I need to bring home my auto Z from my boys garage , approx 15 miles distance . been stored in his garage for several months runs ok , but need to carry out some work before i mot , insure ,@ tax advice is it legal to have this car towed [being not road legal] and could towing cause damage to auto box ? i could have engine running, giving me steering and brakes . any help on this , please

I have heard you aint supposed to tow an auto, but i think you can get away with a small distance.

I think you will need the engine running for the power steering and brakes, unless you are being towed with a bar, also if it's not running you should disconnect the prop.

 

Paul

Shortish distances with a max of 50mph....15miles - you should be OK. If very worried though, you should disconnect propshaft.

You can tow it on a trailer. If doing it via tow rope it has to be road legal - so mot etc required

why you need to disconect the prop?

 

this only on autos?

 

or manuals too?

Only on autos and if the engine is not running, as the rear wheels can still turn the gearbox and cause damage to the clutch plates.

It is not legal, so long as the car has any of its tyres on the road then it needs tax, only exception being driven to a pre-booked MOT and back home.

Hi there i had mine towd to a garage,by the rac use them if your a member,thay can tow up to 15 miles to your destination,he checked on his comp and it did say you could be towd but he surgested a flat bed, and thay came back with a flat bed and dun it,the cost is £0 if your a member.:smash:

hi, funny enough had this conversation when i brokedown with the aa, they showed me that on the auto max speed is 20mph!

Edited June 12, 200916 yr by andymeeson

Many years ago a local BMW dealer called on my dad to tow a vehicle in for them using his at the time almost brand new 740i, It was a very odd request from the dealership, im not even sure what they wanted towing, i think it was another 7. For some reason they didnt have anything powerful enough to tow it and there were no other tow vehicle options in the local area. That had to be towed at about 20mph for only a few miles between stopping to let the gearbox oil cool.

If you tow an auto without the engine running there is no oil getting to the back "half" of the gearbox. therefore you can damage the gearbox bearings, meaning it'll need to come out and rebuild it!! If you have to tow it then remove the propshaft to avoid this, although it can be a bit of a fiddle to get it out on 300ZX's. It won't be legal to tow it if it hasn't got TAX, MOT or Insurance. The police can (and probably will impound it!). You will have to move it on a trailer, unless you drive it to a pre arranged MOT. I'm an MOT tester, and have towed a lot of cars over hte years, the above is how the law stands!! Hope this helps ( and you don't get your car impounded!!)

I don't think this is correct edj. As I understand the law it specifies that basically if you are towing something, you should basically treat is as a trailer. i.e, your license must cover the amount of weight the thing behind the vehicle is. In the case of a 300zx, your license must allow to tow a 1580kg trailer.

 

As whatever you are towing is considered a trailer, and your license covers that trailer, theoretically anyone could steer it (as you don't need a license to drive a trailer), they don't need a license, it doesn't need any tax or MOT... but it does need good tyres!

 

Remember your also not allowed to tow on a tope, it has to be a bar!

 

But edj is also correct, don't tow autos because they WILL DIE!

I've spoken to the police before about towing, the car being towed is NOT covered by any of the insurance/tax/MOT of the car towing it, why would it be?

 

Like was mentioned earlier in this thread, the only exception for that car to be on the road, is if that car has a pre-arranged MOT booking.

 

Chances are the police wouldn't pull you over, but if you get an awkward one :cry: