Driving without MOT. Legal or Really Bad Idea?

Relliott6879

Relliott6879

Club Admin
Jul 5, 2009
6,937
5,493
Fleetwood
The Cougar failed it's MOT this morning. Front discs are excessively corroded on the inner faces (although it passed the brake strength test fine), the passenger side rear handbrake cable is almost seized so does not operate the caliper sufficiently (only 13% efficiency) and the driver's side front sidelight is flickering on and off.

My old MOT was due to expire at midnight tomorrow (July 27th) but when I went to renew my tax online just now (which expires at midnight on Wednesday, July 31st) it declined the application due to no MOT found. Obviously the failure this morning has overridden the existing MOT on VOSA's database.

So... the car has no MOT (but is still taxed and insured) but needs to be repaired before I can have it retested. Can I LEGALLY drive the car to a place of repair, as long as I do so prior to the expiration of the tax? And can that place of repair be a mate's driveway or does it have to be a garage?

And yes, I know the smart thing to do would have been to renew my tax last night, prior to the MOT this morning, but we all have 20/20 hindsight...
 
Bad idea, of it has no MOT it also means you have no insurance as you are not driving a car that is legal to be on the road so if something did happen then your insurance will not payout.


JJ
 
Not sure where you stand on that, but I do know the rozzers can't see your MOT details, only insurance and tax. I imagine the fines for no MOT aren't big enough to justify the expenditure. Further evidence they're there to make money for our masters and not to protect our safety eh?

You'll be fine.
 
Only VOSA can check MOT via ANPR as far as I am aware. Never heard of anyone being stopped for it either. No insurance they'll stop you before you get out of your street.
 
Well, the situation has just escalated. The person I was thinking of taking the car to for repairs is unavailable until beyond the expiration of my tax, so the point is now moot. Looks like I'll be SORNing the car (as not to do so would incur an automatic £80 fine) and calling a MFSM at my new house a lot sooner than anticipated!
 
£60 on the spot fine for not having MOT, I fell foul of this when I first bought my mondeo, driving it back from work day after MOT had elapsed didn't realise thought I had another month, flashy blue lights behind me pulled over spoke to policeman who informed me MOT was out of date, ran checks on everything else and said and I quote " we are legally able to take the car from you and crush it as it is not deemed safe to be on the road" as everything else checked out though he gave me a £60 fine and said get it home and then get it MOT'd before you drive it again.
 
Interesting I was always of the impression MOT was more a DVLA / VOSA matter rather than the Police, Paul's tale suggest's otherwise...

I also beleive you are only allowed to drive a car with no MOT if you are taking to a pre-booked MOT test, also as you have discovered if you are at the dregs of your insurance/MOT period you can't tax online.

so when's the MFSM then!!
 
I would have said the weekend of Aug 10th/11th, but that's Asda day and Ford Fair, so fat chance if that happening! We get married on Aug 24th, so I'd say pretty much any weekend from then onwards. I'll start an appropriate thread elsewhere.
 
If the original MOT hasn`t run out I am pretty sure it is still valid until the time and date of expiry even if it has been retested and failed Rich
 
Steve, we will also be in Wantage that day! As of the 31st July we move into our new house in Grove. Are you able to fit handbreak cables? Or direct me...... I should be able to get the discs back by Thursday if need be.
 
Relliott6879 said:
Steve, we will also be in Wantage that day! As of the 31st July we move into our new house in Grove. Are you able to fit handbreak cables? Or direct me...... I should be able to get the discs back by Thursday if need be.
Click to expand...

I know dude, I do pay attention.......sometimes :)

Never done the handbrake cables but Tony has written a compreshensive how-to:

https://forums.ukcougar.club/showthread.php?17777-Rear-handbrake-cable-replacement

and

https://forums.ukcougar.club/showthread.php?19562-Setting-up-rear-brake-calipers
 
Could you get the repair done by the/a place that'll then MOT it immediately after?

That way, if you make the appointment, you're driving it to a pre-booked MOT occifer - & I'm pretty darn sure you're alllowed to do that without a curent MOT. As long as it's not a 150 mile detour, then they might just do you for taking the michael.
 
rikedwards said:
If the original MOT hasn`t run out I am pretty sure it is still valid until the time and date of expiry even if it has been retested and failed Rich
Click to expand...

This is my understanding also. I always get my moy done 1 month in advance so if i do need time to repair/fix anything, even though it may have just failed, then my current mot which still has time to run covers me. I was advised once that i should inform my local constabulary if i intend taking my none mot'd car for it's test. On my way home, i stopped off at my mums for a cuppa, coincidence or not, within ten minutes a patrol car drove by very slowly, then came back from the other direction, the occifer knocked on my mums door and asked for details ie: why is the car parked on the road with no mot. I explained that i was on my way home from the mot station and had to make an emergency call at my mums. He accepted my reasons and arranged to call at my home in 7 days which he did. I produced all docs and no further action was taken. May be an unwritten law but in my experience the police will allow you to drive it directly to and directly from the mot station, but as jason says, any insurance is void if you are involved in any accidents etc enroute.
 
know its not much help but as said in other thread, you would not have been able to tax car even if you tried to tax last week,as the Mot runs out in July and your trying to put tax on car from August when no Mot is in force
also if you go for mot it has to be booked in, im sure all this was said the other week in thread about road traffic law
 
spjmorris said:
I know dude, I do pay attention.......sometimes :)

Never done the handbrake cables but Tony has written a compreshensive how-to:

https://forums.ukcougar.club/showthread.php?17777-Rear-handbrake-cable-replacement

and

https://forums.ukcougar.club/showthread.php?19562-Setting-up-rear-brake-calipers
Click to expand...

Are you up for me and thee having a crack at this then Steve? I should probably mention at this point that the new front discs are 300mm in diameter. Which will require them to be nestled betwixt Mk3 Mondeo calipers. Which I have. In my shed.









I'm going to hide behind something large now....
 
I'd never drive without tax or insurance (or an MOT apart from the one permitted circumstance - en route to a pre-booked MOT).

As above, I will SORN the car, lock it in my garage then drive it directly to the MOT test centre after such time as I've managed to (employ help to!) fix it on my driveway.
 
Assuming the following then yes:

My meeting in Wantage goes ahead on the planned day (still one person tbc)

You have the required brake pads/spacer washers/brake fluid?

Re the rear calipers there's one important bit I don't think we have between us, a proper wind-back tool, co-incedently I'm watching one on eBay right now but whether I actually have it in time or not I don't know.

If all falls into place then I'm absolutely up for it!
 
You must log in or register to reply here.