Are police vehicles taxed and mot’d?

[bimsb6]

I assume its a stupid question but bear with me ! Mrs called this afternoon about a suspicious vehicle parked opposite our elderly neighbours house , they claim to be from herts police ( we are in beds) its an unmarked vehicle showing as no tax as of 1st april , its a 13 plate vw showing as no mot history yet its mot’d on vehicle smart with no data , plain clothed occupants very odd .

[SydneyBridge]

I would call the police and ask them, just incase its not

[CRA1G]

I would find it highly unlikely they would use a 7 year old vehicle anyway....

[bimsb6]

We have just had a call back and they are indeed on a ‘job’ and have noted its tax status lol the mot thing is odd though mot’d but no mot history .

[Smurfsarepeopletoo]

Police vehicles dont undergo a normal MOT, the same as taxis dont, they are subject to a different type of test, I would assume that police vehicles dont get taxed either.

[grumpy52]

CRA1G said:

I would find it highly unlikely they would use a 7 year old vehicle anyway....

You would be very surprised at some of the vehicles used by the undercover or surveillance sections . The idea is to blend into the background, older transit van sized vehicles seem to be a regular choice . They don't need to be speed machines just be capable of house a couple of blokes and some kit for hours on end .
Having done similar in the private sector it's very very boring and a PITA if a public spirited nosey parker calls the old bill on you , especially if they suspect you of casing out the nearby sub post office, very awkward .

[sparkythecat]

Smurfsarepeopletoo said:

Police vehicles dont undergo a normal MOT, the same as taxis dont, they are subject to a different type of test, I would assume that police vehicles dont get taxed either.

In the olden days when VELs were displayed in the windscreen I noticed that the ones I saw displayed in police cars were zero rated.

[bimsb6]

CRA1G said:

I would find it highly unlikely they would use a 7 year old vehicle anyway....

That was one of the odd things , the other was when you put the reg into vehicle smart it comes up with vehicle model first reg march 2013 , first reg with dvla april 2018 ?

[Chlorothalonil]

CRA1G said:

I would find it highly unlikely they would use a 7 year old vehicle anyway....

We have marked cars in active service round here that are 7 to 8 years old easily. Not common but far from rare.

[PixelpeepZ4]

Chlorothalonil said:

CRA1G said:

I would find it highly unlikely they would use a 7 year old vehicle anyway....

We have marked cars in active service round here that are 7 to 8 years old easily. Not common but far from rare.

got overtaken, at some speed, by a porsche boxster with blues in the front and a siren wailing when i was in chelmsford a few years back... don't know if it was genuine but that opened my mind to the usual 'must have 4 doors' etc etc

[bimsb6]

They’ve now gone , sat there for 2 hours .

[Camelot1971]

bimsb6 said:

They’ve now gone , sat there for 2 hours .

Life must be a never ending adrenaline rush. I don't know how you cope, to be honest.

[HantsRat]

Police vehicles are exempt from tax. Sometimes some slip through the net when submitting the plates for the 'free' status and can show 'untaxed' online however there is no offence.

[2 sMoKiN bArReLs]

CRA1G said:

I would find it highly unlikely they would use a 7 year old vehicle anyway....

We've got some in Nottisham on 13 plates

[2 sMoKiN bArReLs]

HantsRat said:

Police vehicles are exempt from tax.

FJ66 BFY
Taxed
Tax due:
1 September 2020
Incorrect tax status?
MOT
Expires:
18 September 2020

[threespires]

I don't think they don't have insurance in the conventional way.

[Jakg]

2 sMoKiN bArReLs said:

FJ66 BFY
Taxed
Tax due:
1 September 2020
Incorrect tax status?
MOT
Expires:
18 September 2020

Based on the lack of any force insignia - actually a police car, or just a demonstrator?

[eldar]

HantsRat said:

Police vehicles are exempt from tax. Sometimes some slip through the net when submitting the plates for the 'free' status and can show 'untaxed' online however there is no offence.

Along with fire and ambulance service vehicles.

How can they tell, I wonder

[Sammo123]

threespires said:

I don't think they don't have insurance in the conventional way.

Correct. Police vehicles aren’t insured. Nobody will insure them. The Police pay for any damage, accidents etc etc themselves.

[KungFuPanda]

Sammo123 said:

threespires said:

I don't think they don't have insurance in the conventional way.

Correct. Police vehicles aren’t insured. Nobody will insure them. The Police pay for any damage, accidents etc etc themselves.

Not quite correct. The Road Traffic Act exempts them from having to be insured however most forces are insured but carry a massive excess which means that they will settle most third party cams out of their own pot but big multi million pound claims will be passed to the insurers to be dealt with.