Need to clear up the old "when can you drive without an MOT?" question again...

Akagi

Akagi

Akagi

Caporegime
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In acme's chair.
Hi guys,

The information on this seems wooly and there are a lot of contradictions online, even on the Gov.UK site itself.

The assumption is that the car is roadworthy and safe, and has valid insurance.

- I know that you can drive a car with no MOT or tax to a pre-arranged MOT test

- I know that you can drive a car with no MOT or tax to a place of repair to rectify issues found on the previous failed MOT test

- I know that you can drive a car with no MOT or tax to your home following an MOT test which subsequently failed, or from a place of repair to your home following work.

What I'm not 100% on is if this is OK:

- You drive a car with no MOT or tax to a pre-arranged MOT test, the car then fails.
- You then drive the car back to your home so that you can make arrangements for the repair.
- A few days later (ASAP), you drive the car to a place of repair to have the faults rectified.
- You then collect the car a week later once the repairs have been completed, and drive it home.

It is these delays which are the grey area it would seem. Does it have to go straight from the MOT station to the place of repair, or can you take it home again, make arrangements, then drive it to the place of repair?

Most places suggest that you can drive the car to a place of repair to have faults rectified which were noted on the previous MOT, with no reference to timescale, so this should be OK?

Just to be clear, I haven't got myself mixed up in some mental situation again, someone asked me and I didn't know the answer... :)
 
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My interpretaion of the rules is basically.

As long as the car is not actually dangerous (Which, again, might be a matter of debate)

Any journey, provided you have the correct insurance, that is pursuant to repair or recovery or travelling to/from an MOT test, should be OK.

Other journeys however are not.

Time should not be an issue.

Distance is a more interesting one, There is no obligation to have the MOT done at the "Nearest" test station, but how far you can push it these days I do not know.

It was not uncommon back in the day for people buying untaxed/un-MOT cars from some distance away to book an MOT at their local garage and then drive straight home cancelling the test once they got home (With full knowledge of the garage involved|), they would subsequently fix the car up and pass it in the normal manner.

However, the Authorities seem to be far more Anal about stuff these days so I am not sure what the current attitude to this trick would be? :confused:
 
Thanks Orionaut. :)

Another thing we were both wondering is related to the distance.

We both think this car would be better off getting repaired at a specialist given the nature of the repairs, but the closest specialist is 33 miles away... I'm not sure if that would fly if you get pulled over, because you could technically have had it done by some random garage down the road (to a lesser standard).
 
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If your unsure check with your insurance.

I'm pretty sure that you will be OK if your insurance are happy.

If your chosen specialist is the best place then I don't see the problem.
 
I don't think its the insurance company who need to be checked with. Rather the Police etc.
 
Acme said:
- I know that you can drive a car with no MOT or tax to a pre-arranged MOT test
Click to expand...

I'm not sure that the second bit about tax/VED is correct.

- I know that you can drive a car with no MOT or tax to a place of repair to rectify issues found on the previous failed MOT test
Click to expand...

See above about tax/VED.

- I know that you can drive a car with no MOT or tax to your home following an MOT test which subsequently failed, or from a place of repair to your home following work.
Click to expand...

Do you have a link for that?

Something to consider is that a failed MOT test doesn't invalidate an unexpired MOT certificate. This is why you get the MOT test done 2-3 weeks before the current certificate expires.
 
I think you're ok as long as the car is insured and you're only using it to drive to the MOT centre.........if you think about it, there's no way other than to drive it without an MOT, because you have to get it to the MOT Centre dont you

you cant tax a car without an MOT..............it needs the MOT first
 
Yeah I'm sure about the tax part for the above reason, you can't tax it without an MOT!

Also the car in question's MOT expired in January I think, so it can't be driven around on the remainder of an old MOT sadly.

The rules state that you can drive to a place of repair, which includes your home address.

The way I interpret the rules is pretty much how Orionaut described it. You can drive it to and from MOT tests and places of repair as much as you need to, as long as you don't take the P on the timeframe and distance, and use a bit of common sense.

I just wanted to make sure that was correct, and so far there are a few different viewpoints in here. Which isn't surprising, but I hoped that mighty OcUK motors might hold the definitive answer!

Where are the resident policemen?
 
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Everything you've said in your OP is technically correct. Boundaries are another entirely situation dependent discussion.
 
Acme said:
Yeah I'm sure about the tax part for the above reason, you can't tax it without an MOT!
Click to expand...

But car tax and MOT are separate and can expire on different dates. You can have a valid car tax without a valid MOT if the latter expires before the former.
 
OK, so here are the exemptions as per Regulation 6 of the Motor Vehicle Test Regulations 1981:

6(2) Pursuant to section 47(6) of the Road Traffic Act 1988 the Secretary of State hereby exempts from section 47(1) the use of a vehicle (that is of a type that should normally have an MOT certificate)

(a) as follows

(i) for the purpose of submitting it by previous arrangement for, or bringing it away from, an MOT examination, or

(ii) in the course of an MOT examination, for the purpose of taking it to, or bringing it away from, any place where a part of the examination is to be or, as the case may be, has been, carried out, or of carrying out any part of the examination, the person so using it being either

(A) an MOT examiner, or a Ministry Inspector or an inspector appointed by a designated council, or
(B) a person acting under the personal direction of an examiner, a Ministry Inspector or a designated Council, or

(iii) where a test certificate is refused on an examination

(A) for the purpose of delivering it by previous arrangement at, or bringing it away from, a place where work is to be or has been done on it to remedy for a further examination the defects on the ground of which the test certificate was refused; or
(B) for the purpose of delivering it, by towing it, to a place where the vehicle is to be broken up;
Click to expand...

I've not read up on a lot of the case law and I'm not a traffic officer, so this isn't my specialty, but I would agree with much of the interpretation from Acme and Orionaut.

You can drive it to and from MOT tests and places of repair as much as you need to
Click to expand...

Yes, I think I remember some case law about how it much be a single journey though. So you can stop for fuel and be ok, but you can't stop and do your shopping. I'm pretty sure (unless there is recent precedence) that there are no restrictions on where you can get the vehicle repaired or tested or timeframe in which it must be arranged.
 
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Thats fantastic, thanks Burnsy, and everyone else. :)

Just to be 100% sure, this does still apply if the vehicle also has no tax, because it cannot be taxed without a valid MOT?
 
Yeah think you're pretty safe tax wise, I've had to do it numerous times due to being away when both have ran out and worried about it, and then found to be legal all times.

Also you'd be safe taking it to the specified MOT place I think, although 33 miles for an MOT is a bit extreme if its prearranged you're still covered legally I think. Didn't realise MOT's were type specific :p
 
MOT station is about 10 miles away and the place of repair is about 30 miles away, and it will probably go back to my driveway in between each trip. So if it goes MOT > home > repair > home > MOT, thats 90 miles. I could get it tested at the place doing the repair, either before or after, but I trust this MOT tester, and I'd want the re-test in the same place.
 
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