Omega Owners Forum
Chat Area => General Discussion Area => Topic started by: ians on 09 January 2008, 15:34:28
-
Anyone know if you need road tax on a vehicle that is being towed?
-
If it's running on its' own wheels then yes...
Kevin
-
you mean as in not on a trailer?
-
Yes. On a trailer is obviously no problem. If it's towed using a rope or a bar it needs to be fully road legal. Not 100% sure what the situation is if it's up on 2 wheels on a dolly or similar.
It came up in Legal Questions Thread within the last page or two so have a look there for the definitive answer. :y
A project in mind?
Kevin
-
you mean as in not on a trailer?
correct, if it is on a trailer for its entire time being towed, it doesnt have to have any such requirements
if you're ever unsure about what's legally required to transport an "unroadworthy" car, tis best to stick it on a trailer that'll hold it completely, ie vehicle not in contact at all with the road
-
Yes. On a trailer is obviously no problem. If it's towed using a rope or a bar it needs to be fully road legal. Not 100% sure what the situation is if it's up on 2 wheels on a dolly or similar.
It came up in Legal Questions Thread within the last page or two so have a look there for the definitive answer. :y
A project in mind?
Kevin
just contemplating one thats got MOT but no tax. hmmm. If I recall ebay sales get 7 days Norwich Union insurance. Suppose I could then buy tax and cash it in straight away. I don't have a trailer or tow bar so that's not realistic short term.
-
If it's an omega you'll need a pretty sizeable trailer and it'll be over the max towing weight for another Omega anyway.
6 Months tax and free insurance sounds like the cheapest way if the car is a runner and has MOT.
Kevin
-
If it's an omega you'll need a pretty sizeable trailer and it'll be over the max towing weight for another Omega anyway.
6 Months tax and free insurance sounds like the cheapest way if the car is a runner and has MOT.
Kevin
breakdown and RAC is another option I suppose :)
-
this was the one, decent deal but the transport issues weighed against it plus I have numerous jobs car and other to do at the moment.
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&rd=1&item=200188196866&ssPageName=STRK:MEWA:IT&ih=010
zero rated buyer may not complete though..
-
Yes. On a trailer is obviously no problem. If it's towed using a rope or a bar it needs to be fully road legal. Not 100% sure what the situation is if it's up on 2 wheels on a dolly or similar.
It came up in Legal Questions Thread within the last page or two so have a look there for the definitive answer. :y
A project in mind?
Kevin
just contemplating one thats got MOT but no tax. hmmm. If I recall ebay sales get 7 days Norwich Union insurance. Suppose I could then buy tax and cash it in straight away. I don't have a trailer or tow bar so that's not realistic short term.
You can't tax it with temporary insurance cover anyway.
I think you can tow a car with an A-frame (i.e. front wheels raised) and it then effectively becomes a trailer of the car towing it. So you need a number plate bar with lights on it attached to the back of the towed vehicle, showing the plate of the towing vehicle and connected to the brake lights, tail lights and indicators of the towing vehicle. In this case the towed vehicle doesn't have to be roadworthy, although I expect the rear tyres will have to be legal, just like a trailer.
I stand to be corrected though, so don't take this as gospel ::)
-
I think if it were me I'd go and buy it, drive it straight home untaxed but insured and MOTd having picked it up on a Sunday or something, and, if stopped, explain, showing documentary evidence, that I'm waiting for a cover note in the post and I couldn't have taxed it on a Sunday anyway.
Trouble is, with the "policing by post" system we have these days, you're liable to get caught on camera and have a bill for whatever the fine is dispatched by post with no opportunity to reason with anyone nor any grace period. >:(
Almost every used car has the tax cashed in so the buyer can't take posession of it legally when it's purchased. It was the same when I bought my car. I traded in my old car so how was I going to get home in a new car without tax? In the event I drove it to the nearest post office and taxed it. Luckily I had the foresight to get insurance documents organised beforehand but I still drove it untaxed to the post office.
Kevin
-
On a related note, I notice that my insurance covers me to drive a car belonging to someone else (presumably 3rd party cover only).
