or permanently shut, just deciding not to open. To my knowledge this doesn't stop insurance policies being current.

Someone shouldn't have taken it home, but they could have gone into isolation and been unable to return it.

Mercdriver

It's not uncommon for someone to take a customer's car home to help with diagnosis.  When I had my e class that is how they found the issue causing inconsistent tick over.  I had the workshop manager's E class as a courtesy car while he commuted in mine.