scrapping a car

[paul1763]

just wondering does anyone know if its legal to tow a car to a scrap yard if it doesn't have tax, insurance & mot.

[sherrardk]

Don't know if it helps but the scrappy we used came and got our old van from the house.

[ummmm]

Yes, as long as the car taxing it is taxed and insured.

[ummmm]

Towing, not taxing.

[roger]

Yes, but make sure DVLA are informed of the scrapping

[Maydup]

If you're not gettng anything for it you could give it to chairty and have it collected.

http://giveacar.co.uk...OHrurECFa4mtAod5jkAqQ

[ABerrant]

Depends on the method of tow.

Using a braked A-frame towbar and the towed vehicle complies with trailer regulations (lighting, registration of tow car etc.) = legal.

Using a towrope and second driver = illegal.

[oldmaninshorts]

Give webuyanycar a ring and they will pay you £50 minimum for it and they will charge you £49.99 for administration fees.
But at least you make a penny.

[BRIGHT SPARK]

At least two wheels must be off the ground when towing a vehicle without tax ins and mot..

[MoonRocker]

perfectly legal, take the plates off and if you can put the plate of the towing car on the back. Brightspark is talking urban myth.

[Toureman]

It is illegal to have any car wheels on a public road without valid tax and valid insurance and a valid mot for any reason at all!

[MoonRocker]

no it isn't, toureman, if it is being towed it is efectively a trailer.

[EDDIE51]

Yes, a car being towed is considered part of the towing vechicle for insurance/tax purposes. But all scrap car dealers will come and pick the car up on a trailer and pay you cash for it ,usually £150 or so now depends on the weight of the car . You won't get more by taking it there yourself so why bother?

[Hopkirk]

Does this help?

http://uk.answers.yah...20081025113758AAiBOlW

[jake-the-peg]

I love these people who claim someone's opinion is an "Urban myth" whilst being too lazy to quote a definative source.

After some searching I can't find a definitive answer but I have found the opinion of the Avon and Somerset constabulary

http://www.avonandsom...tails.aspx?sid=3044#3

They say:

//A broken down vehicle is still classed as a motor vehicle and must be taxed,insured and have a valid MOT.//

It looks to me as if there is some degree of doub

[jake-the-peg]

ctd.

Some degree of doubt here and if the distance is not far and you have an existing agreement with a scrap yard you could reasonably claim good faith if you were stopped.

But if anyone can actually quote chapter and verse on where it's specifically called out in law I'd be most interested

[Toureman]

Avon and somerset police categorically say a towed car must be fully road legal! as JAKE THE PEG STATED.

Try again Moon Rocker,

[ABerrant]

What Avon & Somerset Police say in full is

"If the rope or chain is longer than 1.5m, it must be made clearly visible so as to assist other road users. A broken down vehicle is still classed as a motor vehicle and must be taxed,insured and have a valid MOT."

So, as I wrote above, towing with a rope or chain a non road legal car would be illegal. However, the Department for Transport states

"If you attach an A-frame to a car in order to tow it with a larger vehicle, the car plus A-frame counts as a trailer."

http://www.direct.gov...alasset/dg_200824.pdf

Trailers do not require Tax nor MOT and are covered by the towing-car insurance, however (as I also previously wrote) must conform to trailer regulations to be legal. Conforming to trailer regulations involves more than changing a registration plate and hooking up lights and brakes, but in principle can be done.

It is ironic that BRIGHT SPARK's assertion {only legal when two wheels are lifted - i.e. usage of a dolly} actually makes the tow illegal in two respects:

1. dollies may only be used for breakdown recovery to a place of safety, not transportation from A to B;
2. the towed car remains a car and so must be road legal as a car when travelling along the highway (Tax, MOT, Insurance etc.) just as it would need to be if on the end of a tow rope.

So if you lift two wheels of a non road legal car you have to lift all four!

[JonnyBoy12]

If you live in my neck of the woods then you will be able to rent or buy a trailer from this family run company. I have rented trailers many times from them.

http://www.motivtrailers.co.uk/

[EDDIE51]

I was personally told by Hertfordshire police that I could tow ( with a tow rope ) my daughters car which was SORN to her new address , and that my insurance would cover it as long as I put a number plate with my cars number on the back of the towed car
.If you read Hopkirks link it says that this is a grey area and there is no definate legislation on it . Some police forces say it is fine others say it is illegal, there has not been a definative court ruling on the subject. It will need someone to be prosecuted for this offence , plead 'not guilty' and insist on a trial so that a crown court has to make a definative ruling.

[ABerrant]

That just goes to show how clueless many police forces are on this issue.

A car towed with a rope can NEVER be legally classed as a trailer for the simple reason that a licensed driver must be in position to control the vehicle's brakes and steering. Hertfordshire police succeeded in aiding/abetting/permitting a car to be used on the public highway with no tax, (perhaps no insurance depending on the status of the second driver's coverage) and displaying a false registration plate.