At what point is a vehicle a vehicle?

_ gurgled happily, sounding much like they were saying:

If it's UK registered then, for the purposes of SORN, it's a car. Doesn't matter how many carrier bags it's in.

If it's not been taxed since SORN was introduced ('98, IIRC), then you don't need to SORN it. If it has, then you do. And you WILL get fined if you don't. You can find out when it was last taxed at vehiclelicence.gov.uk

But if those carrier bags are in different places, which one defines the location of the "car"? It's hard to believe it would be the one with the ashtray. I can see how the whole collection of them may require a SORN, but it's less clear which one would place that "car" on the road.

Tony

"Anthony R. Gold" gurgled happily, sounding much like they were saying:

Why's the location necessary? You used to be asked for it for SORN, but haven't been for years.

The only location DVLA care about is the one on the V5, which is just somewhere you can be contacted by post.

Bodyshell would be a good guess for anything where the body can't be split from the chassis as the VIN number is stamped on that.

Thanks for that. The webpage returned the following for my car, which is as clear as...well, mud, to be honest!

Date of Liability 01 06 2009 Date of First Registration 19 09 1968 Year of Manufacture Not Available Cylinder Capacity (cc) Not Available CO2 Emissions Not Available Fuel Type Petrol Export Marker Not Applicable Vehicle Status SORN Not Due Vehicle Colour BLUE Vehicle Type Approval null

Date of liability in six months time. Liability for what, exactly? And where did that date of now plus six months come from?! Glad they got the date of first reg right, at least. And Vehicle Status: SORN not due? What, its already SORN'd? Or its not necessary to be SORN'd?

Many years ago, (pre SORN) when I was in the auto trade, we were fined by the LA (Hounslow) because an untaxed car was on the road. We had the fine cancelled (i.e. no offence committed) when we proved the engine had been removed and the car was scrapped the following week.

However, the enforcement officer we saw pointed out that whilst the car without the engine did not require tax to be on a public road, if the engine was replaced at some point in the future, then it would be liable for tax - INCLUDING the period when it was on-road without the engine.

HTH

Liability for tax or re-SORN. It's already on SORN.

_ gurgled happily, sounding much like they were saying:

It's currently SORNed, and the SORN expires at the start of June.

The SORN only lasts a year. The info tells you it must be renewed in June when the old one runs out. Mike.

"Charles Hamilton" gurgled happily, sounding much like they were saying:

I strongly suspect it's wishful thinking.

No, the law is quite simple.

You can tow a road-legal (mot'd/insured/taxed) car a short distance for "emergency recovery purposes", at low speed.

Other than that, anything being towed must be a trailer. A trailer has certain legal requirements, too - not least that any trailer over 750kg max authorised mass (max laden weight) MUST be braked on all wheels in contact with the road by the towing vehicle.

There's A-frames which have a Heath-Robinson arrangement to put the brakes on, which may be legal - but normal A-frames aren't for anything other than the very smallest Aixam-style microcars. Even a 2cv's too heavy (if you look at the GVW, as you should) for an A-frame.

There's only one real answer - don't pikey about - use a proper car transporter trailer.

Ignorance is never an excuse.

Because it might determine whether the car requires a valid tax disc or whether it may be SORNd.

Cynic gurgled happily, sounding much like they were saying:

I don't see how.

At 09:33:14 on 07/01/2009, Adrian delighted uk.legal by announcing:

If it's 'off the road', it doesn't need to be taxed. If it's not 'off the road', it cannot be SORN'd.

"Alex" gurgled happily, sounding much like they were saying:

Indeed.

Now, how does the location of the carrier bags affect that?

There's not been any suggestion that some of the carrier bags may be left at the side of the road - because, clearly, they wouldn't remain there for very long...

If the carrier bags are on a public road it will need a tax disc. If they are on private land it may be SORNd.

Now, what if *one* of the carrier bags is on public land and the other nine are on private land?

It is not such an unlikely situation. The car chassis may well be parked in the street while the engine and gearbox are in a garage.

Cynic gurgled happily, sounding much like they were saying:

Fine. I'll go and leave a chassis in the street - you come and identify the vehicle it belongs to.

Anyway, what about if there's a couple of doors and a pile of wheels left on the pavement?

Or, indeed, some of the VIN plates that I've got in the other room? Would I be liable for a fine (other than for littering) if I left them on the pavement?

That's an odd question for you to ask since it's a paradox of your own claim that "it's a car. Doesn't matter how many carrier bags it's in."

Tony

"Anthony R. Gold" gurgled happily, sounding much like they were saying:

Not really.

If something recognisably and identifiably a particular, complete, vehicle is on the road, then it needs to have valid VED.

If the vehicle is dismantled to a point of unidentifiability, then the location of the parts is irrelevant for the purposes of VED. If parts are left on the road, then obstruction of the highway or littering is a strong possibility, but a breach of SORN isn't.

Anyway, this subthread has moved quite a way from the original question that that claim was answering - which was "Do I need to SORN a dismantled car?". Message-ID:

By the way, you may find that the snipped first half of the sentence you quoted makes that rather clearer...

"If it's UK registered then, for the purposes of SORN, it's a car. Doesn't matter how many carrier bags it's in."

It's quite simple. For the purposes of SORN, any _current_ vehicle registration record on the DVLA database which isn't currently taxed or has been untaxed for over a decade needs to be SORNed. Doesn't matter if the V5C is the only remaining extant bit of the vehicle.