My car is going to need an MOT soon but I'm about 90% sure than during the one month 'window' when I am allowed to do it, I will be away with work.

Car is parked in the car park of my apartment complex behind an electric gate. Do I need to SORN the car? I hope not. All that hassle.

 

Just MOT it before you go. You can MOT it when you like.

 

You can m.o.t it 30days before its due and you will get 13months m.o.t

 

You can also MOT it anytime you like, just means you'll get 12 months ticket from the day you test it.

 

Sorn is to do with tax I thought, I would get it booked in early so you can use it when you get back. Can you leave the car at family's? Or there people to keep an eye on it?

 

This is the first MOT the car requires, due 1st Sep, which means I can only do it from the 1st Aug, problem is I am probably going to be away.

 

Tax is invalid with no MOT I think, same with insurance.

 

Don't think so.
Tax is tax, either paid or not.
Can't see how MOT effects insurance per se. Surely that would depend on whether or not the car is roadworthy. MOT does not mean car is roadworthy - I would contact your insurers to clarify this point.
Not having an MOT is a non-endorsable offence, which goes to show how serious a matter it is. ie less serious than crossing an unbroken white line.

 

No need to sorn a car for no MOT, it only has to registered as SORN if it has no tax or insurance.

 

Tax is valid with no mot ,but you cannot get tax without mot,you only need to sorn a car that isn't taxed.Your car can sit quite happily with no mot for as long as you like,just remember to book the mot that way if you get a tug on the way you will be covered

 

Go and see your mot station, I believe you can MOT it when you like.

 

Don't worry about it.
It's only a problem if you use the car on the public highway without a valid MOT.
If it's parked up on private land without an MOT there is no problem.
When you decide to MOT it, make sure that you prebook the MOT or you will get done if caught driving to the test venue without it being prebooked.

 

what this guy said - you dont need to MOT it before its expired - but if it has expired and your driving it and pulled by the old bill - make sure you have a prebooked MOT after it has expired, otherwise fine coming your way

 

If you don't have an MOT and are driving it other than to a PRE-BOOKED MOT then your insurance is invalid. The MOT is a annual safety check of the car that is a legal requirement.

 

I think if you park it on the roads (and even your drive) then it needs an MOT, otherwise you must SORN it.

 

It's not that much hassle to sorn though if it's sorned for 21 days or more you can refund your tax, download and print one form for this, sorn your car online in five minutes. Save a few quid even if you only get one month back!

 

Mot fine is £60 no points, and discretion of police if impounding as mot IS proof that a car is safe and roadworthy.(depending how long without mot the police will use discretion)

Mot when you get back if you like, only drive it to garage when mot is booked and you won't get done
Mot will affect insurance if you crash your car and a claim is made, the insurers will NOT pay out. So don't crash on way to mot centre when your back.

And sorn is nothing todo with mot

 

Just thought I would add my 2 pence... There is no legal requirement for a mot to have valid insurance, and it has nothing to do with tax validation. You do need a Mot to drive on most public roads and the only excuse to driving without one is driving to a pre booked mot test. Where I am from there is no need for a mot or a cbt and this has no affect on insurance but I would have to fill out a mot exemption to get tax.

 

You have to sorn for both Tax and insurance, whether parked on the road or not

I.e either no tax or no insurance or no "both" = SORN

 

I hear what you are saying, but since there is no automatic reminder system for MOTs and the penalties are considerably lighter than no insurance, there must be a lot of cars that are inadvertantly running around with no MOT.
I find it hard to believe that the insurance companies would not pay out in these circumstances when the car is roadworthy.
Any one in the insurance industry who can comment on this, as it is something I have always wondered about.
My wife got busted for this very thing, but the police did not charge her with driving without insurance - why not if this is the case? It's a pretty easy bust. She just got a £50 fine (which I paid).

 

^^^shes still insured in the eyes of the law but the insurance will try wingle out of it if paying out as its the owners responsibility to have the car legal. You can get text reminders for mot if you pay the £1.50 fee.
If you've been taking the pi55 and have been driving without mot for ages then the police will take it off road if it looks tatty, but if only just ran out say few weeks or so then £60 fine and told to get done ASAP.
A lot of people tend to forget mot inc me and that's why it's discretion on the copper that pulls you.

 

I'll vouch for that.
I once got a Producer and then discovered that the MoT had expired about 2 weeks earlier.
Went to the local station, owned up and provided the new MoT. I was asked if it was the first time I had MoT'd it and I said yes (had the car a few months only) and that was the end of the matter.

