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Towing a sorn car home
mcg - 10/9/12 at 03:43 PM

I may need to tow a donor car home (90 miles).

The car drives, but does not have MOT or road tax, and will be too big for my kit car trailer.

Is it possible to tow it legally?

If not, is it possible to road tax for one day? Then there is the issue of no MOT?

Is a car trailer my only option?

puma931 - 10/9/12 at 03:51 PM

You will need to MOT, Tax and insure the car if you plan to tow it with rope.
The only other alternative is a trailer/recovery truck.

[Edited on 10/9/12 by puma931]

[Edited on 10/9/12 by puma931]

sdh2903 - 10/9/12 at 03:51 PM

If the wheels on the ground needs to be road legal. Needs to be on a trailer.

tomgregory2000 - 10/9/12 at 04:21 PM

Why not book it into a local mot place for a mot then drive it there and then drive it home from the mot place, all legal as long as you have insurance

daviep - 10/9/12 at 04:45 PM

Personall I wouldn't want to tow a car 90 miles on a rope or tow pole, it's hard work for the person being towed. However if you know somebody with an A-frame then I wouldn't hesitate regardless of MOT etc. Remember motorways are a no no.

If you look kosher e.g travelling at a reasonable speed with with a well secured and working light board with the correct number plate then you'll have no bother, if you tow an old banger on a piece of rope with loads of knots and a dodgy lightboard then you will almost definately attract the wrong kind of attention.

Cheers
Davie

loggyboy - 10/9/12 at 04:52 PM

quote:
Originally posted by tomgregory2000
Why not book it into a local mot place for a mot then drive it there and then drive it home from the mot place, all legal as long as you have insurance

That's exactly how i got my donor home.

blakep82 - 10/9/12 at 04:55 PM

quote:
Originally posted by daviep
Personall I wouldn't want to tow a car 90 miles on a rope or tow pole, it's hard work for the person being towed. However if you know somebody with an A-frame then I wouldn't hesitate regardless of MOT etc. Remember motorways are a no no.

If you look kosher e.g travelling at a reasonable speed with with a well secured and working light board with the correct number plate then you'll have no bother, if you tow an old banger on a piece of rope with loads of knots and a dodgy lightboard then you will almost definately attract the wrong kind of attention.

Cheers
Davie


trafic car with ANPR will pick it up straight away though woudn't it?
i'm never convinced by they booking an MOT one either, yes, strictly speaking its legal, but I was a copper and pulled you for it, i'd find it hard (or impossible) to believe that you couldn't find an MOT station within about 10 miles of wherever you started, and thats where you should have booked it in

trailer or recovery truck, thats it IMO

daviep - 10/9/12 at 05:01 PM

quote:
Originally posted by blakep82
quote:
Originally posted by daviep
Personall I wouldn't want to tow a car 90 miles on a rope or tow pole, it's hard work for the person being towed. However if you know somebody with an A-frame then I wouldn't hesitate regardless of MOT etc. Remember motorways are a no no.

If you look kosher e.g travelling at a reasonable speed with with a well secured and working light board with the correct number plate then you'll have no bother, if you tow an old banger on a piece of rope with loads of knots and a dodgy lightboard then you will almost definately attract the wrong kind of attention.

Cheers
Davie


trafic car with ANPR will pick it up straight away though woudn't it?
i'm never convinced by they booking an MOT one either, yes, strictly speaking its legal, but I was a copper and pulled you for it, i'd find it hard (or impossible) to believe that you couldn't find an MOT station within about 10 miles of wherever you started, and thats where you should have booked it in

trailer or recovery truck, thats it IMO


Not if the trailer board has the correct number plate i.e. the registration number of the tow car.

I wouldn't do the MOT trick, I think although legal it's ethically wrong and I wouldn't feel particularly good if I happened to cause an accident. If you think the car is safe then MOT it wherever you collect it and then drive it home, if you don't think it will pass an MOT then you shouldn't be driving it regardless of legality.

Cheers
Davie

marcjagman - 10/9/12 at 06:39 PM

A frames are illegal, emergency use only, like a dolly now.

JoelP - 10/9/12 at 06:49 PM

Everyone will have a different approach, i suppose it depends on your risk profile. Technically, it should be on a proper trailer or transporter.

I personally would move my insurance onto it and just drive it, after checking it over and giving it a quick shakedown on a quiet road (ie brake hard, swerve etc).

Lets be honest, no insurance is the big one to avoid, no MOT is small fry in comparison, and tax isnt a pointable offence.

mcg - 10/9/12 at 06:52 PM

okeydokie - thanks all. I think it is straight forward - trailer or MOT - or find somthing that is MOT'd already.

What's the deal with road tax. Is it possible to tax for 1 day / 1 week / 1 month???

Otherwise trailer it is!

Would be good to drive it first to get to know it before taking it apart!

designer - 10/9/12 at 07:12 PM

Just hire a trailer for a day!!

chillis - 10/9/12 at 07:13 PM

quote:
Originally posted by tomgregory2000
Why not book it into a local mot place for a mot then drive it there and then drive it home from the mot place, all legal as long as you have insurance


Doesn't work any more - plod are onto that one. Has to be within a reasonbable distance from registered address. I believe withi ten miles.
To move any vehicle on the public highway it must be roadworthy (which means taxed, mot'd and insured)
No way round it I'm afraid.

coyoteboy - 10/9/12 at 08:41 PM

I rented a trailer AND a guy with a car to tow it for £60 not too long back, to do a 70 mile round trip.

Slimy38 - 10/9/12 at 09:13 PM

There's one on Ebay at the moment that advertise themselves as 'man with trailer', similar to 'man with van'. Might be worth getting a quote.

If you are able to tax it (IE you've already got insurance and MOT), you are allowed to get a refund on any remaining months. So while you can't just tax for a month, you can tax for six and get a refund for five. But by the time you've added up tax, insurance (not one day insurance as you couldn't tax it off that), and potentially MOT costs, you're nearly on to the price of a trailer anyway. Especially for 90 miles.

NS Dev - 10/9/12 at 09:56 PM

trailer is only £35 a day to hire