15 replies to this topic

[Finchman]

My 1999 cooper is currently sorn, I need to get the car mot'd, but can't tax it without a current mot.....help!

[Icey]

You can drive to a pre-booked MOT without tax.

[smurfomatic]

I had to do the same when getting the Mini Marcos back on the road - as long as you have a pre-booked MOT then you're fine. Still nerve wracking when you have to drive there though!

[DeadSquare]

You can drive to a pre-booked MOT without tax.

But remember, it has to be insured.

[cal844]

Aslong as you have a valid insurance policy you are covered for going to a garage for a pre booked mot test

[Finchman]

Thanks all👍

[bpirie1000]

You will need the registration document code to get itmtaxed after you have been successful with the mot...

[Cooperman]

I did exactly that with my 1990 Cooper last week and will tax it from 1st March.

As an interesting aside, there is no regulation as to how far you can drive to obtain an MoT on a car which doesn't have one. Thus, in theory, if you bought a car with no Mot in, say, Manchester, you could pre-book an MoT in Cambridge and legally drive it there. I bought a Land-Rover with no MoT and, after insuring it, drove it 45 miles to the MoT testing station 1 mile from my home where I had pre-booked the test. It passed.

[DeadSquare]

I did exactly that with my 1990 Cooper last week and will tax it from 1st March.

As an interesting aside, there is no regulation as to how far you can drive to obtain an MoT on a car which doesn't have one. Thus, in theory, if you bought a car with no Mot in, say, Manchester, you could pre-book an MoT in Cambridge and legally drive it there. I bought a Land-Rover with no MoT and, after insuring it, drove it 45 miles to the MoT testing station 1 mile from my home where I had pre-booked the test. It passed.

I wonder if there is any regulation about the rout that you have to take to get to the pre-booked MOT test ?

[Designer]

As I understand it  you have to drive direct from your point of departure to the MOT station, you cannot go shopping on the way. Stopping for petrol is probably acceptable.

[bpirie1000]

Think I have come across this before and the legislation states.

The mot test station must be within a REASONABLE distance.

Passing near on 500 mot test stations maybe alittle bit of a legal loophole but hey, courts job to decide..

[Cooperman]

I'm not sure distance to the MoT station is mentioned in the legislation, although it does say that the journey must be just for that purpose. Buying petrol is allowed and I seem to recall a case where someone stopped to buy cigarettes and a sandwich which went to court and as it was necessary to pass the shop the magistrates found it reasonable. The case was about an untaxed car being parked on a public road for a very short time.
So long as you have current insurance it's unlikely to be an issue so long as the test is pre-booked.

[coopertaz]

give the car a good check before you go as if vehicle is not roadworthy you cannot legally drive on the road at all. same applies returning if serious defects are found on the mot. good idea to get text or email confirmation for mot if you are stopped or trigger anpr as you have hard, dated evidence it was pre.booked rather than just telephone call to garage

[Cooperman]

If you buy a car a fair distance from home and it is without an MoT, you could go to the nearest MoT station. But if it fails for a few minor defects, you might have to drive it home, do the work, then drive back for a re-test.

If you pre-book at a test station near your home, in the event of failure it's easy to drive it home, do the necessary work ad return for a re-test.

I'm not suggesting driving it if it has serious defects, but then, you would not buy such a car unless you were going to trailer it home, do the work, then get it tested.

[stuart bowes]

I think in those kinds of situations I would always just pay someone to trailer it for me, over any sort of distance in a car you're not totally sure of

 

but in OP's case I'm assuming we're talking about a car in his own garage, just off the road for a few years, and there's an MOT place within a reasonably short distance,  I'd just insure it, check the tyres, then drive it there slowly and carefully using as many quiet back roads and side streets I can think of, giving the brakes a good test as you drive along your own road before you've got more than 100m from your front door, I would see that as taking reasonable care and attention.  as long as you can stop it safely, other things are mostly secondary concerns

Edited by stuart bowes, 24 February 2024 - 09:20 AM.