Main dealer courtesy car - showing as not taxed
Discussion
I bought an approved used car last week, from a main Volvo dealership about an hour away from me - mine had issues and they drove down in a courtesy car and picked it up this evening - all good that they are jumping on it and collecting within a week and a pretty nice spec XC60 Ultimate left on my drive
Wanted to check which engine the courtesy car had and couldn't be bothered to go outside so put the reg into DVLA... it's showing as not taxed since August?
Shouldn't this only be driven with dealer plates as assume it's registered as being "in trade"? Now I'm nervous about driving it as believe it's on me if I get stopped...
Wanted to check which engine the courtesy car had and couldn't be bothered to go outside so put the reg into DVLA... it's showing as not taxed since August?
Shouldn't this only be driven with dealer plates as assume it's registered as being "in trade"? Now I'm nervous about driving it as believe it's on me if I get stopped...
57Ford said:
The police aren t interested in the slightest for a lack of tax and there s no points as I understand it, just a fine for the owner and the threat of it being confiscated (although that s extremely unlikely).
Don t pay, we ll take it away!
Plenty of cars get lifted by the police for no tax. Don t pay, we ll take it away!
Not your problem, Similar I would think to if you were driving a company supplied van for the purposes of the trade where someone else is respnsible for the tax/insurance and there is an implicit understanding they are suppling said transport road ready etc etc. If you accepted the car as a courtesy car from a dealer even if plod stopped you there is no expectation of you knowing the tax status as its not your car and was supplied to you in that state by a dealer as a temporary loan.
Of course with the lack of application of common sense by Plod and courts (due to Govn interference) not because they lack common sense you'll probably out of luick.
Of course with the lack of application of common sense by Plod and courts (due to Govn interference) not because they lack common sense you'll probably out of luick.
eldrich said:
Not your problem, Similar I would think to if you were driving a company supplied van for the purposes of the trade where someone else is respnsible for the tax/insurance and there is an implicit understanding they are suppling said transport road ready etc etc. If you accepted the car as a courtesy car from a dealer even if plod stopped you there is no expectation of you knowing the tax status as its not your car and was supplied to you in that state by a dealer as a temporary loan.
Of course with the lack of application of common sense by Plod and courts (due to Govn interference) not because they lack common sense you'll probably out of luick.
As far as I understand it if you are driving a car you are responsible for its condition and being legal to drive. Of course with the lack of application of common sense by Plod and courts (due to Govn interference) not because they lack common sense you'll probably out of luick.
Mad Maximus said:
As far as I understand it if you are driving a car you are responsible for its condition and being legal to drive.
The registered keeper is responsible (in law) for taxing a vehicle. For vehicles under 3.5 tons, there is no official responsibility for a driver to check a vehicle before driving it (but the driver is responsible for its roadworthiness). For vehicles >3.5 tons and subject to an operator licence, there IS a formal responsibility for a driver to check its licensed (among many other things - for example weight plate present, tacho seal, O-licence displayed, no smoking sign in cab, height plate, etc etc) but non-compliance would result in an infringement with no fine.Tax is an admin issue, not a roadworthiness issue.
paul_c123 said:
The registered keeper is responsible (in law) for taxing a vehicle. For vehicles under 3.5 tons, there is no official responsibility for a driver to check a vehicle before driving it (but the driver is responsible for its roadworthiness). For vehicles >3.5 tons and subject to an operator licence, there IS a formal responsibility for a driver to check its licensed (among many other things - for example weight plate present, tacho seal, O-licence displayed, no smoking sign in cab, height plate, etc etc) but non-compliance would result in an infringement with no fine.
Tax is an admin issue, not a roadworthiness issue.
