Driving a donor car home with just insurance ???

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leeparkes
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Sat Mar 27, 2010 11:11 pm

The car in question has no MOT and no TAX, but i will have cover on it, what would happen if the rozzers pulled me???
Ive heard rumours of "book it in for an MOT and your covered" but id be picking the car up after 6pm so this could be a problem.

The car is 15 miles away but id say 10 of them are country lanes

Whats the score? would i lose the car if i got pulled?

Thanks
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Rich_W
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Sat Mar 27, 2010 11:20 pm

MOT is a fine (not sure how much)
Tax is £80 fine IIRC

Unlikely to lose the car, but bear in mind if you have an accident, even if not your fault. It could potentially get messy very quickly.

Do you know anyone with Trade plates? Preferably traders as you aren't meant to lend them to non trade people.
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Sat Mar 27, 2010 11:22 pm

Not sure, but I think the biggest thing frowned upon is not having insurance.
Tax is next and MOT is last on their list.
I think you should be OK, just make sure you ahve a Bill of sale with the date and time on it.
Oh and book it in at a MOT station for the day after, so the garage has a record if they want to check.
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Sun Mar 28, 2010 12:12 am

You're allwed to drive an un MOT's car to a place of repair, not just to and from it's MOT test. So if you're going to do repair work at your house, then you are allowed to drive it, provided it is roadworthy.

"However, if you intend to drive your car away from the test station with a Refusal of an MOT Test Certificate, there are some stipulations. It is illegal to drive a car of MOT-testable age that does not have a current MOT test certificate on public roads, with the exception of driving it away to a place of repair, which may include your home residence. From there you may be permitted to drive to a pre-booked place of repair, and to a pre-booked MOT test station."

Taken from http://www.bbc.co.uk/dna/h2g2/A12921581

You should be fine.
leeparkes
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Sun Mar 28, 2010 12:27 am

So let me get this straight, if the car is in road worthy condition (which it is) i will be able to drive it to its place of repair, ie home.

Where do i stand with the tax?

Thanks.
Cypriotgeeza wrote:I done both my mates in my old 318is
felt so proud,even tried it with a E30 325i and got put in my place.. :o:
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Touring Whore
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Sun Mar 28, 2010 2:11 am

Tax is fine, you need an MOT to tax it, so if you have no MOT, you are legally unable to tax it.

Don't expect the Police to accept your explanation if they do pull you, but within the letter of the law you will be fine (as long as it's roadworthy, and I would guess that they'll do everything in their power to test this). I'll ask this question to a traffic copper next chance I get to clarify it.
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Sun Mar 28, 2010 2:17 am

What's the situation before you drive it home, i.e. Is it SORN'd and how long ago was the last tax.? These are questions plod would ask. Also check your insurance :- does it have a disclaimer for untaxed or non MOT'd cars?
If all else fails :- get a couple of "legal" mates to sandwich you on the way home. They keep nice and tight in front and behind you so that no police cars can accidentally be in a position to give you the once over.
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Sun Mar 28, 2010 2:47 am

Would it not be just much less faffing and potentially bad to call in a tow truck to pick it up and drop it at yours?

Over here in Jersey they cost £30 during the day or working hours, but not too sure about UK prices...
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Sun Mar 28, 2010 5:38 am

^^ much much more over here im afraid nay.
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Sun Mar 28, 2010 8:28 am

I do think tax is a bigger issue than you think. Have you not seen all the adverts and Roadwars etc, cars and bikes are getting taken off people then getting crushed for no tax.
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Sun Mar 28, 2010 8:59 am

IIRC, if you drive with no MOT or tax your insurance becomes invalid.
This is why I no longer drive an E30......

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leeparkes
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Sun Mar 28, 2010 10:19 am

The tax/mot both expired january 2009,the car is still presentable and looks roadworthy
Cypriotgeeza wrote:I done both my mates in my old 318is
felt so proud,even tried it with a E30 325i and got put in my place.. :o:
Falkster
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Sun Mar 28, 2010 10:29 am

Is it worth the risk? The police wouldn't invest in anpr if they don't enforce it.

