Logistics of test-driving / buying a car on SORN
Discussion
I'm potentially going to look at a Toyota MR2 mk3 on Saturday. It's a bit of a trek away (London to Lincolnshire) and I don't have a friend to tag along so I'll be likely getting the train up.
The car has a valid MOT right now until first week of June. The seller has it booked in for MOT on the Fri before. He assumes it will pass as it hasn't been driven much and he's looked after it by the sounds of things.
I checked the MOT/Tax and I can see the car is currently SORN.
What are the logistics of both test-driving it and buying it and of course driving it home? I'm a bit of a newbie with buying cars. Don't want to go all that way if I can't test drive it on the day or indeed drive it home if I do buy it. Help!
The car has a valid MOT right now until first week of June. The seller has it booked in for MOT on the Fri before. He assumes it will pass as it hasn't been driven much and he's looked after it by the sounds of things.
I checked the MOT/Tax and I can see the car is currently SORN.
What are the logistics of both test-driving it and buying it and of course driving it home? I'm a bit of a newbie with buying cars. Don't want to go all that way if I can't test drive it on the day or indeed drive it home if I do buy it. Help!
You can do what you like, if it's remote enough and you want to risk things, but to remain 100% legal it's complicated.
Remember sorn and tax are automatically cancelled the moment a sale takes place.
If the car has a current MOT when you arrive to buy/view it then you can test drive it assuming it is taxed.
You can also buy it and drive it home assuming you tax it on purchase etc.
If it is SORN (but with a valid mot) the seller will have to de sorn it and tax it for you to test drive it before buying it.
He won't be able to tax it without his own insurance..
All the above assume you have valid insurance to drive it.
Pre-purchase the exemption that you can drive other vehicles covered third party with the owners consent is sufficient if included in your own insurance policy.
If it has no MOT and you immediately declare it sorn after buying it,
then you can drive it to a pre-arranged MOT test if insured. (Tax/Mot not needed at this point)
This testing station could be one just down the road from your home address, it does not have to be local to the vehicle.
I've driven the length of the country many times with purchased vehicles and no MOT/tax to a pre-arranged test near my address.
Of course the vehicle still has to be roadworthy, not in a dangerous condition, and insured.
Remember sorn and tax are automatically cancelled the moment a sale takes place.
If the car has a current MOT when you arrive to buy/view it then you can test drive it assuming it is taxed.
You can also buy it and drive it home assuming you tax it on purchase etc.
If it is SORN (but with a valid mot) the seller will have to de sorn it and tax it for you to test drive it before buying it.
He won't be able to tax it without his own insurance..
All the above assume you have valid insurance to drive it.
Pre-purchase the exemption that you can drive other vehicles covered third party with the owners consent is sufficient if included in your own insurance policy.
If it has no MOT and you immediately declare it sorn after buying it,
then you can drive it to a pre-arranged MOT test if insured. (Tax/Mot not needed at this point)
This testing station could be one just down the road from your home address, it does not have to be local to the vehicle.
I've driven the length of the country many times with purchased vehicles and no MOT/tax to a pre-arranged test near my address.
Of course the vehicle still has to be roadworthy, not in a dangerous condition, and insured.
Edited by peterperkins on Monday 29th April 17:33
Thank you.
This one is going to be a bit of an issue for me as I am not insured on any other car than my current, and even if I was only 3rd party for other cars, I don't think I'd take the risk pre-purchase even if the vendor would agree to it. That could be a very expensive test drive!
This one is going to be a bit of an issue for me as I am not insured on any other car than my current, and even if I was only 3rd party for other cars, I don't think I'd take the risk pre-purchase even if the vendor would agree to it. That could be a very expensive test drive!
Its a bit of a grey area, you need insurance to be able to tax it... the same applies if it needed an mot, you would need to drive it to a test station to be able to mot it to obtain the tax ..... the most important thing is its insured. It takes up to 5 days for tax to show online, however the DVLA know to the second ...
If it was me i would make sure everything is ok and if you were happy with everything bar the test drive i would just day insure it, drive it and then tax it and drive it home.
If it was me i would make sure everything is ok and if you were happy with everything bar the test drive i would just day insure it, drive it and then tax it and drive it home.
I've used Cuvva, which is an app based service for short term cover. Can do anything from 1 hour to a few weeks. It's very quick and inexpensive. It does not require the car to have an underlying policy.
If the car has a valid MOT (by the time you view it) I would personally risk a short test drive without road tax (assuming the owner lets you) and ultimately it's their problem. If you like the car you can immediately tax it online, extend the Cuvva insurance for a few more hours and drive away.
If the car has a valid MOT (by the time you view it) I would personally risk a short test drive without road tax (assuming the owner lets you) and ultimately it's their problem. If you like the car you can immediately tax it online, extend the Cuvva insurance for a few more hours and drive away.
Bumblebee7 said:
I've used Cuvva, which is an app based service for short term cover. Can do anything from 1 hour to a few weeks. It's very quick and inexpensive. It does not require the car to have an underlying policy.
Unfortunately Cuvva refused to insure me on the MR2. Said it's because I've only had my license 5 months. Apparently needs to be a year. Wish that was more clear before I created an account (they say before that point that the 12 months thing is only for drivers under 21, but I'm 38!).RAC will cover me for 3 hours for an eye-watering £47!
Elephant will let me add the car to my existing policy on my sensible car, if I buy it. £350 fully comp (250 excess) for the remaining time of my 10month policy (194 days left). Probably seems a lot to most on here who are experienced drivers but to me seemed OK. separate policy over 12 months was looking like £800-900.
Edited by markyb_lcy on Friday 3rd May 16:14
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