If your MOT is coming up and you are not sure how well your car is going to do, this can be a source of worry. After all, if your car fails the MOT test, you will have to either find a way to manage without it or come up with the funds to repair it to a suitably roadworthy state. Avoid MOT worries with these six savvy guidelines to pass your test successfully the first time round.
It’s a Continuous Requirement
The MOT test is a roadworthiness test that was introduced in 1960 in an attempt to reduce the rising number of road accidents that were occurring rather too frequently on the UK’s small but growing road network. The first motorways were coming along at around this time, and the signs were clear that, unchecked, vehicles in poor condition would cause a high accident and death toll. Therefore, the Ministry of Transport (as they were then) came up with a roadworthiness test which is a set of standards to which vehicles should always adhere. Therefore, if you could not pass your MOT test at any time, your vehicle is not legally permitted on the road – and you will be fined or given points on your licence if you are caught in a police check. Bearing this in mind will help you to always be legally compliant, which means that you should, in theory, sail through your MOT test without any issues.
Know the Checklist
You can help yourself in this regard by finding the MOT checklist online, and making sure that you meet these requirements at all times. The list is updated periodically, so do make sure to use the latest one when preparing for your next MOT.
Regular Checks
No matter if you are in a coastal city, like Southampton, or in the hinterland beyond London, such as in Basildon in Essex, you can take steps to keep your car in roadworthy condition. These checks can begin with something as simple as merely looking over your vehicle on a regular basis – if you know what your car looks like when it’s in good shape, you should quickly pick up when things begin to go wrong. You don’t have to be a mechanic to notice when something is beginning to go wrong – but you can use this as a sign to visit your local garage at your earliest convenience. For instance if you are somewhere in Essex you can visit Elite Direct to book your MOT in Basildon with confidence!
Regular Services
And avoid the onset of these small (but inclined to grow) problems by heading them off with regular services. Most drivers can get by with one service a year, often just before the MOT test to make sure everything is in tip-top shape before the car is moved to the MOT testing station. However, drivers who clock up many more miles might do well to have a six-monthly or interim service at the halfway point of the year.
Be A Little Boring
This might seem like strange advice, but boring means safe, sensible and the vehicles of safe and sensible people tend to be in great condition, passing their MOTs with flying colours and seldom getting into trouble on the roads!
Book Promptly
You can book your MOT test as much as a month before the expiry date of your current certificate without losing the anniversary date. It is wise to get your MOT test organised promptly as there is no grace period with MOT tests: as soon as the certificate expires, you will be in breach of the law; your insurance will almost certainly not be valid; and you will be forbidden from driving or even parking on the UK’s public roads.
Your MOT test can be a fraught time, but you can follow these six savvy steps to make sure that it is as painless and budget-friendly as possible.