Can't you get a mate to trailor it for some beer tokens.
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Sun Mar 28, 2010 11:00 am

If you know that you are going to buy it..... then why dont you book an mot ? :roll:
leeparkes
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Sun Mar 28, 2010 11:10 am

leeparkes wrote:Ive heard rumours of "book it in for an MOT and your covered" but id be picking the car up after 6pm so this could be a problem.
Cypriotgeeza wrote:I done both my mates in my old 318is
felt so proud,even tried it with a E30 325i and got put in my place.. :o:
town325i
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Sun Mar 28, 2010 11:25 am

leeparkes wrote:The tax/mot both expired january 2009,the car is still presentable and looks roadworthy
The way it stands is if you drive with out take you can get up to a £1000 fine and your car crushed they are having a big crack down around Birmingham area. Also you go to pay the back dated tax so 18 months tax to cover it.
The way i see it if your unsure weather to drive it don't. I wouldn't of even asked on here i would just drive it and worry about it later you always get the over cautious girls well what if this happened.
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Sun Mar 28, 2010 11:27 am

StuBeeDoo wrote:IIRC, if you drive with no MOT or tax your insurance becomes invalid.
Not true.
town325i
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Sun Mar 28, 2010 11:30 am

N00b wrote:
StuBeeDoo wrote:IIRC, if you drive with no MOT or tax your insurance becomes invalid.
Not true.
If you read the small print on most policy's it will be invalid unless your on a trade policy with the correct trade plates.
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Sun Mar 28, 2010 11:35 am

town325i wrote:
N00b wrote:
StuBeeDoo wrote:IIRC, if you drive with no MOT or tax your insurance becomes invalid.
Not true.
If you read the small print on most policy's it will be invalid unless your on a trade policy with the correct trade plates.
The small print typically says that if you fail to keep your car in a roadworthy condition then your insurance will be invalid. All an MOT means is that your car was roadworthy on the day of testing, nothing more, so having an MOT doesn't really guarantee anything.
For example, if you have an accident because you've allowed your brakes to get into a dangerously bad state, your insurance could bail on you whether the car had an MOT or not.
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N00b
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Sun Mar 28, 2010 11:38 am

^
Maybe this is another recently closed loophole that the insurers have latched onto, to combat the increasing number of people who drive without pretty much any docs at all.....but in my experience at least up until this point my above post is the way they call it.
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Sun Mar 28, 2010 11:39 am

Without an MOT your car is in an unroadworthy state though as its against the law to drive without and MOT
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Sun Mar 28, 2010 11:43 am

town325i wrote:Without an MOT your car is in an unroadworthy state though as its against the law to drive without and MOT
No it's not.
Example. My daily drive had it's MOT last month and it sailed through ie it failed on nothing. Therefore five minutes before it was tested it had no MOT (I missed it by a day) but it was in exactly the same condition it was in when it was tested.....ie roadworthy. Its against the law, I agree, and you'll be fined for that if caught.....but unless your car was defective at the time of an accident and the defects played a role in the accident then they cannot refuse to honour your policy.
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Sun Mar 28, 2010 11:46 am

The insurance will do anything to not have to payout and if the car has no tax or mot i think they should have enough ammo to fire at you in court not to payout.
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Sun Mar 28, 2010 11:50 am

town325i wrote:The insurance will do anything to not have to payout and if the car has no tax or mot i think they should have enough ammo to fire at you in court not to payout.
Seriously mate, this one has been discussed to death all over the webernet. As I said unless your car is defective, and the defect played a part in the accident, then having not MOT doesn't affect your insurance. Google for this and you'll get a million posts agreeing with me.
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Sun Mar 28, 2010 11:55 am

N00b wrote:
town325i wrote:The insurance will do anything to not have to payout and if the car has no tax or mot i think they should have enough ammo to fire at you in court not to payout.
Seriously mate, this one has been discussed to death all over the webernet. As I said unless your car is defective, and the defect played a part in the accident, then having not MOT doesn't affect your insurance. Google for this and you'll get a million posts agreeing with me.
Just because there are millions of posts agreeing with you from people like you and myself that dont work in the insurance trade dose not mean they are right.You forgot to add the millions of posts disagreeing with you though
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Sun Mar 28, 2010 11:58 am

Insurers will do anything they can to avoid a payout.

My policy with Liverpool Victoria specifically states:
"You must have a valid MOT for your car if one is required by law"
and
"You must have a valid road fund licence"

It also states "You must maintain your car in an efficient and roadworthy condition".
This is why I no longer drive an E30......

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Sun Mar 28, 2010 12:00 pm

town325i wrote:Just because there are millions of posts agreeing with you from people like you and myself that dont work in the insurance trade dose not mean they are right.You forgot to add the millions of posts disagreeing with you though
As I said earlier, this may be a recent change of policy wording that the insurance industry has implemented. If it is, it's a new thing as lack of MOT has never invalidated your insurance until this point in time.
Maybe everyone should check their own policies for small print mentioning this. Post yours and I'll do mine later (I'm with Swiftcover and you have to print off your own docs.....which I haven't done yet :D )
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Sun Mar 28, 2010 12:02 pm

StuBeeDoo wrote:Insurers will do anything they can to avoid a payout.

