Sorry...

[ZS Phil]

... for the boring question.

So, suppose I was to buy another car which I plan to keep SORN. What is the best way to get it home legally in terms of tax?

I have read all the info online and it appears that to be completely above board I would have to buy the car, call the DVLA and tax it, drive it home and then declare it SORN as soon as I get back in the hope I get a tax refund.

My questions are:

If I do this, how much of the tax am I likely to get back? Do they take a cut or have an administrative type charge?

Seems a bit overkill for just one journey, was hoping somebody who knows a bit more about the new rules could suggest a simpler way of doing it legally.

Muchas gracias.

[fastmike]

You could pay to have it transported to save all the agro

[ZS]

How far is the journey?

Do you have breakdown cover? (How good is it?)

Is there MOT on the Car?

[Dan1971]

You only get a return on the full months of tax left - not days.

Get the seller to come round to yours to look at it - then tell them to leave it and drop them back home.

[ZS Phil]

Thanks for the replies guys, it really is a mine field out there with all the different rules.

The car is currently taxed and MOT'd however un-insured so not really an option for the owner to drive it round, plus it would be a 300 mile round trip!

The other option was to "borrow" the car with the owners consent and then do the deal when I had test driven the car home. I would have just left the value of the car with the owner in return for him letting me borrow it...
I asked the lady at the DVLA and unfortunately she "couldn't comment" however she did repeat the statement that I only have to tax or SORN it once the deal has been done.
Technically this could be legal but probably skating on thin ice should something happen.

Looks like I'm going to have to tax it myself then fill in a V890 SORN form as soon as I get home in order to get the refund (minus a month as Dan said).


It's just clicked... this new "environmentally friendly" no tax disc scheme is really just a way of gaining an extra month of tax out of people every time a car changes hands... clever.

Right, I'm off to pint out all the "environmentally friendly" paper forms which I will have to send to the DVLA to comply with their anti-paper campaign!

[Mark S]

the car will need to be insured, your insurance only covers you to drive already 'insured' cars, unless you have a traders policy?

[shycho]

My answer would be, the DVLA won't know it has changed hands until a few days later when they receive the v5.

So if the seller posts the v5 off the same day you've still got time to get it home and then SORN it with the new owners slip before it hits the DVLA offices.

Obviously i'm not sure what Mr Plod would think of this if he stopped you on the way home, but the vehicle would still technically be taxed in the eyes of the DVLA computers.

[Cally180]

Put a later date on the logbook when signing the papers, day or two later, leave the money keep it taxed and insured until home then let him know your home and get him to send off the book.

I done that when selling my rx8 I had, kept in insured and taxed for the boy to get home and then cancelled everything the next day

[talkingcars]

Put a later date on the logbook when signing the papers, day or two later, leave the money keep it taxed and insured until home then let him know your home and get him to send off the book.

I done that when selling my rx8 I had, kept in insured and taxed for the boy to get home and then cancelled everything the next day

This is what I'd do




except I don't have a RX8.

[mattyprice4004]

Obviously I can't talk from a professional point of view, but I may or may not agree the 'leave cash with the seller while test driving the car' option sounds quite plausible. :D

[ZS Phil]

Ill have to get temp insurance either way because the car is currently not insured at all.

So yeh, looks like I've got 2 options, either mess around with taxing it myself and then SORNing it OR the 'leave cash with the seller while test driving the car' option.


Next question :look:

Who does temp cover for modified cars? All the usual suspects say that the car cannot be modified, the car in question is modified.

I'm with Adrian Flux for my insurance on the derv with all mods declared so might call them up and see what they can do. Anybody else used Adrian Flux for this sort of thing?

[stamford]

When I bought my Discovery it was the 31st, I drove it home and taxed it the next day. I rang up the insurance company before I left the premises to make sure it was covered. The way the system works I doubt if you would get 'done' so to speak as the car is still taxed until the V5 is sent away (assuming it still is at the time of sale). The signed V5 is what kicks the system into cancelling the tax and refunding the previous owner. As long as it is insured you should be fine.