Possibly dead car

Tim Ward

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Aug 15, 2021, 8:35:15 AM8/15/21

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So I've got this car which has been SORNed since the start of the thing,
and I'm wondering what's needed to get it working again, if (as seems a
bit of a toss-up) this can actually be achieved.

It seems clear that I need to get it to a garage for them to see if it
can be made to pass the MOT or whether it's not worth bothering.

There would seem to be two ways to get it to a garage:

(a) pay someone (£xxx) to tow it there

(b) pump up the tyres (I've got the kit to do that), buy a new battery
(£xxx), see if the engine starts, if so buy some insurance (£xxx) and
have a go at actually driving it to the garage (no tax or MOT of course,
but none needed to travel to a pre-booked MOT appointment).

I'm leaning towards (a), 'cos I only have to pay for the tow if the car
can't be revived. In case (b) I'm in for the cost of the battery, *plus*
a tow if it then doesn't work *or* insurance if it does, all at risk of
being lost if it can't pass the MOT.

(It's an old diesel and only by careful tweaking could it pass the
emissions test last time, so I'm expecting an eventual failure anyway.)

What would you do? Any recommendations for a towing outfit? Or a "we
come and see if we can make your old banger work again, at least to the
point where you can drive it to the MOT" mechanic?

--
Tim Ward - 07801 703 600
www.brettward.co.uk

Roland Perry

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Aug 15, 2021, 9:18:34 AM8/15/21

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In message <sfb1m2$l4b$1...@dont-email.me>, at 13:35:14 on Sun, 15 Aug
2021, Tim Ward <t...@brettward.co.uk> remarked:

>So I've got this car which has been SORNed since the start of the
>thing, and I'm wondering what's needed to get it working again, if (as
>seems a bit of a toss-up) this can actually be achieved.
>
>It seems clear that I need to get it to a garage for them to see if it
>can be made to pass the MOT or whether it's not worth bothering.
>
>There would seem to be two ways to get it to a garage:
>
>(a) pay someone (£xxx) to tow it there

That's going to be £60-80 quid I expect. They won't actually tow it,
rather than stick it on the back of recovery vehicle.

>(b) pump up the tyres (I've got the kit to do that), buy a new battery
>(£xxx), see if the engine starts, if so buy some insurance (£xxx)

You can get daily for about £25, but not sure if that would cover an un-
MOT'd vehicle.

>and have a go at actually driving it to the garage (no tax or MOT of
>course, but none needed to travel to a pre-booked MOT appointment).

I wonder if you can drive an untaxed car *away* from a prebooked MOT?

>I'm leaning towards (a), 'cos I only have to pay for the tow if the car
>can't be revived.

https://www.cartakeback.com/scrap-car-price-update

There are others.

>In case (b) I'm in for the cost of the battery, *plus* a tow if it then
>doesn't work *or* insurance if it does, all at risk of being lost if it
>can't pass the MOT.
>
>(It's an old diesel and only by careful tweaking could it pass the
>emissions test last time, so I'm expecting an eventual failure anyway.)
>
>What would you do? Any recommendations for a towing outfit? Or a "we
>come and see if we can make your old banger work again, at least to the
>point where you can drive it to the MOT" mechanic?

I used http://rpmrecovery.uk/ in Littleport, but they may be a bit far
for you. Must be similar people in Cambridge.

--
Roland Perry

Tim Ward

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Aug 15, 2021, 10:19:47 AM8/15/21

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On 15/08/2021 14:18, Roland Perry wrote:
>
> I wonder if you can drive an untaxed car *away* from a prebooked MOT?

If it passes the MOT I would expect to leave it at the garage until I
had arranged insurance and tax.

You "must" be allowed to drive an untaxed car home from a pre-booked
MOT, given that you can't tax your car immediately the insurance or MOT
has been done, apparently because it seems to take a while for the data
to filter through the systems. But I haven't checked. I have for example
renewed insurance but been unable to renew the tax until the next day.

Tim Ward

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Aug 15, 2021, 10:21:45 AM8/15/21

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On 15/08/2021 14:18, Roland Perry wrote:
>

> https://www.cartakeback.com/scrap-car-price-update

£301 :-) - but that's not the point really, not until the MOT has failed
anyway.

Alan

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Aug 15, 2021, 10:38:12 AM8/15/21

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You might be able to find insurance with cancellation within 14 day (or
possibly longer) cooling off period without too hefty admin charge. You
should only have to pay pro rata for days actually used then.

