MOT or NO MOT?

MOT WHAT?

MOT Stands for ‘Ministry of Transport’. It is an annual test of vehicle safety, road worthiness aspects and exhaust emissions required in the United Kingdom for most vehicles over three years old used on any way defined as a road in the Road Traffic Act 1988. The MOT test covers the following aspects:

• Exhaust and emissions
• Seat belts
• Steering
• Windscreen
• Bonnet catch
• Horn
• Number plate
• Lights
• Brakes
• Tyres
• Wheels
• Mirrors
• Doors
• Seats
• Suspension
• Fuel system
• Body and structure

Typically a test takes around 45 minutes to an hour and the results are immediately available on both a printed sheet & on the government website.

MOT – WHEN?

Every Year – Unless its brand new then you are good for the first three years. So if your lucky enough to have a car less than three years old then you will need to check when the car was first registered. This should be printed on your log book (V5) it will be due three years from that date.

MOT – WHY?

In simple terms because its a legal requirement. But the test is there to make sure that cars on our roads are safe. Because its a legal requirement you won’t be able to tax your vehicle if it doesn’t have a valid MOT.

MOT – WHO?

All MOT’s need to be carried out by a trained MOT technician – these guys have regular training and strict guidelines to follow. There are also serious implications for them should they not be up to certain standards when it comes to testing vehicles or if they choose to abuse their position.

MOT – HOW?

Its simple to book your car in for an MOT. Usually a phone call with the date and your reg. All previous MOT’s are stored electronically now so all you need to present is the car. Remember If your vehicle fails its MOT you have 10 working days to get it back for a re-test. A retest inspects the car again to ensure the work that has been completed is to a high standard and has rectified the reason for failure. If you miss the 10 days for a re-test a full MOT will be required.

Helpful Information regarding MOTs

• Check a vehicles MOT history – You can now see what and when a vehicle passed or failed its MOT. This is really useful if you are looking to buy a used car and want to get some background information.
• Check the Status of a vehicles MOT – Check when a vehicle is due for its MOT

FACTS About MOTs
Did you know:

• You can present your vehicle for an MOT at any time (so if your MOT date just happens to fall between Christmas and new year and is really inconvenient you can choose to take it at any other point in the year (providing its before its due)
• The earliest you can present your car for its MOT to preserve the date is 4 weeks prior. So if your car is due on the 1st of march you can take it any time from 1st of February – if it passes on the 1st of Feb your pass certificate will be valid for 13 months! Great tip if your looking to sell your car.
• You can be fined up to £1000 for driving your car without a valid MOT.
• You can however legally drive your car without an MOT either to a repair shop or to a pre-booked MOT.
• If your vehicle fails its MOT it is therefore not road worthy and required repairs. This means regardless of the date on the previous certificate you CANNOT legally drive it.
• If your car has no valid MOT – Your insurance will be invalid too.

Costs

Did you know there is a maximum cost for an MOT?
The government state that an MOT should not cost more than £54.85 for a car. But prices vary from garage to garage. Make sure you ask questions before booking your vehicles MOT as some also charge for an MOT Re-test,this will be required if your vehicle fails it MOT it will be required to be inspected once repairs have been carried out.

Why Choose Car Friend for your MOT?

Put simply because we are independent – non biased and always honest. We don’t have MOT testing facilities on site. We use an independent MOT tester. This works really well for us as it means our customers get an honest test that they can trust. Is it just a coincidence that your car fails on tyres when you take it for an MOT test station at a tyre garage?
We are really good value for money – Our tests cost £37.50 and come with a free retest.
We also have the ability to help with financing repairs should your car MOT fail start to add up. With Payment assist we can split the cost of your car repair bill into 4 easy to manage payments. Making MOT day just a little less stressful.

As always if you have any questions regarding MOTs or any other aspects of car related repairs or maintenance then give us a call – find us on Facebook or pop in for a chat 🙂

I hope you found this useful – Lots of Love Gem & the Car Friend Team