I am just about to sell my car hopefully and I've noticed the MOT ran out in October this year.
Normally I would check when I come to tax the car, which would be in March.
The question is : would the buyer of my car have to have an MOT to get it insured ? I know you need the MOT to get it taxed but does it affect the buyer being able to insure the car when (if) they come to pick it up ?
It's not a major problem as I can easily get it MOT's this week, just curious really
Thanks
jdc
Made vehicle non-specific, mmmm its good to be back.
Edited by Pugugly on 06/12/2008 at 19:58
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As far as Im aware, your car has to be road legal for your insurance to be valid unless you are driving it to the testing station. So they may get insurance, but it will be invalid until it is MOT'd.
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>>So they may get insurance, but it will be invalid until it is MOT'd.
The situation can be a bit more complex than that.
The condition of your car will not fully invalidate your insurance - the insurance company would pay out third parties regardless.
If, however, the car was found to have a fault which materially caused or affected the accident, then, the insurance company would pursue you to recover their costs.
Material is the key word. So, if you skidded into a bus stop queue, having a defective number plate lamp wouldn't matter, but, having a bald tyre or defective brakes probably would.
The MOT certificate doesn't guarantee that the car is road legal - that is always the responsibility of the driver.
The complication is that some insurance policies do make having a valid MOT a pre-condition, but, not all of them do - it's important to check the wording of your policy to be sure.
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On a practical point, you will get more buyers for a car with a new MoT than one with none at all - and those that would consider it, being handy or stingy or whatever, will want to knock off more than the cost of the test due to the risk that the car might fail and the cost of repairs, plus something for the hassle of not simply buying a car with a new ticket.
Upshot is that if you are still insured, or if you can get a garage to collect the car on their own insurance at minimal cost, you will probably have more money in your pocket if you MoT the car yourself than put the buyer to the trouble to getting it. If, as you say, you can easily get a new MoT done this week (and do so legally) then I would suggest that you do so.
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Thanks for your replies guys.
The upshot is that the original buyer never called back but I've done a deal with a trader who is willing to collect the car and do the MOT himself for £45 off the price - for me that's a good deal as it saves a bit of hassle.
I guess the trader must have some sort of general cover allowing him to drive the car away without an MOT.
Cheers
jdc
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He will have trader's insurance, and it doesn't need an MOT if it is being driven to a pre-booked test, which it manifestly is. Incidently it would still be legal even if only being driven to a place where work in connection with the MOT was to be carried out, even if not the MOT itself.
You sometimes see adverts where cars have only a short MOT left, and the seller offers to get a new MOT if the buyer wishes. For many people 12 months MOT is a big plus point.
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Incidently it would still be legal even if only being driven to a place where work in connection with the MOT was to be carried out, even if not the MOT itself.
AFAIK that only applies when the MOT has been failed??
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That's an interesting point. It's true I read about it on an MOT failure notification, but I don't recall that it actually said it applied only in the event of failure, rather than anticipated failure if the work were not carried out.
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