I have just traded in my car at a garage but the car i bought doesn't have any tax - am i allowed to drive it to the garage to get it taxed tomorrow or could i be fined if im stopped?
Please help

You can get fined!!!

thought so , thank you.  Boss is picking me up tomorrow so that saves that day and hopefully mum can get it done on her way to work!
Just when i gotten all excited about it - this sort of puts a dampner on things!

Thanks for your help tho , Kate

Plus if you crashed on the way you'd have no insurance cover!

ooh that bits all done - have changed my insurance details already!

I think what was meant that if you donnot have a valid tax disc, your insurance is null and void.
Lea :)

just order your tax disc online tonight then you will be covered - I think,

I thought you get car tax at the post office, not the garage! You need to show a current MOT and insurance cover note.

You can tax the car online.....they know if its insured cos its on a database, and they know if its got an MOT. You could have it taxed by tomorrow without setting foot in the post office.

But dont you have to receive the disc and display it to make it legal????
Surely if its not shown you are still not covered??
Lea :)

hi, no you get a sheet of paper that you print off for the inbetween waiting bit from paying for the tax and the disc arriving, although mine did come by the next day....

But it's a crime not to display a valid tax disc at the bottom left corner (nowhere else is acceptable) of the windscreen. In the past it was possible to put a notice saying 'Tax Applied For' there, but that was done away with when it was realised how many people just did that and never bothered to get the disc itself ...

You have to do it online a week before it finishes at the latest.  If the tax has already run out then your insurance is neither use nor ornament until the car is taxed.  you need to go to the post office tomorrow and tax it there, then you'll be able to drive it tomorrow night once you've got the new tax disc :d

Oh and yes I did mean that if the car is not taxed your insurance is not of any use as they will not cover you for an untaxed car.

Ah now i understand - thank you I hadn't realised that! I tried to tax online but it won't allow you to do it if you have just bought the car and if your details haven't been updated with the dvla yet so im a bit stuck there too.

Thank you everyone for all your help though - really appreciated

I did mine online the day it ran out and it all went through fine

My BIL taxed his car online the day it was out as he didn't check his insurance documents and they had put the wrong vehicle No. on them.  His insurance company changed the details, he phoned the DVLA and they said he could tax it online, if he was stopped the first thing they do is check the computer records and as he is taxed, but didn't have a disc it wouldn't be a problem using the car.

The law is quite clear. You must display a valid tax disc. If you renew on line and the disc hasn't arrived before the start of the next month you can be fined for failing to display a current tax disc, irrespective of the fact that you have proof to say it has been ordered. That is the law

Quite correct there are two laws one that says you must tax your car to use it on the road and the other that says you must display the tax disk on the vehicle.  You may manage to pursuade whoever stopped you re failing to disply.

do not think that your insurance would be invalid as long as you were taxed

Strange, that's not what they said on the telephone only 5 days ago  

I have my insurance renewal very close to the tax due, and last time, the DVLA database hadn't been updated with the insurance renewal when I tried to get my tax - had to wait two days then it went through ok. DVLA said they don't work weekends! She also said not to risk using the car until my disc arrived.
Son is a traffic policeman and when I asked about it he said there must be a valid tax disc dispayed in the vehicle at all times- database or not, and to wait until the disc came.
It would be mean of them to actually fine you for it, but within their rights.

I stand corrected :)

I don't belive it, we have the car tax men outside my house this very minute looking for an untaxed car and thev'e come prepared one in a transit 2 others with a flatbed truck to take the offending vehicle away. But they cant seem to find the car there looking for bet the owners have used it to go to work

With all the electronic wizardry getting so advanced, the day will probably come when the database detects an untaxed car and automatically immobilises it :D

There is no reason why this should not be done now.  It's easy to immobilise a car you'd just need a way of doing it remotely, in effect all you need is an engine management system that can be contacted via the mobile phone network (these already exist, some top of the range cars can contact the garage when they need a service).

Oh absolutely, but there's many, even innocent people, who dislike any 'big brother' type innovation :D
Remote trackers & immobilisers are already used by sophisticated car security devices, and such a system would eradicate car tax evasion in a big way!
One day, cars will police themselves ...remotely! :D