Hello. I have just bought a plant lorry. The truck is taxed and insured but has run out of mot. I need to pick the vehicle up from where i bought it from. Can anyboby tell me if i can do this legally or not? Need to get it back to my workshop.
Thanks, Martin
yes you can do it legally if you have trade plates or if you have got it booked in for an mot then your fine to drive it to the test station
tipperdriver:
yes you can do it legally if you have trade plates
Trade plates wont help, they only cover the tax. They don’t cover the MOT 
currymonster:
Hello. I have just bought a plant lorry. The truck is taxed and insured but has run out of mot. I need to pick the vehicle up from where i bought it from. Can anyboby tell me if i can do this legally or not? Need to get it back to my workshop.Thanks, Martin
Hi Martin,
The trade plates might be one way of moving your plant lorry, but I can’t remember the exact conditions attaching to the use of trade plates… 
I’d say it’s unlikely that you’ll be able to make use of the ‘on my way to the test station’ exemption, because you probably won’t be on your way to the test station if you’re taking your plant lorry to your workshop. If you still used that method, and the truck failed its test, then that would be recorded at the TAO against your ‘O’ licence and would dent your initial MOT test-pass average…
I’d suggest that the one surefire way to move the vehicle is to use another truck to move it. (Carried or towed.)
Thought -
Can the truck be booked into any VOSA test station or does it have to be the nearest 
If any, then book it into the one nearest to you so it comes under the ‘driving to MOT’ rules and if it fails then you can drive it directly to your workshop - OK, probably a waste of MOT money but may be the cheapest way IF it is allowed
ROG:
Thought -
Can the truck be booked into any VOSA test station or does it have to be the nearestIf any, then book it into the one nearest to you so it comes under the ‘driving to MOT’ rules and if it fails then you can drive it directly to your workshop - OK, probably a waste of MOT money but may be the cheapest way IF it is allowed
Errr… 'scuse me ROG, but you might have missed my point in my post above…
A failed M.O.T test is no longer simply just that, because it WILL affect an operator’s first time M.O.T test pass rate. 
That, in turn, WILL afect an operator’s OCRS score and WILL be recorded as a little black mark against their ‘O’ licence.
Let’s just say that there’s a bigger picture at work and the issue of a failed M.O.T. test might raise any one of a number of other possible issues, which might better avoided by the wise… 
dieseldave:
but I can’t remember the exact conditions attaching to the use of trade plates…
Am I right in saying that if the OP now owns the vehicle he couldn’t ‘borrow’ trade plates from the dealer where he bought it from.
mrpj:
dieseldave:
but I can’t remember the exact conditions attaching to the use of trade plates…Am I right in saying that if the OP now owns the vehicle he couldn’t ‘borrow’ trade plates from the dealer where he bought it from.
Hi mrpj, I’ve had a quick look for info on trade plates and found this:
When can trade plates be used on a vehicle?
Trade plates can be used when a vehicle is temporarily in the possession of the motor trader or vehicle tester who holds the trade licence, and who is engaged in the course of their business. While a vehicle is part of the trader’s stock, it is regarded as being in their temporary possession. To be accepted as being part of the trader’s stock, the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) expects to have received the appropriate notification that the vehicle has been disposed of ‘into the trade’.Trade plates may only be used for the business purpose for which they were originally issued.
Here’s the source of my info: 
CLICKY
That’s a bit different to the way I thought I remembered it, so I’m glad I was cautious with my earlier post.