No legal requirement to display a no smoking sign surely?Tax is an admin issue, not a roadworthiness issue.
and31 said:
paul_c123 said:
The registered keeper is responsible (in law) for taxing a vehicle. For vehicles under 3.5 tons, there is no official responsibility for a driver to check a vehicle before driving it (but the driver is responsible for its roadworthiness). For vehicles >3.5 tons and subject to an operator licence, there IS a formal responsibility for a driver to check its licensed (among many other things - for example weight plate present, tacho seal, O-licence displayed, no smoking sign in cab, height plate, etc etc) but non-compliance would result in an infringement with no fine.
Tax is an admin issue, not a roadworthiness issue.
No legal requirement to display a no smoking sign surely?Tax is an admin issue, not a roadworthiness issue.
Yes, in the UK, it is illegal to smoke in most company vehicles if they are used by more than one person, or if someone under 18 is present, due to the Health Act 2006 which bans smoking in enclosed workplaces and public spaces, including work vehicles. Employers must enforce this and display no-smoking signs, covering delivery vans, pool cars, lorries, and company cars used by multiple employees, with a key exception for single-user vehicles or convertibles with the roof down.
Years ago I had my car collected by my local BMW dealership to have some work carried out, and had a courtesy car dropped off as the work would take a couple of days to complete.
I swapped keys with the driver in the morning and went back into work without checking the car they'd left for me.
At lunch time I went out to put a bag in the courtesy car and noticed that the both rear tyres were worn down to the wear bars and were not legal.
I contacted the dealership and told them about the rear tyre wear, pointing out they were not legal.
The service advisor tried tell me it wasn't a problem, and the car was perfectly safe to drive.
I told him it was a problem, because the tyres were illegal, and as the driver of the vehicle, if anything happened, I would be held liable for driving a vehicle in an unroadworthy condition, including possible legal action by the Police.
The service advisor said I was making a fuss over nothing, the car was perfectly safe to drive, and if the Police did stop me, any legal issues would be on the dealership, and not me - It was at this point I asked to talk to the service manager.
I explained the issue to the service manager, who initially tried to argue that there was no way they would supply a courtesy car with illegal worn out tyres, but eventually agreed to send another courtesy car, and agreed with me that if the tyres were illegal, then I could get into trouble with the Police if stopped.
Eventually another driver dropped a second car off (with legal tyres), looked at the worn out rear tyres on the first courtesy car, made a joke about me doing donuts in it, and then said: "Yeah! ... Those tyres aren't legal ... They should have been noted and replaced before the car was loaned out"
As with any vehicle, it is the driver's responsibility to ensure that it is fully road legal, including being taxed, MOT'd (where applicable), insured, and fully road legal.
I swapped keys with the driver in the morning and went back into work without checking the car they'd left for me.
At lunch time I went out to put a bag in the courtesy car and noticed that the both rear tyres were worn down to the wear bars and were not legal.
I contacted the dealership and told them about the rear tyre wear, pointing out they were not legal.
The service advisor tried tell me it wasn't a problem, and the car was perfectly safe to drive.
I told him it was a problem, because the tyres were illegal, and as the driver of the vehicle, if anything happened, I would be held liable for driving a vehicle in an unroadworthy condition, including possible legal action by the Police.
The service advisor said I was making a fuss over nothing, the car was perfectly safe to drive, and if the Police did stop me, any legal issues would be on the dealership, and not me - It was at this point I asked to talk to the service manager.
I explained the issue to the service manager, who initially tried to argue that there was no way they would supply a courtesy car with illegal worn out tyres, but eventually agreed to send another courtesy car, and agreed with me that if the tyres were illegal, then I could get into trouble with the Police if stopped.
Eventually another driver dropped a second car off (with legal tyres), looked at the worn out rear tyres on the first courtesy car, made a joke about me doing donuts in it, and then said: "Yeah! ... Those tyres aren't legal ... They should have been noted and replaced before the car was loaned out"
As with any vehicle, it is the driver's responsibility to ensure that it is fully road legal, including being taxed, MOT'd (where applicable), insured, and fully road legal.
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