If my wife buys a car (and doesn't specifically insure it), can I then drive it home under my cover above, or does the car need to be directly covered under a policy somewhere? Anyone know?
This is relevant if the car is then going to be off the road for a while and the only need for insurance is the initial trip from seller to home.
-
The car will have to covered by another policy then your insurance will allow you 3rd party cover on the car.
-
Driving without tax may invalidate your insurance.
However, if you are prosecuted for driving without a Road Fund License you will normally be required to pay the "back tax" plus a fine which, the last time I was convicted, was 1.5 times the "back tax". Plus costs. No points on your license.
However, if you purchase tax for January this is enough for DVLA and you should be OK. In my experience. I am a good lad now but "in my experience" is more times than I have fingers to count with.
I would drive it (did the same with my MV6), but don't have an accident!
Jim
-
The car will have to covered by another policy then your insurance will allow you 3rd party cover on the car.
This appears to be a very common, but false belief. Unless your insurance policy specifically states that the car owned by someone else must have insurance cover of its own for your third party cover to be valid, then it's not the case. The only problem with driving an otherwise uninsured car with your third party cover is that the car is only covered while you're driving it. So if you park at the side of the road the car is then uninsured on a public highway. Thus it's only really viable to drive someone else's uninsured car from one piece of private property to another, without stopping off anywhere on the way.
Double check your policy documents to be sure, as each policy may vary. But it would be unusual for it to have a clause like that above -- certainly none of mine have.
-
Driving without tax may invalidate your insurance.
Never heard of this being the case, and I strongly doubt it. Unless your insurance company has a clause stating this, I think they'd find it very hard to uphold this as a reason for refusing a claim if the car has a valid MOT and is otherwise road legal.
It's not the insurance companies' job to police the laws of taxation.
However, if you are prosecuted for driving without a Road Fund License you will normally be required to pay the "back tax" plus a fine which, the last time I was convicted, was 1.5 times the "back tax". Plus costs. No points on your license.
This is true, it's not an endorsable offence so you'll never get points, just a potentially nasty fine.
However, if you purchase tax for January this is enough for DVLA and you should be OK. In my experience. I am a good lad now but "in my experience" is more times than I have fingers to count with.
I would drive it (did the same with my MV6), but don't have an accident!
Jim
I have done it a few times too, purely because it's a complete and utter pain in the arse to get tax for a car you've just bought. Insurance company often won't cover it until you've actually taken ownership of the car so you can't get the certificate in advance, meaning you simply can't get the tax for a few days after purchase.
Not sure I'd do it now though, too many ANPR systems around. A few days after I bought the Omega I put tax on it and was driving in Glasgow. Out of the blue a police car appeared and pulled me over, before even speaking to me the first thing one of the guys done was look at the tax disc, before saying to his colleague "oh the tax on it is valid" in a surprised tone. I expect it showed up on the PNC as having no tax, as the previous month it was untaxed and the records probably hadn't been updated since I bought the tax.
I just wish there was a way to buy temporary tax, allowing you to get a car home legally, without needing all the documents that are impossible to get at short notice. For example they could charge £10 or even £20 for a one day tax disc that can be purchased without showing insurance cert -- of course the car still has to be insured to be legal, but it facilitates those cases where it's not possible to get a certificate in time. At an equivalent of £3650+ per year somehow I doubt uninsured drivers will use it as a loophole to avoid showing a certificate!
-
Driving without tax may invalidate your insurance.
Never heard of this being the case, and I strongly doubt it. Unless your insurance company has a clause stating this, I think they'd find it very hard to uphold this as a reason for refusing a claim if the car has a valid MOT and is otherwise road legal.
It's not the insurance companies' job to police the laws of taxation.
However, if you are prosecuted for driving without a Road Fund License you will normally be required to pay the "back tax" plus a fine which, the last time I was convicted, was 1.5 times the "back tax". Plus costs. No points on your license.
This is true, it's not an endorsable offence so you'll never get points, just a potentially nasty fine.
