Morris Minor Owners Club

Hi,

MOT is due on Thursday - hoped to get it done tomorrow but brakes need sorting so won't be able to get it MOT'd before it runs out. It's parked in a locked carport at home - do I need to SORN or doesn't it need it for no MOT?

Getting slightly confused reading through different forums (fora?)

Thanks in Advance

i think you only need to sorn if historic tax or insurance runs out, but maybe some human may tell you in more detail, i do know for certain i no longer need a dog licence if that helps, mackie

Multiple forums---fora! Interesting.

Yes - if the tax has run out. And then you meed to PRE-BOOK the MOT before driving there. It must remain Insured if you take it on the highway.

My understanding is that if it is still "taxed" then no, you do not need to SORN. You cannot use it on the road without an MOT, but no problem storing it. If the "tax" has run out, then technically you should SORN, but if you are talking only a couple of days then it would probably be more trouble than it's worth. As above, you will have to pre-book an MOT before venturing onto the highway.

If the car is pre 1960 then you do not need an MOT, therefore you do not need to let the "tax" expire, therefore you do not need to SORN as long as you have insurance

bmcecosse wrote:Yes - if the tax has run out. And then you meed to PRE-BOOK the MOT before driving there. It must remain Insured if you take it on the highway.

The tax is good until next April so no problem there - I take it then that there's no need. I'm driving it to a Morris-friendly MOT station about 50 miles away but will definitely pre-book so there's no issues

I think the police would take a dim view of you driving 50 miles with no MOT and then driving 50 miles back if it fails.
I think the rule assumes you will take it to the nearest MOT station. Here's hoping you don't get stopped.

i think the police and dvla view it as your nearest mot station

beero wrote:I think the police would take a dim view of you driving 50 miles with no MOT and then driving 50 miles back if it fails.
I think the rule assumes you will take it to the nearest MOT station. Here's hoping you don't get stopped.

Hi,

Thanks for the reply - I can't see anything saying I can't take it to a preferred MOT centre though, and nothing regarding distance. I would be leaving it there if it failed I think so shouldn't be a problem. AFAIK it's OK as long as it's a pre-booked test.

Here's the bit from the gov website:
If the MOT has run out
You can’t drive your vehicle on the road if the MOT has run out. You can be prosecuted if caught.

The only exceptions are to drive it:

to or from somewhere to be repaired
to a pre-arranged MOT test

Indeed - I've heard of some who have driven the length of the country 'to a pre-booked MOT' - and then cancelled the pre-booking at the last minute. Driving home after the MOT is a no-no until you 'tax' the car... Which of course you can do online. I didn't realise it could be driven 'to be repaired' without MOT or Tax ! That must be very open to 'interpretation'.....

the law .......without mot or tax drive to a prebooked mot and back home after a pass or fail.

back to the same mot station,for a retest and back home after pass or fail etc.etc (Believe me we've seen a few third attempts in the garage)

after a fail to a place where the vehicle will be repaired ( No need to be same garage as mot fail) and back home from there

or to a place where the vehicle will be broken for spares or crushed

unlawful to drive from the mot fail if they state that the vehicle is too dangerous to be driven on the road.