One of the most common questions asked by end-of-life vehicle owners is also one of the most logical and important:
If your vehicle isn’t in great shape and you’ve declared it off-road, can you legally drive it to a scrapyard?
Filing a SORN – aka a Statutory Off Road Notification – is a legal requirement when taking a car out of service permanently. In doing so, you indicate that the vehicle in question has been removed from public roads, and is now being stored somewhere private.
This could be your garage, your driveway, your garden – anywhere that isn’t open to the general public.
Irrespective of the age and condition of your car, declaring it SORN means it is no longer permitted to be used on public roads. Hence, you can’t simply carry on using it as normal, or pop out in it for the occasional journey without risking heavy penalties.
But what about the small matter of transporting your SORN car to a scrapyard?
A Tricky (and Costly) Obstacle to Overcome
This is where motorists often find themselves in a difficult catch-22 situation. You’ve declared your car SORN and you want to send it away for responsible recycling, but how to get it to the scrapyard in the first place?
In terms of the legality of the whole thing, the short answer is no – there is no allowance whatsoever for driving a SORN car to a scrapyard. Even if it’s still in relatively good condition, you cannot legally drive a car that’s been declared off-road.
Do so and you run the risk of being fined as much as £2,500 for putting yourself and all other road users in danger. Which is a hefty price to pay for attempting to do the right thing, albeit in entirely the wrong way.
Traditionally, this has meant forking out for transportation of your vehicle to the appropriate scrapping and recycling facility. If it’s something you’ve had to organise in the past, you’ll know just how expensive it can be.
Even if the dealer promises to pay you a fair price for your scrap vehicle, chances are you’ll pay even more for the transportation.
A Flexible and Rewarding Alternative
Here at Take My Scrap Car, we’re the firm believers in incentivising responsible behaviour. That’s why every aspect of the services we provide for responsible motorists are 100% free of charge.
Whatever your location in Norfolk, we’ll pay you a visit and take your scrap car off your hands – with not a penny to pay at any time. We promise to pay the best possible price for your scrap vehicle, and we uphold the highest recycling standards at all times.
To learn more about our alternative approach to car scrapping and recycling or to arrange collection of a scrap car in your area, contact a member of the team at Take My Scrap Car today.
