What to do with my beloved Corsa

Hi there,

I have a right-hand drive 1.2 2005 Vauxhall Corsa in my garage which has been sitting there for nearly 2 years now.  The police stopped me driving in Valencia because I'd been driving it for a year without paying Spanish road tax, getting an ITV or changing the plates.  Having paid a load of fines to recover it, I never got round to getting it legal to drive here (instead my Spanish teacher sold me her old Clio).  I'd like to be able to use the garage space as finding a place to park can be tricky round here.

What I'd like to know is if there's anyone out there who'd be interested in taking it.  It's in good condition, although currently undriveable due to having been unused for so long.  I wouldn't ask for any money for it, but you'd have to pay to get it towed, repaired and legal on the road.  This might work for someone looking to go back to the UK.  It would be a lot of work but could perhaps save you a bit of money.

Otherwise any ideas as to the best thing to do?

You are stuck. The car is not road legal anywhere.
A Spanish ITV will not be valid unless you have it Spanish registered.
Even by chance another person got it back to the ports in the UK then they stand a good chance of being stopped for not having an MOT tax or maybe no insurance too. There are cameras for plate recognition. The car being in your name means that you could well end up with a fine, maybe points on your licence too. That would show up if you have not exchanged your DL for a Spanish one yet.
How you scrap a car which has UK plates in Spain, I do not have a clue. But I can tell you how if you had it Spanish registered.

Just on the point if a person got it back to a U.K. port.

Assuming they were not stopped in say spain or France where the car without ‘road tax' or an MOT cert would probably would be illegal, providing when they arrived in U.K. they had an appointment for an MOT the car can be driven legally to the test wherever that is in U.K

Of course the car would need to be insured and roadworthy to be driven on a road anywhere, but the OP did not say it was not roadworthy and had it been so, presumably he would have been prosecuted for using an unroadworthy car

Not having an MOT / ITV does not mean it is not roadworthy,  just as having one does not mean it is roadworthy only that it was at the moment it was examined.  Only if it were unroadworthy would it be uninsurable

The car could be sold in spain to a U.K. resident and DVLC advised so the ownership transfer could be recorded. 


If one wanted to scrap the car in spain one would need to get a grúa to take it to the scrap yard.  Then DVLA would need to be informed it had been scraped

Thanks very much for your replies guys,

It seems that scrapping it would be the only option then.  Can I not just call up a grua to take to the scrap yard or will I need to get some kind official permit or something?

In reply to John - the car is roadworthy, it's just got flat tyres, a flat battery and 2 year-old petrol in the tank.

Thanks,

Eddie

Eddie.   You could try advertising it for sale and see what happens. 

You may find someone returning to U.K. who would take a chance on not having vehicle exicise licence (road tax).

Eddie,  there is info here re scraping UK Reg vehicle in Spain

http://www.tumbit.com/how-to-guides/art … spain.html.

car is roadworthy


How do you know? There is a long list to check when bringing a car out of a long time of no use.
After 2 years standing:
Tyres could be flat spotted.
Brakes binding.
Rust in body or fuel and brake lines.
Gators perished.
Bearings still in good shape, not seized?
Tyres   and windscreen wipers could well have perished. Maybe the rubber fuel lines too.
Rodents not eaten the wiring loom?
Clutch is free and easy to use. If it is Hydraulic again fluid need to be changed.
Hangers and clamps for the exhaust pipe need to be checked.
Plus the fuel is too old and needs flushing. Brake fluid too.
Then after all that you need a certificate either ITV or MOT to be fully roadworthy.

QUOTE.   
‘Then after all that you need a certificate either ITV or MOT to be fully roadworthy.'

Sorry to split hairs.   But a test certificate is not required to make the car fully roadworthy.

   When  the vehicle is roadworthy one can have a test to prove that it is so

With a U.K. registered vehicle,   one needs an MOT cert to legally use it on a public road in any EU country, with the exception of driving to an appointment with an MOT test centre in U.K. which is permitted by U.K. law

An ITV test of course would have no significance anywhere for a U.K. reg vehicle

So can a car be driven on the road without a certificate be it an MOT; ITV; APK; NCTS etc? I doubt it. Thus the car is not ready for the road. It is not roadworthy.

Rib. 
Please read what I posted regarding the law

Had you done so,  you would not have made your post which mis-quoted me

Thanks very much for your replies guys,

I'll let you know how the scrapping goes

In the US, collectors buy spare cars for parts, so you might try to find a collector. I have had cars sit for a couple of years without starting start up ok. You will need to put fresh gas in the gastank, enough so at least 50% is new gas. If I anticipate that a car will be parked a long time, I park it with the gas tank almost empty. Before starting, remove plugs and squirt a bit of penetrating oil and then normal oil in each cylinder to free rings that may be rusted to the cylinder walls. Put a little gas inthe carburator before starting if it is an old car. Instead of buying a battery, try to jump start it. Pump up the tires, if they hold air you can at least see if it moves before going further. If the car was parkedin a rural area, as my old 1974 Pinto was, then before doing anything check for rat and mouse nesting. These critters eat the grease and insulation on electrical cables, and probably the car is junk if they have invaded.