17 replies to this topic

[Mini Cheddars]

I have my Mini booked in for repairs then MOT for Monday. I'm not entirely confident on the brakes and can't legally test them before MOT day. So I'm thinking of using a tow rope to take it the 2.5 miles to the garage. I've been searching online for the answer but can't find it.

I've looked at trailer hire but the cheapest is £35. The garage say they'll charge £40 to pick it up on a truck. I'd like to save as much money as possible so I can better afford the repairs so it seems a tow rope is the cheapest option.

The garage did mention calling my insurer up and seeing if they can get a truck to me. I'm with Footman James (fully comp) but don't know if they'll charge me or if it could affect my insurance.

[Guess-Works.com]

This makes for a very silly question, but if you're not confident about the brakes, what makes you think it'll pass an MOT...

You can legally drive the car to the MOT testing station and drive home pass or fail ( unless the MOT tester deems it so un-roadworthy that it should not be driven ) even if it has no road tax or valid MOT certificate, but must be insured or driven by someone who has valid insurance.

*edit*

Now I see, you're taking it to the garage to fix the brakes ( and possibly other stuff ) and then perform the MOT... Speaking as someone in the trade, have the garage not offered to collect the car ???

This is the first thing I would expect as a consumer, and likewise the first thing I'd be offering as a garage/mechanic.

Edited by Guess-Works.com, 24 March 2011 - 02:50 PM.

[Chris_R]

Plus if you're being towed your brakes need to be spot on as you'll be so close the car in front - the one towing you! Peronally I would drive it there, and if you get to the end of your road and think the brakes aren't good enough then go home and phone and cancel, or if they are OK just carry on to the garage.

[haggz]

its also well worth pre booking your car in for mot, if you get stopped by the police then they can verify this with the garage.

[Mini Cheddars]

Well I'm getting the garage to do a few repairs before doing an MOT test. I know you can legally drive to a pre-booked MOT and I *assume* a tow rope would be fine, but it's not always safe to assume. Especially with regards to the law.

[Mini Cheddars]

@Guess-works: The goodgaragescheme.com site mentioned the garage have a recovery service available. When I mentioned that to the lady she said they don't have a recovery truck but they can get one for me and it will cost £40.

Chris_R: Yeah that's an idea to test them up to the end of the road first. I would have to be very unlucky to bump into a bobby and have him take no solice on me.

haggz: It's already booked in.

[Guess-Works.com]

So much for a "Good Garage" scheme, when they will try and stiff you for £40 to collect a car from 2.5 miles away.... ok if it's not in the local area then fair do's but that's taking the P'....

[Mini Cheddars]

Well when I rang I told her I need to give them the postcode/door number so they can pick it up. That's when she said they don't have a truck but they can get one and it will be fourty quid. I didn't actually get to tell her the address so told her instead that I'll look at other option as that cost was too much.

[Dan]

its also well worth pre booking your car in for mot

Well worth it? It's a legal requirement!

Technically you may only drive it to a place of repair after the MOT if it fails. If you are unlucky enough to be picked up for this on your journey to the test station and the garage tell the Police it's booked in for repairs and an MOT rather than just an MOT you might have trouble. Not sure about the technicality of towing it rather than driving it, it is the sort of thing that you might get tripped up by so it's good to ask. The MOT / tax rules do state it can be DRIVEN to a test centre.

[mini13]

are you taking the car to be fixed and mot'd at the same place on the same day?

if so it counts as just taking it for an mot, in which case yo are covered.

[Mini Cheddars]

Dan: Yeah exactly. The DVLA state that it's legal to *drive* it to a pre-booked MOT test. It's tough to find info on towing a SORN'd vehicle to a pre-booked MOT. Results on Google just bring up topics on towing a vehicle with no MOT/tax/insurance elsewhere.

mini13: Yes, I am getting the car repaired then MOT tested on the same day at the same garage.

Think I'll email the DVLA when I finish work if I can.

[danrock101]

You say you can't drive it there because of the brakes? How do you plan to tow it?
Couldn't you cancel your MoT and find a garage that will do the work for a reasonable price and pick it up?

I'm lucky to have 5 garages within a mile of my house and know a good mobile mechanic.
The cheapest one will pick up your car and drop it off again and charges the cheapest you can for a MoT £32 or something, but they're dodgy, fail it on something it hasn't and charge you for it, they wont do it with my mini because the only time I pay for work on it, is for setting up the engine and suspension.

[chadders15]

The Good Garage Scheme is a load of twoddle, You basically promise to sell their products and they give you a sign and put you on their website, dont have to be any good at all

[minibarnerz]

have looked into this before and spoke to police RE this.

it is legal to drive the car to the mot station, it has to be insured, and you will have to CHECK THAT YOUR INSURANCE COMPANY WILL COVER YOU!! as in your policy it may say that will only cover an MOT'd car. if they dont its not insured, you cant drive it.

towing is no different than driving. if its illegal to drive, its illegal to tow.

and legalitys of towing:
if your car has either no mot, tax OR insurance it is illegal to tow with all 4 wheels on ground. but is legal to tow on a trolly if the front wheels are off the floor....
tow ROPES are illegal fullstop... you are NOT allowed to use a rope to tow a car on public highway. it has to be a tow bar.

im not 100% on my sources but 95%

[AVV IT]

I'm not entirely confident on the brakes and can't legally test them before MOT day. So I'm thinking of using a tow rope to take it the 2.5 miles to the garage.

Eh???......... Why on earth would you consider using a tow rope for questionable brakes??? A tow rope will only be of any use if your car wont GO, not if it wont STOP!!

A tow rope will do absolutely nothing for your braking ability and far from making the situation any safer, it can only make it a whole lot more dangerous! Without a tow rope you can at least leave an increased distance between you and the vehicle in front, but with a tow rope, that distance is considerably reduced. Personaly I'd either drive it there or "bite the bullet" and hire a trailer, but if you are intent on towing it then a solid "Towing Bar" would be far more advantageous than a rope. It would at least take advantage of some of the tow cars braking ability and it would also prevent you from rear ending the tow car, if your brakes really are that questionable! Obviously you would need to have a towing eye fitted to your mini in order to use one though!

tow ROPES are illegal fullstop... you are NOT allowed to use a rope to tow a car on public highway. it has to be a tow bar.

im not 100% on my sources but 95%

Eh??? There are a number of points of specific guidance relating to the legal use of towropes on the public highway, so I really don't see how they can be "illegal fullstop"!!

1. When the vehicles are attached solely by a tow rope or chain, the maximum distance allowed between the vehicles is 4.5 metres.

2. Should the distance between the two vehicles exceed 1.5 metres, then the rope or chain must be made clearly visible to other road users within a reasonable distance from either side. (this is usually achieved by attaching a red flag or marker to the mid point of the rope or chain)

3. The drivers of both vehicles must hold a full UK driving licence.

4. In the hours of darkness, or periods of reduced visibility, the broken down vehicle must display lights, as it would would under normal circumstances.

5. Vehicles are only to be towed on motorways in an emergency and for the minimum distance necessary in order to reach a place of safety where recovery may be effected by a recovery vehicle.

if your car has either no mot, tax OR insurance it is illegal to tow with all 4 wheels on ground. but is legal to tow on a trolly if the front wheels are off the floor....

This point was debated at length on a previous thread Here. I'm not convinced that it is legal to tow such a vehicle with just the front wheels off the ground using a dolly wheel trolley or an A-Frame etc.

Edited by AVV IT, 24 March 2011 - 09:21 PM.