getting cars home from auction legally

[andy1020]

Hi folks,
reckon this one might spark a bit of debate but here goes...
I used to be in the motor trade years ago and used a recovery wagon or trade plates to transport cars home when I bought them at auction (usually without MOT or tax).

I'm thinking of going back into the trade part time and need to get cars home from the auction legally. I don't want to buy trade plates if i don't need them. (only buyig & selling a few cars...) I've thought about a towing A-frame, but apparently they're only legal for emergency recovery? (to the next exit on motorway kind of thing..)

So I'm thinking about buying the car then ringing my MOT station to book it in and driving it straight there under the "taking to or from a pre-booked MOT" law. Do you think the bill would be happy with this one when just bought by a trader at auction? I don't see why not... (Hey, I might even ring them and ask!)

Cheers for any advice (or experience..!)
Andy.

 

[Diyisfun]

It will need road tax & insurance..Yes MOT not necessary if you have the appointment

 

[andy1020]

yes, I'll have insurance for any car under a trade policy.
You're exempt from tax too for a pre booked MOT I think though? (You need an MOT before you can tax a car anyway...)

 

[Diyisfun]

I thought a car on the road MUST have valid road tax, or be on a trade plate.

 

[andy1020]

finally rang the traffic police today, they confirmed no tax or mot is ok as long as it's going directly (they stressed that bit!) to an mot station for a pre-booked MOT test. Also told them it was when bought at auction and they said fine which surprised me... that saves me 180 quid or so a year..

 

[beedz]

just out of interest - what happens if the vehicle fails? i.e. you need to get it home?

 

[^neo^]

Then you get away with the 'taking it to a pre booked garage for repairs' clause i guess

 

[beedz]

lol

 

[davybull]

I got pulled in July last year on my bike for a roadside check (300 yds from home) on the way to it's MOT with an out of date tax disk.

I was cr@pping myself because even though I thought that I was allowed to ride it there I wasn't 100% sure!! By the way it did have insurance and luckily I had all the docs with me.

The traffic copper did check with the MOT station and was happy to let me go on my way after a quick check over and chat. Fellow biker and was actually a good laugh. One thing that he did say to me was when you book it in make sure that the garage know the reg number and the make and model.

Dave.

 

[Richard C]

Why not get a decent 4 wheel trailer; bit more expensive but it solves all the problems. I had one when I traded out of 2 auction houses in Essex. At one in particular, Bill used to settle in at a lay-by up the road & stop anyone who looked as if they had just left the auction; easy pickings! They pulled me once but everything was kosher so they let me go.

 

[Trazor]

And should you be involved in a bad accident, do you think your insurance company will be happy, that you have no MOT or road Tax.

I would be fervently reading the small print.

 

[ebee]

Whether the insurance co is happy or not is not relevant here.
Unless they specifically state it must have MOT/ tax then this is not an issue, however the roadworthyness might be mentioned on the policy. So long as you are road legal (ie bre booked MOT) then OK.
Check your policy first though

 

[Kes]

I would think that whether the insurance co is happy or not is vital. No mot, no tax, gets you a fine. Being sued for damages after an incident on the road, after your insurance co declines to pay up, could cost you everything you have.

Whilst it may well be OK to drive the untaxed/unmot'd vehicle to a pre-arranged mot (and back home if it fails) it does not remove from you in any way the responsibility of ensuring your car is roadworthy at all times. You must have efficent brakes, legal tyres, all working lights, wipers, washers, indicators, horn, and no dangerous bodywork or fluid leaks etc. You may get away with a telling off if a light bulb has failed, but the rest will, and should, get you charged.

I just have a feeling that you should do this properly, and not depend on some dodge. Trailer is the way.

 

[ebee]

Keeping the insurance co happy is not relevant.
Providing you keep legal and also within the terms of the insurance is all that matters, if they become unhappy they must still pay out.
They might state a car must be roadworthy that is quite reasonable.
They might try to get out if a car is not legal (ie no current MOT) even if it is roadwothy, fair enough.
But if it is legal to travel that journey without an MOT & the car is roadworthy then your insurance would still be valid unless they had a clause stating it must have a current MOT at all times (over three years old is it I think) , so they would still be obliged to pay out even if they were not happy about it.
Having a current MOT does not make a car roadworthy any more than not having one renders the car unroadworty.
Case in point , I (accidently) had my car MOT run out the day before I got it MOTed, so one morning I had no valid MOT until it got tested and it passed OK.
It did not become unroadworthy for a few hours then become roadworthy again a few hours later with no work being done on it to change things but it was not road legal for a few hours but then became road legal a little later.
Insurance companies work to contracts and laws, they can be as happpy or as unhappy as they please but it is not relevant

 

[Kes]

I think that in this context 'Keeping the insurance co happy' relates to them having no reason to believe that the terms of the contract are being breached. If they don't believe that then the onus on the driver is horrendous.

'Providing you keep legal and also within the terms of the insurance is all that matters... ' - yes, exactly the point, and I dare say that one important term is that the vehicle is roadworthy and legal (if there is a difference?).

I don't think that anyone has suggested that having an MOT necessarily equates to a car being roadworthy, and vice-versa.