Due to COVID I have a UK registered vehicle in France and I want to return it to the UK. It has been SORN and the MOT has run out. It is presently insured. Does anyone know how I can return the vehicle to the UK without having to have it transported on the back of the heavy goods vehicle. Thanks for any help.
Have you thought to contact DVLA and ask their advice…??
We have taken non-road-legal cars to and from UK, using a car-trailer, towed behind our personal car. Is this a possibility??
At the time it was certainly cheaper than sending via a Car Transporter.
Or… how about getting it CT’d and then drive it back to UK…after telling DVLA you are reimporting it to UK… ie no longer SORN.
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No expert but if it has been declared SORN and has no tax or MOT then that’s that surely? It is now off-road until you get it back to UK and to a test centre. You can’t get an MOT in France.
How long ago did the tax and MOT run out? As I believe you can drive it in the UK to a pre-booked test centre. But if it has been in France without either being re-registered or keeping up to date UK MOT and tax if you are stopped on your journey to the UK you may well face serious problems.
If I get it ct’d. Obviously I’ll have to get the lights done and have an MOT booked on my return to the UK but but what else do I have to do?
MOT ran out August 2021 and vehicle SORN at same time.
I think this is important
A CT does not make a UK registered car legal. To be road legal in the UK it needs UK tax, UK MoT and UK insurance. Mix and match does not work, when you start that game it is not road legal anywhere
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Not sure you can get a CT here for a car with non-EU plates without having at the very least a certificate of conformity?
Does anyone know the legal status if the vehicle was taxed and insured in the UK but lacking an MOT but with a booked appointment? MOT not done since August 2021?
You need a CT and COC to get a UK car registered here… no need for COC just to get the CT though. Of course, might need to change headlights… that sort of thing or would they just be things to “get done” shown as the CT failure…?
Might be cheaper just to trail it over to UK…
Be interesting to hear what DVLA say…
You can drive it without an MOT on the road in the UK and, I believe, without tax (someone correct me if I am wrong) if you are driving it directly to a pre-booked MOT appointment. Of course you’d want to be insured but luckily you are still covered on that.
To be safe I’d advise you to call DVLA vehicles section - all info on gov.uk just google it. They are busy but friendly and well trained once you get through - I was talking to them today. Mornings seem easier to get through they’re open UK hours 8-4.
After that check with your insurance company to ensure they will cover you for the France side of the journey if you will have exceeded the number of days in Europe your policy would normally cover - have a look at the policy terms before calling.
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We drove UK registered and insured car with no MOT from France to UK. We got the garage which would do the MOT to send an e-mail confirming the appointment for the day after arrival. No probs.
I would think it would be sensible to tax it before going on the ferry though.
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Ok thanks for that. The only reason I wanted to know if I could drive to the UK is because towing it on a trailer would be as nearly as expensive as getting it returned on a car transporter.
PS if it’s taxed and insured I am certain it’s OK if you are driving it directly to a pre-booked MOT appointment. Absolutely certain and I’m sure DVLA will confirm.
So get yourself and the car back for an MOT as soon as you can once you’ve sorted out to ensure your insurance will still be valid. Have a date in mind, they might either just make a note or might make a small charge.
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As a matter of interest what are the costs you found for the trailer and transporter options?
You can’t tax without MOT unfortunately.
Ah, OK. It’s madammes car, I never got too involved, but pretty sure she had it taxed. Maybe because it had tax when the MOT expired?
This seems fairly clear -
Can you drive a car without MOT? How Long? What Happens? | National.
Looks like you can drive a SORN vehicle to a test centre provided you have temporary insurance.
Last year I was quoted €1100 via car transporter but unfortunately at the time I didn’t verify all pick up and drop off details. To tow it myself we calculated all in just shy of €700 plus a lot of stress
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I have seen various discussion about whether or not it is legal to have a vehicle on SORN out of the UK. The consensus seems to be that it is not. But I guess that as long as you can get outside the ferry terminal where you land without being stopped, that will no longer matter. The few hundred yards between the ferry and the exit will be the clincher. But I would imagine that right now with the new Brexit checks they have better things to worry about.
Just paid 668 GBP to have car transported from Shropshire to Brittany via Dover/Calais. Joey cars on Shiply.
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