However, if you purchase tax for January this is enough for DVLA and you should be OK. In my experience. I am a good lad now but "in my experience" is more times than I have fingers to count with.
I would drive it (did the same with my MV6), but don't have an accident!
Jim
I have done it a few times too, purely because it's a complete and utter pain in the arse to get tax for a car you've just bought. Insurance company often won't cover it until you've actually taken ownership of the car so you can't get the certificate in advance, meaning you simply can't get the tax for a few days after purchase.
Not sure I'd do it now though, too many ANPR systems around. A few days after I bought the Omega I put tax on it and was driving in Glasgow. Out of the blue a police car appeared and pulled me over, before even speaking to me the first thing one of the guys done was look at the tax disc, before saying to his colleague "oh the tax on it is valid" in a surprised tone. I expect it showed up on the PNC as having no tax, as the previous month it was untaxed and the records probably hadn't been updated since I bought the tax.
I just wish there was a way to buy temporary tax, allowing you to get a car home legally, without needing all the documents that are impossible to get at short notice. For example they could charge £10 or even £20 for a one day tax disc that can be purchased without showing insurance cert -- of course the car still has to be insured to be legal, but it facilitates those cases where it's not possible to get a certificate in time. At an equivalent of £3650+ per year somehow I doubt uninsured drivers will use it as a loophole to avoid showing a certificate!
Effectivly the car should not be on the road and is committing an offence, in this case this would invalidate your insurance.
The car may be road legal, but it is not legally on the road
-
Driving without tax may invalidate your insurance.
Never heard of this being the case, and I strongly doubt it. Unless your insurance company has a clause stating this, I think they'd find it very hard to uphold this as a reason for refusing a claim if the car has a valid MOT and is otherwise road legal.
It's not the insurance companies' job to police the laws of taxation.
However, if you are prosecuted for driving without a Road Fund License you will normally be required to pay the "back tax" plus a fine which, the last time I was convicted, was 1.5 times the "back tax". Plus costs. No points on your license.
This is true, it's not an endorsable offence so you'll never get points, just a potentially nasty fine.
However, if you purchase tax for January this is enough for DVLA and you should be OK. In my experience. I am a good lad now but "in my experience" is more times than I have fingers to count with.
I would drive it (did the same with my MV6), but don't have an accident!
Jim
I have done it a few times too, purely because it's a complete and utter pain in the arse to get tax for a car you've just bought. Insurance company often won't cover it until you've actually taken ownership of the car so you can't get the certificate in advance, meaning you simply can't get the tax for a few days after purchase.
Not sure I'd do it now though, too many ANPR systems around. A few days after I bought the Omega I put tax on it and was driving in Glasgow. Out of the blue a police car appeared and pulled me over, before even speaking to me the first thing one of the guys done was look at the tax disc, before saying to his colleague "oh the tax on it is valid" in a surprised tone. I expect it showed up on the PNC as having no tax, as the previous month it was untaxed and the records probably hadn't been updated since I bought the tax.
I just wish there was a way to buy temporary tax, allowing you to get a car home legally, without needing all the documents that are impossible to get at short notice. For example they could charge £10 or even £20 for a one day tax disc that can be purchased without showing insurance cert -- of course the car still has to be insured to be legal, but it facilitates those cases where it's not possible to get a certificate in time. At an equivalent of £3650+ per year somehow I doubt uninsured drivers will use it as a loophole to avoid showing a certificate!
I insure my car online and print out my own insurance docs :y
-
You sound pretty knowledgeable for a Newbie EP :y.....Oh and welcome to Newbie world ;D ;D
-
You sound pretty knowledgeable for a Newbie EP :y.....Oh and welcome to Newbie world ;D ;D
Thank you for the welcome my dear fellow ;)
-
I'm sure I've seen that squirrel somewhere before.... ;D
-
You sound pretty knowledgeable for a Newbie EP :y.....Oh and welcome to Newbie world ;D ;D
Thank you for the welcome my dear fellow ;)
No probs anytime :y......Oh and by the way no sign of your mate yet, where's he then ::)