Help transporting SORNd car
- Thread starter Zedebee
- Start date
Scotland 🏴
From memory but double check you can legally drive a car with a SORN (Statutory Off Road Notification) on public roads specifically to attend a pre-booked MOT appointment, or another testing appointment, as confirmed by GOV.UK. The vehicle must have valid insurance coverage, and you must take a direct route to the appointment, I did it a few years ago, the mot station was only 10 miles away though
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Yes, that’s my understanding too. Problem is, I wouldn’t expect it to pass an MOT without a bit of attention first, and I don’t particularly want to insure it until it’s ready to be driven.
At the summit of the picturesque fens
Do a google search for a car transportation company in either Colchester, Farnham, or somewhere in between.
Moving cars around is a massive industry these days. I've used lots of different people and they have all been good TBH.
Shiply take around £75 of any quote you get (a guy I used once told me this).
The going rate for an uncovered trailer delivery is around £1.50-£2.00 per mile so it's going to be nearly £200 at the cheapest.
Moving cars around is a massive industry these days. I've used lots of different people and they have all been good TBH.
Shiply take around £75 of any quote you get (a guy I used once told me this).
The going rate for an uncovered trailer delivery is around £1.50-£2.00 per mile so it's going to be nearly £200 at the cheapest.
You can get temp insurance. I do it all the time. Book an mot, drive it there and it’s all legal. Temp cover through TopCashback for a day is about £20 and you get about a third of it back again.
By the time you have paid for temp insurance and booked a 'fake' MOT it's stretching the legal limits somewhat.
If that is an option, it would be worth risking it and not bother with any of it.
To be safe and legal, transportation is the only option IMO. And they will have insurance (check that BTW) for if anything goes wrong.
I believe your appointment has to be with the nearest MOT station, rather than anywhere.
I SORN my RS4 between trips to the UK and usually it needs an MOT each time I visit. There are a couple of MOT stations that I know are fair and highlight safety issues, but don't try to drum up work by exaggerating problems that they can rectify (important when the car is 20 years old and my visit might be only a few weeks in duration). However, both are about 20 minutes from where I store the car. It's always driven to a booked appointment, but I'm very aware that the legality of doing so is somewhat marginal.
Do you have access to suitable tow vehicle? If so, how much is it to rent a trailer?
I guess the pertinent question would be when did the MOT expire, how many miles ago and were there any advisories on the last one. If it was not much beyond 12 months, the car had no advisories (such as low tires) and has done very few miles since then maybe you’d get away with driving it that far straight for an MOT?
Personally I’m with Pondy and wouldn’t want to risk it.
Personally I’m with Pondy and wouldn’t want to risk it.
Good call, I’ll look into it.
North West Surrey
It's more than a 200 mile round trip so £300 doesn't seem unreasonable when you consider what a transporter costs to run, and the driver will be working for at least 5 hours.
I wouldn't want to risk the one day insurance to drive to a booked MOT option from that far away either, but it's a shame the transport cost doesn't work out.
Hopefully the trailer option does though.
I wouldn't want to risk the one day insurance to drive to a booked MOT option from that far away either, but it's a shame the transport cost doesn't work out.
Hopefully the trailer option does though.
Car has been SORNd and MOT-less for a year. I know the car but haven’t seen it for a couple of years, so essentially buying it blind. That’s why I want to get it home, not to an MOT station in the first instance.
I could chance it and drive it (silly) or get it transported (sensible). This thread was more to see if anyone in the area had the facility or inclination to help out.
I could chance it and drive it (silly) or get it transported (sensible). This thread was more to see if anyone in the area had the facility or inclination to help out.
A bit hopeful there young Ben, IMO.
This is the Z4 forum, not "recovery drivers with nowt to do" forum.
Even if there was someone with a recovery truck, or had an insured trailer to transport vehicles, I doubt they would do it for much less than £200.
It's a 230 mile round trip!
The last transporter chap I used said his towing vehicle did 8 mpg with a car on the back!
I'd be even less inclined to drive a relatively unknown, newly purchased car without an MOT.
Imagine the worst-case scenario - you're involved in a serious collision whilst driving an un-taxed car without an MOT and you're tens of miles from where you purchased it, with tens of miles to cover before you reach the MOT appointment. Any MOT-fail worthy fault found during the accident investigation would have serious implications for your legal liability. Your insurance might stipulate roadworthiness as a minimum, perhaps even specifying a current MOT and VED.
The safer option would be to get it on a lift and have a good poke around (yourself or by proxy) before considering driving it on the road. At least I have a pretty good idea of the condition of my MOT-less, untaxed car having owned it for nine years!
Exactly
That’s cheeky coming from you.This is the Z4 forum, not "recovery drivers with nowt to do" forum.
I’m very surprised that the legislation is so lenient.
Zebedee, as long as you’re confident that the car doesn’t have any dangerous faults, your cheapest option would be to drive it to a booked MOT close to home. For your £55, you’ll get a list of issues to be addressed or perhaps it’ll pass first time!
abar121
Active member
This. Billy bargain at that price.It's more than a 200 mile round trip so £300 doesn't seem unreasonable when you consider what a transporter costs to run, and the driver will be working for at least 5 hours.
I wouldn't want to risk the one day insurance to drive to a booked MOT option from that far away either, but it's a shame the transport cost doesn't work out.
Hopefully the trailer option does though.