1.My policy with Liverpool Victoria specifically states:
"You must have a valid MOT for your car if one is required by law"
and
2."You must have a valid road fund licence"

3.It also states "You must maintain your car in an efficient and roadworthy condition".
All three are true, however does yours specifically state that without a valid MOT your insurance is invalid? Bear in mind that insurers small print is extremely specific as it's legally binding to both you and them.
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Sun Mar 28, 2010 12:03 pm

N00b wrote:Maybe everyone should check their own policies for small print mentioning this. Post yours and I'll do mine later (I'm with Swiftcover and you have to print off your own docs.....which I haven't done yet :D )
I've just checked my booklet. It says "last revised 01/08".
As far as my insurance is concerned, the MOT/tax thing has been valid at least 2 years.
This is why I no longer drive an E30......

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Sun Mar 28, 2010 12:07 pm

N00b wrote:
StuBeeDoo wrote:Insurers will do anything they can to avoid a payout.

1.My policy with Liverpool Victoria specifically states:
"You must have a valid MOT for your car if one is required by law"
and
2."You must have a valid road fund licence"

3.It also states "You must maintain your car in an efficient and roadworthy condition".
All three are true, however does yours specifically state that without a valid MOT your insurance is invalid? Bear in mind that insurers small print is extremely specific as it's legally binding to both you and them.
Isn't that what that wording says to you???
IMHO if the policy says "You must have a valid MOT for your car if one is required by law"
then it implies that if you don't have a current MOT then you're not covered by the policy.
Doesn't seem ambiguous or "grey" to me - more like a statement of fact.
This is why I no longer drive an E30......

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Sun Mar 28, 2010 12:09 pm

StuBeeDoo wrote:I've just checked my booklet. It says "last revised 01/08".
As far as my insurance is concerned, the MOT/tax thing has been valid at least 2 years.
No you misunderstand me.
I'm pointing out that your policy does not state that lack of MOT invalidates your warranty. It states that if your car is eligible for an MOT then it must have one, that it must carry road tax and most importantly that the vehicle must be in a roadworthy condition. If you're using the above to say that no MOT means no insurance then you're also, by definition, saying that no road tax means no insurance.....which we know not to be true.
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Sun Mar 28, 2010 12:16 pm

N00b wrote:
StuBeeDoo wrote:I've just checked my booklet. It says "last revised 01/08".
As far as my insurance is concerned, the MOT/tax thing has been valid at least 2 years.
No you misunderstand me.
I'm pointing out that your policy does not state that lack of MOT invalidates your warranty. It states that if your car is eligible for an MOT then it must have one, that it must carry road tax and most importantly that the vehicle must be in a roadworthy condition. If you're using the above to say that no MOT means no insurance then you're also, by definition, saying that no road tax means no insurance.....which we know not to be true.
As far as I'm concerned, my policy (which may or may not be similar to the OP's) catagorically states that if I drive my car without MOT and/or tax, then my insurance is not valid. I can't see any wording within my policy that is argueable. It's there, in black & white, and that being the case the insurer will enforce it if they feel they have to.
Therefore, no tax = no insurance. Fact!
Last edited by StuBeeDoo on Sun Mar 28, 2010 12:17 pm, edited 1 time in total.
This is why I no longer drive an E30......

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Sun Mar 28, 2010 12:17 pm

afaik, in the eyes of the law you are insured with or without tax or MOT. but, come time to claim you will get less of a pay out if your car is writen off.
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Sun Mar 28, 2010 12:21 pm

penton08 wrote:afaik, in the eyes of the law you are insured with or without tax or MOT. but, come time to claim you will get less of a pay out if your car is writen off.
Correct.
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Sun Mar 28, 2010 12:23 pm

StuBeeDoo wrote:As far as I'm concerned, my policy (which may or may not be similar to the OP's) catagorically states that if I drive my car without MOT and/or tax, then my insurance is not valid. I can't see any wording within my policy that is argueable. It's there, in black & white, and that being the case the insurer will enforce it if they feel they have to.
Therefore, no tax = no insurance. Fact!
Unless you're quoting a different part of your policy than the one you quoted above, then you're also saying that no road tax invalidates your insurance, right?
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