Viewing 20 posts - 1 through 20 (of 20 total)
  • when is a cars first mot
  • mrmo
    Free Member

    just so i am clear on this, according to the handbook my car was first registered on the 30th March 2010.

    So as long as i get the car tested in March i am ok, and i assume that the mot would be valid from the 1st april even if i get it tested a couple of weeks early? if i wait till april i am not ok?

    I haven’t had a car of this age before so not very sure on the rules.

    Thanks.

    johndoh
    Free Member

    It is valid for 12 months from the date you have it tested.

    johndoh
    Free Member

    IIRC you have 7 days grace to have it tested so any time up to 6 April – but check!

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    mrmo
    Free Member

    It is valid for 12 months from the date you have it tested.

    So the 30? day early rule only applies to subsequent mots and not the first?

    john_drummer
    Free Member

    3 years from date of first registration and every year after that.
    You can not wait until April unless you take it off the road and (I think) use a trailer to get it to the MOT station.

    I think you can test it up to one month before its due, but unless you’re planning on going away, why would you?
    You could take a risk of course, but if you’re caught… no insurance, several points and a hefty fine

    I generally do mine about 2 weeks before its due – on the odd occasion that it fails, you have time to fix it before it’s not legal

    If you do get it tested early, but not too early, the certificate is valid until 12 months from its anniversary, not from the date of the test. It’ll say on the test certificate the earliest date you can test it to keep the anniversary the same

    Example, you get it tested on 14th March and it passes, the certificate is valid until 30th March next year, but you can get it tested up to 30(?) days early and it keeps the expiry date as the 30th March; and so on

    johndoh
    Free Member

    Mrmo – apparently the rule is the same – my mistake

    thekingisdead
    Free Member

    I generally do mine about 2 weeks before its due – on the odd occasion that it fails, you have time to fix it before it’s not legal

    I thought if it failed, even in the grace period, then it was illegal to drive.

    The law states you must have a road worthy vehicle if its being driven on the road? And a vehicle that’s failed an MOT is not road worthy, in the eyes of the law?

    Could be wrong, but that’s how I’ve always interpreted it.

    B.A.Nana
    Free Member

    Yes, you need to get it tested some time in March and the test centre can date it 1 April. To preserve the anniversary the earliest you can present it for test is 1 March, not sure about the latest date.

    mrmo
    Free Member

    Thinking about it, the car has a three year warranty i think? so would i be sensible in getting the test done a couple of weeks before the anniversary of the registration date incase it fails on a warranty replaceable item?

    B.A.Nana
    Free Member

    Sounds like a good idea, that’s what I’ll be doing with my 2010 car, in June.

    thisisnotaspoon
    Free Member

    I thought if it failed, even in the grace period, then it was illegal to drive.

    That only applies to dangerous faults IIRC, in which case they specifically tell you you can’t drive it away.

    honkiebikedude
    Free Member

    Can somebody please show me evidence that there is a grace period after the expiry date of a vehicles MOT ?

    Northwind
    Full Member

    john_drummer – Member

    You can not wait until April unless you take it off the road and (I think) use a trailer to get it to the MOT station.

    You can drive directly to a test centre with no MOT as long as you have it booked, and take it from the testing centre to a place of repair.

    But, driving a vehicle that’s unsafe is a separate issue- as it’s perfectly possible for a vehicle to fail an MOT but still be safe, or to have an MOT and be unsafe. And if you’re involved in an accident which the unroadworthiness contributed to, when it’s on record that it’s unsafe, you’re potentially going to end up belonging to the man with the most cigarettes.

    honkiebikedude – Member

    Can somebody please show me evidence that there is a grace period after the expiry date of a vehicles MOT ?

    Don’t think anyone’s suggested there is one?

    br
    Free Member

    I think you can test it up to one month before its due, but unless you’re planning on going away, why would you?

    Because it gives you a month to fix any failures. I always get mine done early, as you get credit for the time left – why wait until the last minute?

    honkiebikedude
    Free Member

    IIRC you have 7 days grace to have it tested so any time up to 6 April

    Sugests that some people believe there may be a grace period ?

    Northwind
    Full Member

    Aye, but “my mistake” suggests otherwise 😉

    thekingisdead
    Free Member

    Can somebody please show me evidence that there is a grace period after the expiry date of a vehicles MOT ?

    There isn’t. The grace period I was referring to was the 30 day period where you can MOT your car before it officially expires and still get a years MOT from the day it expires. Perhaps ‘grace period’ is the wrong terminology

    andydicko
    Free Member

    You can MOT a car whenever you like, the 30 day rule is so you can effectively get 13 months test. If its tested 31 days before expiry or 3rd birthday you get 12 months, no more.

    zokes
    Free Member

    You could take a risk of course, but if you’re caught… no insurance, several points and a hefty fine

    Insurance will be fine. A current MOT is only evidence that the car was roadworthy on the day it was tested

    andrewh
    Free Member

    You can not wait until April unless you take it off the road and (I think) use a trailer to get it to the MOT station

    You can drive any (correctly insured) vehicle to a pre-booked MOT test, regardless of MOT/tax/SORN status.
    .
    Not sure what happens afterwards actually, if it fails you are allowed to drive to a place of repair. If it passes then it obviously now has insurance and MOT, where do you stand about tax/SORN, can you drive home untaxed?
    .
    Also, does ‘drive to a place of repair’ include driving to the scrappy to buy some new parts?

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