Need advice on transporting a SORN car for MOT

K

kittylover

Well-known user
Jun 15, 2012
1,385
860
North Warwickshire
Hi all
I want to take my kitty for MOT but she is SORN.
So, I know I can drive her to a garage for a pre-booked appointment without road tax, but I need insurance. I can insure her temporarily (although I have read that insurance might be invalid if the car is driven without MOT . . . go figure), but I'm also thinking about ANPR cameras and the hassle involved of proving I was driving to a MOT station after I get a fine in the post, should I get picked up by one.

So then I'm thinking about towing it, but info on the net is not clear. It seems that if a car is towed with all wheels on the ground, then it still needs insurance. OK, seems fair, as it still needs someone behind the wheel to control it.
What's not clear is if it can be towed without insurance if just the back wheels are on the ground (it becomes a trailer, and the number plate of the tow car is used), or if all 4 wheels need to be lifted off the ground.

Anyone an expert that can offer advice ?


Thanks in advance
 
Temporary insurance and your car is fully legal to drive to MOT test station as long as it is booked in, just make sure that you have the phone number for the garage with you and if you get pulled they can call and verify the test time (y)
 
How far have you got to go? I would insure it and just drive. ANPR is only used for more serious things like if car is stolen or a wanted person using it etc. For tax and mot it won't flag up (though I live in Sussex so policies where you live may be different, but I doubt it). It also won't flag up for insurance. For a ticket to be given it would only be given if stopped by police. The only exception are speed cameras. Any proof of the appointment could be clarified by the garage if you ere to be stopped. To be honest, there are so little police on the road nowadays you'd have very bad luck to be pulled over unless you were doing something stupid.

You may think that some guy on a forum won't know what he's talking about but I have 15 years experience in this sort of stuff at work!

Sent from my Nexus 6P using Tapatalk
 
Thanks for answers. I know the risk from cameras is very low, and being stopped by police is probably just as low but is easier to talk out of on the spot, what I wanted to avoid was retrospectively applying to avoid a fine.
It's a 10 mile drive to my normal garage (although there are closer ones I could use), appointment time would basically be all day as I'd drive it there first thing in the morning and leave it at the garage, pick it up in the late afternoon.

Cheers
 
you would also have the mot paperwork that would show that it was being mot'd that day(pass or fail), that would help with why it was on the road should you get anything through post
 
its a grey line that even the police are unsure of, the law states that a car needs insurance, tax and MOT us exemptions are in place to be used on public highways, you cant get tax without an MOT and insurance is void without tax (unless exemptions are in place) I have been stopped by police before taking my car for MOT without tax but I was insured on another vehicle, I found out from Mr nice Policeman that I should have got insurance on the car itself as the car needs to be insured to allow you to drive it covered by 3rd party from another cars policy. most MOT stations will now collect the car from you using trade plates a nominal fee
 
Just to add another anecdote, I've driven to the MOT centre - clear across the other side of Milton Keynes - with no MOT several times: Weiss once just after I bought her, Tiger twice, (back in the early days when I was struggling with her), and most recently, twice in Tracey's MX-5 whose MOT had expired 16 months previously.

I've never caught any static from the law, and it's worth noting that MK is second only to London in terms of ANPR camera installations.

My view is that if you have a booked appointment, and if to your knowledge the car is not dangerous, then all you need is insurance. Obviously the amount you pay for the day will vary based on your risk profile, but when I did it, it was about £4/day.
 
Thanks for all the answers. I know I'll be legal (I can insure the car for up to 3 days for £32) but I just wanted to avoid hassle of proving it after already being issued with a fine or something.
Cheers.
 
I've towed a lot with an A frame, thats a grey area too, if you look at the info available its illegal because its not braked, but from what i've read no one has ever been prosecuted ! theres frames for hire on eBay, usually £20 or so for the day (y)
 
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