Buying Used car without Road Tax Disc

wazza

If a bought a car which has no road tax disc can i park it on the public highway while i am waiting for the paperwork so i can get a road tax disc? Reason i ask is the neighbour just bought a car and has no drive etc to park his car off road while waiting for the tax disc. He is worried that someone may clamp the car in the meanwhile.

westy69

unfortunately not it has to be taxed to be on the road and sorned if its not taxed.

Keith

Check the reg with Vehicle Enquiry on the dvla website, it may still be taxed yet the former owner has applied for a refund.

This will allow him to leave it on the road whilst he waits for the documents to come through.

Thunderbird_2

When he bought the car, he should have had a small buyer's slip, which he can use, with his new insurance policy, to get the car taxed at the post office and then he should get the tax disc there and then. Why didn't he do this?

I don't know why he needs to wait for the tax to arrive through the post, unless he has applied online.

it has to be taxed to be on the road

And to display the tax disc all the time as well. If the car is taxed, but no disc is displayed, it is still an offence

wazza

It is just that it takes a day or two for insurance documents to come through. Without insurance certificate you can't get a tax disc at the post office.

Thunderbird_2

It is just that it takes a day or two for insurance documents to come through

I am sorry! I just missed that bit in your original post! If he bought the insurance policy online, he could have printed a note cover and took it to the post office, but that a different story.

Fingers crossed nothing is going to happen till the paperwork arrive.

Try having a tax disc holder on its face on the passenger saide of the dashboard or on the passenger seat that you can't tell if it has a tax disc in it or not. It might detter some from reporting it or a warden to assume it has fallen of the screen!! I know this sound naive, as they can easily check it out in one phone call ( the warden that is) but, what can you do!

wazza

No problem Thunderbird. Should have made it clearer. I did tell him that he can apply online for insurance and road tax but he feels the internet is unsafe. This from a guy who buys a 03 reg car privately without doing a HPI check :eek: .

I won't bother asking him how much he paid for it because he is likely to inflate the price or decrease the price to made it sound that he got a bargin.

Keith

He can't apply online for Road Tax as the car is not yet in his name, if he did this, the tax will go to the previous keepers address.

You should also not be able to tax a vehicle at the Post Office using a printed at home cover note, it must be the original. I got pulled up for this last year by a jobsworth who insisted I bring in the original. When it arrived in the post the one I'd printed was on better quality paper!!!

The DVLA use reg plate scanners to find untaxed vehicles, so if it is untaxed expect a fine if it's seen parked or in use on the public road.

flutterbyuk25

Keith wrote: »

Check the reg with Vehicle Enquiry on the dvla website, it may still be taxed yet the former owner has applied for a refund.

This will allow him to leave it on the road whilst he waits for the documents to come through.

No, if it's not displaying a tax disc it is against the law to be on the road, regardless of whether one has been purchased.

Vehicle could be fined, clamped, towed away if it's seen on road without displaying tax disc.

Keith

flutterbyuk25 wrote: »

Vehicle could be fines, clamped, towed away if it's seen on road without displaying tax disc.

It may get a fine, but it won't get any of the other things you claim. The fine is £200 for not displaying a Tax Disc, however, unless the driver attracts the attention of the police it will be unlikely that they will check it.

If the car is to be parked on the public road for a few days whilst waiting for documentation it's a risk I'd take, if it appears taxed on the database.

flutterbyuk25

DVLA have the power to clamp and impounded unlicenced vehicles on the public highway, and frequently do, so it can be clamped or towed.