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Can an MoT garage refuse to let me take my failed car away?
The MoT on my son's 2000 Volkswagen Golf expires mid-February. He has the offer of a much newer Golf, so plans to sell the current Golf in the next few weeks. The plan is to put it through the MoT immediately to see if it passes. If it fails he wouldn't get it repaired, and would sell it "for spares or repair". With a major fail, you are allowed to take the car away to another garage where it would be repaired. With a dangerous fail, you must leave it at the garage that did the MoT for them to repair it. Obviously, neither scenario applies in our case, because we would NOT be getting it repaired - we would want to drive it home (still covered by the current MoT), park it off-road, and then advertise it for sale. Are we caught by the new regulations, or do MoT garages have any flexibility in letting us drive the failed car home?
Asked on 24 January 2019 by Nick Wilson
Answered by
Honest John
If it has been condemned as unroadworthy then you can't drive it on the road. But there is nothing to stop you trailering it away.
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