Towing a kit car

[Buzz word]

Hi guys,
Hopefully a simple one for you. I have a kit car that is not registered or SVA'd as yet. I want to take it to a garage to have a few bits done that i cant do. The question is can i tow it? Obviously as its not a 'real' car yet it doesnt have any tax or insurance. But then if its not officially a car and it would be towed would i need them?

The garage i want to go to is only about a mile so its a little fustrating as its pretty tempting to just drive it, but i dont think its worth the risk.

Cheers

[TigerS6]

Not sure on the rules/regs now, but when i built mine, you were allowed to travel (as long as you were insured), to a workshop/garage for the purposes of work to the car to allow it to pass the SVA, in the same way you can drive it to the SVA (although I did take it there on a trailer).
The only stipulation was that it was booked in at the garage at the time.

This is what I worked to, and so had a *couple* of trips before the car was registered.

if that is now not the case, then... well, oops!

Edited by TigerS6 on Monday 25th June 16:12

[Busa_Rush]

Yep, you need insurance on the chassis number and it must meet construction and use regs, such as lights, brakes, seat belts etc but if it meets those criteria then you can drive it to and from a pre-arranged appointment at a place where work is beng done in order for the car to pass either SVA or MoT test. The pre-arranged appointment must be at a reasonably close location, you can't *reasonably* elect to use a garage in Aberdeen if you live in Birmingham although the legislatioon does not specifically rule this out. (A magistrate probably would not let you tget away with this but you could argue if the garage was a specialist)

There's a booklet you can get from VOSA which tells you this and it's well worth getting one to show to plod who will possibly stop you - not many of them know the obscure laws like this.

[Buzz word]

i just called the local station and they seemed pretty insistent that if it was a 'motor propelled vehicle' it must be on a trailer. i just want the emissions, tracking, brake bias and light alignment checked. so its not really going to fall under the MOT/ SVA clause. looks like i will have to find a trailer place or see if the garage can do me a favor.

[Busa_Rush]

Buzz word said:

i just called the local station and they seemed pretty insistent that if it was a 'motor propelled vehicle' it must be on a trailer. i just want the emissions, tracking, brake bias and light alignment checked. so its not really going to fall under the MOT/ SVA clause. looks like i will have to find a trailer place or see if the garage can do me a favor.

You are allowed to drive on the road to a pre-booked appointment to have the emissions checked but as you've just found, most plod don't have a clue about some of the less frequently used regulations. If you speak to VOSA they will send you the booklet.

[Buzz word]

Cheers,
I will give VOSA a call tomorrow and ask for them to send that booklet through.

[Busa_Rush]

Sorry, didn't mean it to sound as though I was telling you to do it

[Liszt]

Last year I took the dax for a pre SVA mot to sort out emmissions and lights etc. Pre booked and droved there and to SVA without tax or plates. Insured on chassis number. Passed police twice. They didn't bat an eyelid.

[crazypb]

To drive on a public road you must have two things,.. insurance and a registration plate. You say it's not registered so I'm afraid this means towing is also limited unless you use an 'A'frame which is awkward to set up on many kit cars. (When a vehicle is towed with an auto-steering frame, it essentially becomes a trailer)
If someone is in the driving seat of a towed vehicle, it has to be at least registered and insured.
Your only LEGAL option is the trailer and at around 40 quid a day, that's a lot less than the fines, possibly even a ban, you'll get for driving the thing! Bit silly to spend all that time building it and then lose yer license, plus even get it siezed and crushed, a few days before it's road-legal huh?

[spaximus]

The police genrally do not know the rules,however you are allowed to drive a car so long as it is insured without plates to enable you to have work done at a pre arranged appointment within a reasonable distance. I had a pre mot on my westfield and then drove to cheltenham from Bristol to have a rolling road session to adjust emmissions on my MBE system. I passed two police cars without any pull. I checked with VOSA before driving and it was okay to do so. Then drove it to DVLA to get plates.
Traffic police would be able to tell you but the normal station guys ( who are sometimes civvy) do not come across this much.

[Busa_Rush]

crazypb said:

To drive on a public road you must have two things,.. insurance and a registration plate. You say it's not registered so I'm afraid this means towing is also limited unless you use an 'A'frame which is awkward to set up on many kit cars. (When a vehicle is towed with an auto-steering frame, it essentially becomes a trailer)
If someone is in the driving seat of a towed vehicle, it has to be at least registered and insured.
Your only LEGAL option is the trailer and at around 40 quid a day, that's a lot less than the fines, possibly even a ban, you'll get for driving the thing! Bit silly to spend all that time building it and then lose yer license, plus even get it siezed and crushed, a few days before it's road-legal huh?

I suggest you read the regs again, you don't need a reg plate, just insurance and compliance with construction and use regs. Like others have said, I drove to and from 3 SVA tests and a number of garage visits pre-registration and all I had was insurance and a car that was basically legal.