Getting an old car back on the road

  • Lulu75's Avatar
    Hi all,

    I'm new to this forum and I'm a car dumbo. I'd greatly appreciate your advice (and patience!) please...

    My MIL's 2007 Honda Jazz has been sat unused in her garage since March 2020. The battery was recharged once late last year but did not start recently when we had to move the car.

    She has finally conceded that she won't be driving it again so I now need to get it back on the road for our own use. I need advice please in terms of legalities of getting it to/from where it will be given the once over, and what to look out for.

    It was serviced every year until 2019 and was in good running order. It's been kept in warm dry conditions and has only 32k on-the-clock. It is SORNed, is not taxed, MOT'ed or insured - but is still an upgrade to my slightly older Ford Focus; it was a better model to start with and has 1/4 of the mileage.

    A friend suggested it'll 'probably' run ok once the battery is replaced but to look out for old petrol and flattening of the tyres. I intend to get a local garage to give it a basic service to make sure it's ok but I'm unsure in what order I need to get paperwork in place. I.e. IF the battery recharges, I doubt I can legally drive it to a local garage? At what point do I need to get it added to my insurance, tax it etc.? It's possible of course that it's not worth getting back on the road again but I won't know until it's looked at.

    Any advice gratefully received!

    Many thanks,

    L
    Last edited by Lulu75; 01-06-21 at 16:00.
  • 4 Replies

  • Beelzebub's Avatar
    You need tax, insurance and a current MOT before you drive on the road.

    You can't tax it without an MOT, so you are allowed to drive without tax (but not without insurance) to a pre-booked MOT. It would seem sensible to get the same garage to service it.
  • Lulu75's Avatar
    Thanks Beelzebub.

    It's possible it won't start. Do I still need to get it added to my insurance even if it's being transported to a garage for its MOT? Does the MOT itself mean it's being driven on the road??

    And what is the effect of old petrol? Do you need to drain the old petrol before adding new, or can you just bung more in and hope for the best?

    Cheers,

    Lou
  • wagolynn's Avatar
    Guest
    I would try recharging the battery, if it does not charge OK then it will have to be replaced, after that, follow Beelzebub's post above.
  • Lulu75's Avatar
    Thanks both!

    The car currently has no battery as my bro-in-law removed it to recharge off site. We don't know how much petrol is in the tank, but I do know that old fuel can cause damage - and the less there is in the tank the more likely this is. We won't know how little until we can get a charged battery in the car. Will turning the ignition alone cause any fuel issues? It's not been driven in 16 months.

    I could get it transported to a garage whilst SORNed but need insurance for it to be MOTed. I'm covered to drive other cars but only if they're already insured (which this is not). I'm advised by DVLA and my insurer that I need to either transfer the car to me as keeper (which will require the V5C) or pay to add the car to my policy. I'm waiting to hear from my own breakdown company whether I'm covered to get it towed either way. Life could be easier... but hey ho. Essentially we need to arrange all of this without my MIL's knowledge (so getting docs will be tricky). Not illegal subterfuge - she has dementia so daily accepts she won't be driving again, then immediately forgets and asks for her keys. In her mind she's out and about every day (hence added pressures to sort with as little hassle as possible)...

    Many thanks,

    L