As far as starting car - can you borrow friends battery, or make use of a
jump start, at least to see if the car will start?

--
Alan

Using Opera's mail client: http://www.opera.com/mail/

Tim Ward

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Aug 15, 2021, 11:01:18 AM8/15/21

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On 15/08/2021 15:38, Alan wrote:
>
> As far as starting car - can you borrow friends battery, or make use of
> a jump start, at least to see if the car will start?

We have another car and jump leads (which is how we got it started to
move it onto the drive when I wanted to SORN it). The worry would be
restarting it if the engine stopped on the way to the garage - which it
has taken to doing occasionally when cold. Plus what else, dangerous or
otherwise, might have gone wrong with a vehicle that has been unused for
eighteen months?

Roland Perry

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Aug 15, 2021, 12:25:34 PM8/15/21

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In message <sfb7q2$ag2$1...@dont-email.me>, at 15:19:46 on Sun, 15 Aug

2021, Tim Ward <t...@brettward.co.uk> remarked:

MOT results are done online now, and should be available immediately.

Insurance is an interesting one - I wonder if they actually check in
real time. If they do and it's not online, then the providers of 24hr
(actually it's 1hr upwards) insurance are up shit creek.
--
Roland Perry

Roland Perry

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Aug 15, 2021, 12:35:35 PM8/15/21

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In message <sfba7t$omo$1...@dont-email.me>, at 16:01:18 on Sun, 15 Aug

2021, Tim Ward <t...@brettward.co.uk> remarked:

On my car one of the multitude of valves in the spaghetti plumbing of
the anti-pollution exhaust/recirculating/intake system had seized.

The guy from the RAC applied his Manchester Screwdriver a few times, but
all that did was allow the car to splutter half a mile to the garage.

(The one which needed recovery was a year or two before, dead
alternator, which was disappointing because the otherwise fairly
comprehensive car-computer system had failed to give any advance
warning; whereas one lightbulb out and it would be shouting from the
rooftops).
--
Roland Perry

Tim Ward

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Aug 15, 2021, 12:43:39 PM8/15/21

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On 15/08/2021 17:27, Roland Perry wrote:
>
> (The one which needed recovery was a year or two before, dead
> alternator, which was disappointing because the otherwise fairly
> comprehensive car-computer system had failed to give any advance
> warning; whereas one lightbulb out and it would be shouting from the
> rooftops).

The ancient tech in aeroplanes deals with this - an ammeter which the
pilot is supposed to look at every now and then.

Roland Perry

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Aug 15, 2021, 1:25:38 PM8/15/21

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In message <sfbg7q$bqk$1...@dont-email.me>, at 17:43:39 on Sun, 15 Aug

2021, Tim Ward <t...@brettward.co.uk> remarked:

Indeed, I mourn the days when cars had such ammeters, rather than a
computer which apparently ignores what a virtual ammeter is screaming at
them.
--
Roland Perry

Brian Morrison

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Aug 15, 2021, 1:36:45 PM8/15/21

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On Sun, 15 Aug 2021 18:19:41 +0100, Roland Perry wrote:

> Indeed, I mourn the days when cars had such ammeters

It was a cost-saving measure when alternators replaced dynamos. I still
remember watching the ammeter needle drop from + to - when my dad's 1961
Ford Consul Classic came to a halt and the clutch was depressed. Even
worse if the headlights were on, and you could see them dim as the
dynamo's output voltage reduced.

--

Brian

Tim Ward

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Aug 15, 2021, 2:44:42 PM8/15/21

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On 15/08/2021 18:19, Roland Perry wrote:
> In message <sfbg7q$bqk$1...@dont-email.me>, at 17:43:39 on Sun, 15 Aug
> 2021, Tim Ward <t...@brettward.co.uk> remarked:
>
>> On 15/08/2021 17:27, Roland Perry wrote:
>
>>> (The one which needed recovery was a year or two before, dead
>>>   alternator, which was disappointing because the otherwise fairly
>>>   comprehensive car-computer system had failed to give any advance
>>>   warning; whereas one lightbulb out and it would be shouting from the
>>>   rooftops).
>>
>> The ancient tech in aeroplanes deals with this - an ammeter which the
>> pilot is supposed to look at every now and then.
>
> Indeed

I'm not saying I actually did always remember to look at it, mind. It
should come under the "E" in FREDA.

Theo

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Aug 15, 2021, 6:50:57 PM8/15/21

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Tim Ward <t...@brettward.co.uk> wrote:
> What would you do? Any recommendations for a towing outfit? Or a "we
> come and see if we can make your old banger work again, at least to the
> point where you can drive it to the MOT" mechanic?

