Getting an MOT test done on your car can sometimes be a stressful time for many car owners, especially if they have older cars which are more likely to fail on certain components which are as old as the car itself.
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The reason why it can be a stressful time is because if the car fails an MOT test, it can sometimes lead to huge repair bills. But did you know by doing a few pre-MOT checks on your car and being savvy about when and where you take your car for an MOT can help you to minimise the likelihood of having to pay out lots of cash?
Here are some pointers to help you save some money when its MOT time.
Pre-MOT checks
This is something that everyone should do with any car that requires an annual MOT test. Although many people assume that cars fail MOT tests for some pretty major things, did you know that around a third of all cars fail an MOT because of something simple such as a blown light bulb, which could have been easily sorted before a test?
Recently, additional EU-imposed safety checks mean that many things which have been ignored or even issued as advisory notices in the past can now cause a MOT test failure.
So before you submit your car for an MOT test, do these quick pre-MOT tests to give your car the best chance of passing:
Tyres – the minimum legal tread depth across the central surface area of tyres needs to be at least 1.6 mm;
Exterior Bulbs – all bulbs (headlights, front and rear fog lights, side lights, reversing lights, number plate bulbs and indicator bulbs) need to be present and correct;
Exhaust – should not be blowing (i.e. it should not have any holes anywhere in the exhaust system apart from obviously the tailpipes);
Brakes – check that they have plenty of life left in all of the discs and pads, and that the handbrake has sufficient tension and operates correctly;
Interior Bulbs – all warning lights on the dashboard should be operational, and any issues relating to ABS or other systems where the bulb is permanently illuminated should be addressed before an MOT test;
Seat belts – these should all be functioning correctly.
Shop around for your MOT test
Another important thing to do come MOT-time is to shop around for the best deals on MOT tests in your local area. By law, MOT test centres cannot charge you anything more than £54.85 for tests on cars, and MOT tests are exempt from VAT charges.
Some main dealers and independent garages offer a big discount on MOT tests if you get them to service your car at the same time, so it can often save you time and money by having it all done at the same time.
So regardless of whether you go to an MOT Mansfield centre or any other in the UK, you should check that you go to a test centre that offers you the best value for money.
