PRESS RELEASE

Release date: October 2014

Remove My Car calls for three yearly classic MOTs

A nationwide vehicle recycling specialist is calling for a three-yearly MOT for classic vehicles, after receiving over 500 disposal requests for cars registered before 1988, in the past 12 months.

The Department of Transport is currently considering changing existing MOT legislation to make any vehicle manufactured before 1988 exempt from MOT testing, instead of existing rules that state vehicles manufactured before 1960 are MOT exempt. However, Remove My Car believes that all vehicles, regardless of age should be made to undergo some sort of inspection and refers to its own statistics to demonstrate that pre-1988 vehicles are being considered dangerous by the British public, and responsibly disposed of.

The company believes that a three-yearly MOT for vehicles older than 30 years, similar to the law regarding new vehicles, which don’t require an MOT for the first three years, will ensure that only safe and fully working vehicles are in operation on the country’s roads.

Remove My Car’s Managing Director Steve Queen explained: “Many classic cars that could potentially escape the MOT test are likely to have faults and defects. Vehicles manufactured between 1960 and 1988 are typically left sitting around for a long time and sold on for numerous restoration projects. Are we saying that cars left sitting around for 10 years do not require an MOT?”

Remove My Car works closely with the garage and MOT sector to offer a disposal route for vehicles that fail an MOT test and are economically better off being recycled. The company is raising another loophole in proposed MOT legislation and joining the debate as to what actually defines a ‘classic’ vehicle.

Steve Queen said: “The make and model of a vehicle defines whether or not it is a classic, just as much as its age. A classic car must have a following, in order to fall into the ‘classics’ category. For example, a Ford KA first was first released in 1996 and is nearly twenty years old. Yet, this vehicle is not thought of as a classic. Compare this to a 1996 Porsche, which you could argue is now a classic vehicle because these are much rarer than Ford KAs.”

Official figures from Remove My Car released earlier this year demonstrate that the Ford Fiesta is the most scrapped car in the UK, with 1,691 models being recycled by the company in the period between May 2012 and May 2013. Compare this to a single Volkswagen Touareg, which was recycled during the same period; a vehicle only introduced to market 12 years ago. The statistics show that cars over 15 years old are typically being sold for scrap.

Steve Queen believes that safety plays a big part when it comes to a driver deciding to scrap their car: “It’s important to note that it’s potentially very dangerous to drive old cars in bad weather, as their tyres and brakes often struggle in wet and icy conditions. With the extreme winter weather this country often experiences, people are rightly deciding to take that risk away and invest in a newer and ultimately safer car.

“What we don’t want to happen is that an un-roadworthy scrap car sits parked up in 2014 but once it becomes categorised as a classic, it suddenly becomes roadworthy again, without an MOT, and that is the danger we currently face.”

The call for three-yearly MOTs comes at a time when Remove My Car has given its public backing to the RAC’s proposed diesel scrappage scheme, which will help reduce the amount of potentially dangerous diesel vehicles still on Britain’s roads. Remove My Car continues to work with garages and MOT stations throughout the UK to provide a quick and efficient disposal service for End of Life Vehicles (ELVs), and provide sellers with the opportunity to donate the value of their ELV to automotive industry charity BEN.

-ENDS-

About Remove My Car

Remove My Car is a nationwide vehicle removal specialist working with an extensive network of registered ATFs. The company was set up to make the process of selling a car for scrap as easy and hassle free as possible. Quotes are provided based on the weight of a car, rather than the size of a car which is the more common measurement. This ensures an accurate and fair quote every time.

Friendly, honest, experienced and professional, Remove My Car has quickly become one of the UK’s leading scrap car buyers.

For further information, please contact:-

John Edden, Bridge PR & Media Services on 024 76 520025, or e-mail john@bridgepr.co.uk