This is a 'mobile mechanic', and they should come suitably equipped to give
the car sufficient TLC to get it going again, or to identify problems that
prevent it from getting going (like stale fuel or leaking brake pipes).
I'd suggest that's probably more economical than having someone tow the car
to a garage, since they have to do a certain amount of prep to ensure the
car is towable (brakes not siezed, etc).

I don't have any personal recommendations but
https://www.clickmechanic.com/
is a portal to book services from such people. Like all such services I'd
take everything on there with a pinch of salt, but it could be a way to get
in touch with someone who can help.
https://www.whocanfixmycar.com/services/mobile-mechanic/cambridge
is another portal.

Or just search 'mobile mechanic cambridge' and lots seem to turn up.

Theo

Roland Perry

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Aug 16, 2021, 2:21:59 AM8/16/21

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In message <U5h*tA...@news.chiark.greenend.org.uk>, at 23:50:54 on Sun,
15 Aug 2021, Theo <theom...@chiark.greenend.org.uk> remarked:

>Tim Ward <t...@brettward.co.uk> wrote:
>> What would you do? Any recommendations for a towing outfit? Or a "we
>> come and see if we can make your old banger work again, at least to the
>> point where you can drive it to the MOT" mechanic?
>
>This is a 'mobile mechanic', and they should come suitably equipped to give
>the car sufficient TLC to get it going again, or to identify problems that
>prevent it from getting going (like stale fuel or leaking brake pipes).
>I'd suggest that's probably more economical than having someone tow the car
>to a garage, since they have to do a certain amount of prep to ensure the
>car is towable (brakes not siezed, etc).

They don't tow cars, they winch them onto a low-loader. If the brakes
are seized I expect they have some 'skates' for them.
--
Roland Perry

Rupert Moss-Eccardt

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Aug 16, 2021, 6:50:21 AM8/16/21

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If the car has been dead and cold for a long time and is rather old,
then the pyrotechnics might have degraded.

Tim Ward

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Aug 16, 2021, 7:24:56 AM8/16/21

to

On 16/08/2021 11:50, Rupert Moss-Eccardt wrote:
>
> If the car has been dead and cold for a long time and is rather old,
> then the pyrotechnics might have degraded.

I'm getting it recovered to the main dealer. So it's all an SEP, all I
have to do is pay. (I did pump up the tyres.)

tony sayer

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Aug 16, 2021, 4:10:14 PM8/16/21

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In article <sfb1m2$l4b$1...@dont-email.me>, Tim Ward <t...@brettward.co.uk>
scribeth thus

>So I've got this car which has been SORNed since the start of the thing,
>and I'm wondering what's needed to get it working again, if (as seems a
>bit of a toss-up) this can actually be achieved.
>
>It seems clear that I need to get it to a garage for them to see if it
>can be made to pass the MOT or whether it's not worth bothering.
>
>There would seem to be two ways to get it to a garage:
>

>(a) pay someone (Łxxx) to tow it there

>
>(b) pump up the tyres (I've got the kit to do that), buy a new battery

>(Łxxx), see if the engine starts, if so buy some insurance (Łxxx) and

>have a go at actually driving it to the garage (no tax or MOT of course,
>but none needed to travel to a pre-booked MOT appointment).
>
>I'm leaning towards (a), 'cos I only have to pay for the tow if the car
>can't be revived. In case (b) I'm in for the cost of the battery, *plus*
>a tow if it then doesn't work *or* insurance if it does, all at risk of
>being lost if it can't pass the MOT.
>
>(It's an old diesel and only by careful tweaking could it pass the
>emissions test last time, so I'm expecting an eventual failure anyway.)

Most diesels are a bit like that mines done 250,000 miles and is still
OK:)

>
>What would you do? Any recommendations for a towing outfit? Or a "we
>come and see if we can make your old banger work again, at least to the
>point where you can drive it to the MOT" mechanic?
>

Can you say what make and model and age this motah might be Tim?...

Then i think you can get a better idea of how mucho it might be to get
fixed up maybe?..

You could give Charlie and Stewart otherwise known as C&S Motors
underneath the railway arches in Coldhams lane a call, they do collect i
would not go as a later posting suggested to a main dealer!!

Their on 01223 362597

--
Tony Sayer

Man is least himself when he talks in his own person.

Give him a keyboard, and he will reveal himself.

Trippy Cross

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Nov 16, 2023, 6:11:44 AM11/16/23

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