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MOT and SORN question.

Assume one had a SORN'd vehicle stored off road. The MOT expired a couple of years ago, and that's when it was SORN'd.

Now it's more or less ready to go back on the road after a huge amount of welding and suchlike, but it's possible that other work is also required - maybe a tyre or two and a brake pipe etc...

Now, if one wanted to bung it in for the MOT, to see what it fails on, to target ones resources to fix the right bits, is one allowed to drive it to and from a booked MOT while it's still SORN'd - bearing in mind that after the MOT it might continue to be SORN'd for another month or so while everything is fixed up? In fact it's possible it could be SORN'd for another 2 or 3 months after the MOT - depending on circumstances.

How near does the MOT station have to be? The one in our villages is famously staffed by fuckwits who fail everything (unless it's a vehicle they are selling and they seem to pass OK with no brakes) just to be bastards.

I'd like to take it to a garage opposite my workplace as they know this type of vehicle well and would likely be ideal to do any repairs I couldn't do - but they are 50 miles away - would driving it that far for a booked MOT be seen as taking the piss?

Reply to
Simon Atkinson
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I hope youve been renewing the sorn too... (though you would probably have heard from them by now if you wernt!)

You are allowed to drive to the MOT without tax.

It would be a bit mean if you couldnt since you generally cant get the tax till you have the MOT!

You do need insurance though!

I think the wording is says that it must be within a 'reasonable' distance. Since you have legitimate reasons for your choice of mot station, i'd say that was resonable (the garage you are taking it to specialises in the vehicles)

when i bought my 101 it was 100-odd miles away and not mot'd. I debated driving it back home to a prebooked mot (which it would most likely fail), as it was a lot cheaper than hiring someone to move it on a truck. In the end we decided that that sort of situation was pushing the rules a bit (and taking the piss), but i dont think that driving a car you already own to a specialist garage is.

Reply to
Tom Woods

Certainly have - religously!

Appreciate that - but do I need to let them (DVLA) know that it's on the road for this reason - the area around where I work is often alive with ANPR cameras...

Insurance is OK - it's been covered all along - just in case - and it's only cost a couple of quid to add it to my policy.

They aren't specialists, but they know Land Rovers well - it's a father and son place and they both drive them. Plus they are cheap for labour and do a cracking job.

Maybe worth a risk then.... Otherwise it's a matter of renting or borrowing a trailer I suppose.

Reply to
Simon Atkinson

I would have thought that the best argument is that the garage you propose to take it to is next to your place of work. Otherwise to take it to the one in your village would make you late for work and force you to leave early to get back to pick up your vehicle. I think that would pass a test of reasonableness. If it was 50 miles in the opposite direction then I think you might struggle a bit.

hugh Reply to address is valid at the time of posting

Reply to
hugh

That sounds like a convincing arguement. Cheers Hugh.

Reply to
Simon Atkinson

The day I taxed my Rangie releasing it from SORN I took it out in the evening and was jumped by a traffic car. The onboard camera had read my plate, checked me and beeped the guys in the car to pull me up. They online checked my insurance, looked up my license, breathalised me (no discrimination in Brighton everybody gets tested) thanked me for my cooperation and sent me on my way. They didn't even look at my nice new tax disk.

The trick with things like this is to go to your local Plod station and ask what to do. They will tell you and you make a note of the date and time of your enquiry and what you are told (they will). Then, if you get pulled, you quote this to the officer in response to his first question. Policemen never contradict Policemen as it might confuse the public on the point that they are all infalible.

HTH nigelH

Reply to
Nigel Hewitt

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