Non runners and project cars · Smethwick B66
Non runner transport from and to Smethwick
A vehicle that cannot be driven is not an emergency, it is a loading problem. Winch, skates and a bed solve it on a date that suits you.
Owners of cars that do not start, do not steer, or are not road legal, being moved on a planned date.
A non runner is only difficult if it turns up as a surprise. Told in advance, the driver brings the right kit and the job is a twenty minute lift rather than an hour of improvising.
Non runner transport in Smethwick is booked work, not a call out. Knowing the back-to-back terraces and the parking around the Birmingham Canal in advance is what keeps the collection window honest.
Where the wheels will not roll, skates go under and the car is moved sideways onto the loading point before the winch takes over.
How a booking works
- 1Describe the stateDoes it roll, does it steer, is there a key, are the brakes seized.
- 2We pick the kitWinch, skates or both, decided before the truck leaves rather than on your driveway.
- 3Fixed quotePriced on the loading method and the distance, agreed before booking.
- 4LoadingWinched on slowly with the condition already recorded, allowing for damage that was there first.
- 5Placed, not parkedAt the other end we put it where it needs to sit, because it cannot be moved again by hand.
What moves the price
- Loading method
- A straight winch is quicker than a skate job, and quicker means cheaper.
- Where it sits now
- A car at the back of a garage or against a wall needs pulling out before it can be loaded.
- Ground surface
- Gravel, grass and soft ground all slow a winch pull compared with tarmac.
- Distance
- The same mileage logic as any other transport job, with a little extra time at both ends.
From Smethwick the usual runs are local drops within West Midlands, deliveries into Oldbury and Birmingham, and longer routes joining the network at M5 J1. Long runs are quoted per mile with the return leg included, so the figure does not change on delivery day.
Access at the Smethwick end
Some of Smethwick loads easily and some does not. Height barriers on back-to-back terraces, permit only bays and narrow terraced streets all need a plan before the day. Tell us the exact door number and any barrier height when you book, and the driver picks the loading point in advance.
Before collection day
- Clear a straight pull line if you can
- Tell us if the steering is locked
- Say whether the handbrake is seized on
- Move anything parked directly in front of it
- Decide exactly where it should sit on arrival
- · Confirmation of what does and does not work before the day
- · SORN status noted where the vehicle is off road
- · Condition record allowing for existing damage
- · Clear delivery instructions for a vehicle that cannot be repositioned
Smethwick transport questions
- Is it legal to move an untaxed car from a Smethwick address?
- On a truck, yes. Driving it on the road would not be. A vehicle declared SORN can be transported freely, which is why planned transport exists.
- The wheels are seized, is that a problem?
- Not with skates. Each seized wheel goes on a skate and the car is rolled onto the loading point sideways if it has to be. Around the Birmingham Canal that is a routine job for us.
- Can you get a non runner out of a garage?
- Usually. We need a straight enough pull line and room for the winch to work. Send a photograph of the garage and the approach when you book and we will tell you honestly before the day.
- Will you take a car with no MOT to a garage?
- Yes. A large share of Smethwick non runner jobs are exactly that, a failed or lapsed MOT going to a workshop for the work to be done.
- Do I need to be there?
- Someone should be, at least at the collection end, because a non runner cannot be repositioned once the truck has gone. We have loaded plenty of vehicles near Cape Hill.