Neighbours car!!! - PLEASE HELP

[Namechanged2812]

not really AIBU but need advice please
My neighbour goes to work at 10pm each night and comes home at 4am. His car wakes me up at both times EVERY NIGHT. It sounds like it's going to explode - not well at all.
I mentioned this to a friend about 3 weeks ago and said how I think it doesn't sound fit for purpose. Friend told me about how you can check online for MOT etc - I did, and the car has no tax or MOT thus no insurance.
I reported this to 101 and the dvla and nothing has been done about it! Furthermore - this neighbour has 3 DC who he looks after at the weekend, and drives them about in said death-trap.
I called 101 again yesterday with my concerns and they said contact dvla, I called them again and they said they have a "process" and write to the person first, then if not heard back in 'X' amount of days they escalate it.
I don't understand how this can go ignored for so long - the MOT expired last AUGUST!!!
I am at my wits end with being woken up each morning at this time, and also majorly concerned this person is on the road in a dangerous vehicle.
A friend suggested I write on the car in permanent marker - "this car has no tax or MOT". The friend said it in jest, but maybe that would actually work?! Obviously I don't want to be done for criminal damage though but I really am at a loss and frankly pissed off with the police and dvla!
What can I do?!?!

let the dvla get on with it, at their own pace.

You sound very stressed OP and the interrupted sleep won't help. Have you tried using earplugs?

I can't believe he hasn't been caught driving without MOT, tax and insurance yet.
One thing to be aware of OP is sadly some MOT companies do 'dodgy MOTs'. So you can pay x amount of money for an instant pass, although if his car is as bad as it sounds they may either refuse to do it or ask for a huge amount of money.
My point being.. even if he gets taxed, MOTed and insured, you may continue to have the same issue with the noise of the car.
Best thing to do is, each and every time it's waking you up, record it. If he doesn't get taxed, MOTed, and insured then that's proof he's driving illegally. Also it is proof of the noise it is causing, and hopefully that would be enough that you could report him to your council (for the noise disturbance).
Not sure what outcome you'll get with the police, but fingers crossed for you!

Go into your police station and logged it- it is illegal to drive without insurance and this is normally dealt with by the police

the car is making such a noise because it's clearly not been serviced or MOT'd

I challenge this statement. I just to have an old car that was pretty loud (because that was all I could afford). It absolutely was MOT'd. It wasn't serviced because I couldn't afford it.

I also don't think the council would be bothered about noise disturbance if he is just driving to and from work. Its not like he's sat on the driveway for an hour!

Emily - evidently you know my neighbour, and have seen / heard his car to set me straight.

The whole point of an MOT is that you really can't tell much about a car just by seeing / hearing it in the street.

There is no evidence that it is noisy BECAUSE it hasn't been serviced and passed an MOT. In this case the car is noisy AND hasn't passed an MOT. There is a big difference.

I totally agree that everyone should have an MOT and insurance, if you can't afford those things then you can't afford a car. I just don't like it when people seem to assume causality when there is no evidence for it.

Correction - maybe not the whole point of an MOT, to be fair.

It doesn't update straight away online it takes a few weeks op

@titty. People don't seem to listen about the link between insurance and MOT.

You cannot tax a car without MOT and insurance but you can insure a car without an MOT. My car was declared off road and had no MOT. It didn't actually work properly until I managed to source an alternator. It absolutely was insured. It was not legal to drive on the road except to a booked MOT appointment but that is from a tax and MOT point, not insurance. When I had the part, I drove it to an MOT station for the alternator to be fitted, then the car to be serviced and MOT. When done, I taxed the car and brought it home. All the time insured. And all the time legal..
It is a myth that it automatically invalidates insurance. Your car cannot be driven on the road unless it is roadworthy and an MOT certifies it was at that time. If your tyres wear out 3 months later and are bald, then your car is unroadworthy and therefore not insured on the road for your own damage. But it has a valid MOT.
TP cover will not be affected by the roadworthiness but the Insurers may come after you for any payment they have to make on your policy.

the sound isn't the exhaust, it sounds like the clutch is near enough dead, the whole engine rattles and the break squeaks at full throttle. You can hear it chugging down the road a mile off.

How do the brakes squeak at full throttle?!

I have a squeaky brake on my car which hasn't been resolved by anything I've done to it - including stripping down the calipers. It's just something that happens in certain situations (temperature of the discs etc).

Full throttle as in maximum volume, not speed.
Seriously - why am I discussing the various sounds with you?

Because nothing you say makes sense.

Erm. Right.

How do the brakes squeak at full throttle?!

Actually, I had this on my first car. I don't know the technicaliies, but something was put in too tight when the brakes were fixed. As the metal parts got hot and expanded, they screeched.

Thanks Soup - I wonder why some people want to argue over the most trivial of comments on here.

@TittyGolightly is kind of right, having no MOT doesn't always invalidate insurance, but it's not quite that black and white.

Some policies will suggest in the small print that it may, the reality of that is should the vehicle become a total loss the pay out value will be dramatically adjusted to reflect the value of a car without an MOT.
However, if the car hit your car in the process, this won't have any affect on your payout. So an MOT'less car will really only impact on the owner.

I'm not debating the validation of the insurance... At all.
I said in my OP "thus no insurance" and then explained that's what the 101 operator told me. Someone then said it doesn't mean that and I said ok. Anyway, turns out the car ISN'T insured anyway , so really no need for us to carry on about that. It's irrelevant.

Why all the arguing about the insurance?

Surely the point is, that the noise infuriating the OP is a possible indication of the car's likely condition and that it might not be roadworthy. Not having a valid MOT would also likely back that up.

People saying you can't insure a car without an MOT are really indicating the overall problems the with man driving around, it's not SORN, it's being used daily on public roads and carrying children.

Regardless of semantics driving without tax, MOT as required or insurance renders him liable to prosecution because he's knowingly committing an offence and putting himself, his family and other road users at risk. The potential for serious harm is thee and that's why responsible motorists follow the rules.

Surely the point is, that the noise infuriating the OP is a possible indication of the car's likely condition and that it might not be roadworthy. Not having a valid MOT would also likely back that up.

Lots of ifs and maybes in that statement.

Only because of all the people on here so quick to defend someone using public highways without fulfilling legal requirements.

Why all the arguing about the insurance?

I don't think anyone is arguing over it, merely trying to clear up a pretty common misconception. It very much became an aside to the thread.

Titty - OP has made it very clear that this isn't a "normal" car noise. So not the usual brake squeak, not the usual engine sound. This noise clearly indicates that there is something very wrong with the car.

BUT the whole reason op started a thread was to ask if anyone knew of anything else that could be done to get the car taken off the road because it has no tax, insurance or MOT. That is illegal and therefore the owner of the car should not be driving it. It is a serious offence and op is rightly reporting it and pursuing it.

OP - have you had any progress in resolving this?