Urgent advise for Toyota Yaris and mot

sally2489

Dr_Crypto said:

Sounds like a flat battery on the car. Try starting it to find out. 
If you're shielding and not going out it doesn't really matter about the MOT but you can't drive without one although you can drive to a pre-booked MOT appointment. I don't see any point in getting your car collected for an MOT at this juncture as you're still shielding and won't be going out for some time yet. 

Thank you, it’s true I’m not going to use the car for the foreseeable, but won’t having no mot affect the insurance? My insurance is due for renewal in July and if anyone hits the car before then I really want to be covered. 

sally2489

Grumpy_chap said:

The battery in a 14 plate should be fine - it really looks like this is just because the car has not been used for a number of weeks and there should be nothing to worry about really.  It is just all a hassle I am sure you could do without.

Thank you, yes it’s definitely not helped the situation at this time. 

If I contact my breakdown service to start it again, what’s the timeframe I’d need to start the car to stop this happening again? Once a week? Or longer? 

Would it be enough to just start the engine and leave it running for a short while, or would I have to drive it up and down the road? 

Grumpy_chap

There is another thread about keeping the car battery charged.
https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/6134953/how-to-stop-your-car-battery-from-going-flat-mse-team-blog-discussion#latest
I guess this is not possible as you have not done it already, but do you have any way to keep the car off-road, e.g. on a driveway.  That would also allow you to SORN the vehicle and claim the road tax back (maybe not worth it if your car is a low tax band).
As far as I am aware, insurance can be renewed irrespective of having an MOT or not (but road tax cannot).  It is permitted to drive a car under SORN to a pre-booked MOT test even without tax and valid MOT, but that still requires insurance to be in place.  As yours is quite a new car, leaving it uninsured is a risk I would not readily advise.

Dr_Crypto

sally2489 said:

Dr_Crypto said:

Sounds like a flat battery on the car. Try starting it to find out. 
If you're shielding and not going out it doesn't really matter about the MOT but you can't drive without one although you can drive to a pre-booked MOT appointment. I don't see any point in getting your car collected for an MOT at this juncture as you're still shielding and won't be going out for some time yet. 

Thank you, it’s true I’m not going to use the car for the foreseeable, but won’t having no mot affect the insurance? My insurance is due for renewal in July and if anyone hits the car before then I really want to be covered. 

No, the MOT doesn’t affect the insurance validity. It’s a common myth but the rules are clear. If the car is written off they may seek to reduce the value they pay because it didn’t have an MOT but in a vehicle that age it will be minimal anyway.
If the car is on the road then it has to be insured. If you have a drive or other private place then you could put the car there (but you can’t drive it to get it there!) and cancel the insurance, SORN, and reclaim the tax. 

If not and you’re storing it in the road then it needs to be taxed and insured.
This is all a hassle unfortunately. 

AHAR

If you end up getting the MOT done by Toyota at the same time as the recall work, join their 5+ club for a discount.

https://blog.toyota.co.uk/toyota-service-join-toyota-5-club

Mrs_Ryan

sally2489 said:

roddydogs said:

Should have added the 20min bit only really applies to a good battery, if its knackared that 20min charge wont last long.

Thanks, it is 14 plate, is that considered old now? Is it likely to need replacing? 

Sorry, don’t have a clue about cars. 

My hubby drives a 14 plate Yaris with an excessive amount of miles on and the battery is fine so it might just be the case that it’s flat through lack of use. Hubby is a keyworker who uses his car daily to commute to and from work so the battery hasn’t had a chance to flatten. 

That said, if something has happened to make it knackered then it might need replacing but a professional should tell you that.