Unroadworthy Vehicles

Vehicles that you sell, offer to sell or have on your forecourt for sale must be roadworthy. If you sell, offer to sell or have on your forecourt a vehicle that is not roadworthy, then you will commit an offence. A vehicle is considered to be unroadworthy if its use on a road in that condition, by virtue of provisions relating to Construction and Use of Vehicles and Equipment, would be unlawful as respects:

1. brakes, steering gear or tyres,

2. the construction, weight or equipment of the vehicle,

3. it is in such a condition that its use on a road would involve a danger of injury to any person.

Also, you will commit an offence if any repair you carry out on a vehicle makes the vehicle unroadworthy. If you wish to sell a vehicle that you believe to be unroadworthy, you will need to take all reasonable steps to make a prospective purchaser aware that the vehicle is unroadworthy and that its use on the road would be unlawful.

Further, you would have to be reasonably certain that the vehicle would not be used on the road until it is roadworthy. To satisfy this requirement, you would need to ensure that the vehicle was not driven from the premises. When selling unroadworthy vehicles, you will need to ensure they are clearly identified as such. If the price you ask for an unroadworthy vehicle is unrealistic, then it will not be considered to be so.