A fair cop ended up with no penalty for me, due to a reasonable cop I suppose.

I do think it would be easier if MoT's ran from the 1st (or to the end) of a month, just like Road Tax. Would negate the risk of being without MoT for a few weeks.

I always try to bring my 'Road Tax month' and MoT into line. It certainly helps if the car fails the MoT because you then have a little time to sort things while still being 'legal' in the sense of current MoT, Tax and Insurance. (I'm not talking about dangerous failures, but things like bulbs, wiper blades etc.).

 

Having no MOT does not invalidate insurance. Insurance policies state that the car must be road worthy which is why in the event of an accident and assessor is sent out to not only check damage but to also look at the car and make sure it is road worthy. An MOT states that the car is road worthy at the day of the test only, its even written in the terms and conditions about this. At the end of the day you could have MOT'd a car yesterday and your car could be not road worthy today because of any number of issues.

 

Well that's what I figured on the grounds that it is common sense - pure and simple.
Still, as they say, "common sense isn't all that common".
What's Moley got to say on this - maybe he'd rather not say anything. ;-)

 

If you are parked up on the road and are unfortunate enough to trigger a passing ANPR unit then you will get done for being on the public highway without an MOT.
If you are parked on private land without an MOT, VOSA will not come looking for you.

To clarify other points.....

If you have no insurance no one will come looking for you other that your insurer via a reminder to renew.
If you do not have road tax, the DVLA will come looking for you via your annual or six month tax reminder.
At this point, you have to renew the tax disc or declare SORN.
If you renew the tax disc then we all know you have to have the valid MOT and insurance at this point.
If you declare SORN and stay off the public highway, no one will bother you except for the annual reminder to renew from the DVLA.

If you go onto the public highway without insurance, tax or when SORNed and trigger an ANPR then you will end up in a whole world of bother where we all knows what happens

Not having an MOT in the circumstance you describe in your first post is not a problem for you.
I used to spend weeks working abroad and have had MOT's expire when away and then having to renew on my return to the UK without problem as long as you pre book the MOT test.

 

Although your right but at the same time your wrong with insurance in the event of a claim.
Crash your car with no mot and make a claim and see if you get an easy ride with insurance company, some might hounor it and most will fight you. And assesors are not exactly clued up IMO, they only check the obvious. Police do more thourough checks to find cause of accident

 

In any insurance document I have ever had it has never stated that the car needs to have a valid MOT, only roadworthy so it wouldnt be that hard to fight. A simple examination of the vehicle could tell you if it is road worthy.

However if you read the terms and conditions for MOT's it does say that they only ensure the car is road worthy at the time of the test, that means as soon as you leave the centre they are no longer saying it is ok, which is fair enough how could they know something hasnt changed?

Police only do more thorough checks if there is debate about the cause or there are serious injuries. Your run of the mill accident the assessor is the guy to judge if the car was in a satisfactory state before the accident. Now sometimes they dont bother but thats up to them and that is his role.

 

Although very understandable but try it and see is my advise.

It's the insurers job to find a reason not to pay out

I would be happy to be corrected by moley,ollie or tony form the forums insurance co's
And I'll happily hold my hands up.

 

I'm afraid that's not now correct.
A recent change (well last year in fact) now has the Insurance database checked against all vehicles because it's now an offence for a vehicle to be on a public highway without insurance (note - not "being driven on" the road !).

I'm currently ignoring VOSA's threats re a Fiesta I'm the registered keeper of.
It was transferred to me from my daughter after it broke down and she bought another car last Sept.
I didn't have any insurance, having SORNed and then sold my WRX Classic earlier in the year.
For one reason and another I never got around to getting it fixed and it remains at the bottom of our garden.
I SORNed it when the tax ran out in Feb and then a few weeks later got a fine from VOSA for having an uninsured vehicle on a public highway.
I ignored it, and the subsequent letter telling me it was my last chance to pay up.
That was over two months ago. Nothing since.

I'll go to Court if necessary.
VOSA has to prove that the car was on a public highway whilst uninsured, and they can't possibly provide evidence that it has, because it hasn't.

The moral of course is to remove your car from a public road not simply if it's not taxed, but also if it's not insured.

I'm sure most of us have at some time changed cars, transferred insurance and left the old one taxed outside our house waiting for a buyer.
You can't do that anymore (well, without risks anyway).

 

I havent tried it personally but two of my friends have been in this situation and the insurance paid out.