MOT date question

[luggsey]

My cars MOT is due on the 30th October, if I have an mot on the last day of the month is there any downside to doing so like with tax?
I'm assuming mot runs day to day the following year but just asking?

[ITSv40]

You can have the car tested anytime up to a month prior to the due day and preserve the retest day. So if the MOT runs out on 30 October and you have the car tested on say 15 October the MOT will run to the 30 October the following year.

[Tamworthbay]

But under new rules if it fails you can’t drive it until fixed. There was a grey area before but it’s been clarified under the new regulations.

[luggsey]

Just the sort of information I wanted.
Cheers both.

[Bendolfc]

Originally Posted by Tamworthbay

But under new rules if it fails you can’t drive it until fixed. There was a grey area before but it’s been clarified under the new regulations.

Not entirely true. That only applies if the failure is classified as dangerous.

[canis]

"Dangerous to drive" is down to the interpretation of the tester. And some are complete b******s.

Especially the Kwik-Fit variety, who can basically exploit this rule to hold your car to ransom. Either you let us fix it, or you call a tow-truck.

[domhart10]

so if my car fails the MOT which it has, before the MOT expiry date I am not allowed to use it untill it has passed? Even if the MOT actually hasnt expired yet?

[DaveNP]

Moral of the story, don't use Kwikfit or their type, there's one round here called Fastfit, the only thing that either of them are quick at is fitting you up.

As I understand it the new rules are not significantly different to the old ones except that they formalise some areas and add in a layer of pass with minor faults. Even under the old rules the tester could declare a fault to be such that the vehicle was dangerous to drive, it didn't carry an automatic penalty if you drove it but obviously you could be prosecuted for driving a dangerous vehicle and the police would already have the proof from the test. If the tester declares your vehicle to have dangerous faults under the new rules they still do not have the authority to hold the vehicle or prevent you from driving it, obviously they could call the police and drop you in it but how likely are the police to then drop everything and speed to apprehend someone driving home from an MOT? more likely they'll put your reg into the computer so if they happen to see you next week they'll give you a pull. If you fail due to major faults you can still drive on the old MOT although in the event of an accident you'd have a lot of explaining to do, and you can now pass with minor faults which need fixing or pass with advisories which need keeping an eye on.

I'm not a lawyer and I don't advocate driving an unroadworthy vehicle but I try not to get panicked by internet headlines. It can be quite difficult to cut through all of the results one gets on the internet from a simple google search but persevere to the .gov webpages and you find the facts without the journalistic hype, unfortunately even some of the more respectable organisations like the RAC/AA can fall into the trap of making things sound worse because they can't be seen to advocate driving a vehicle in less than perfect condition.

[Waynedance]

Originally Posted by canis

"Dangerous to drive" is down to the interpretation of the tester. And some are complete b******s.

Especially the Kwik-Fit variety, who can basically exploit this rule to hold your car to ransom. Either you let us fix it, or you call a tow-truck.

Not quite, the tester selects the fail and it goes under what heading VOSA have applied to it.

[canis]

Originally Posted by Waynedance

Not quite, the tester selects the fail and it goes under what heading VOSA have applied to it.

It's still down to the tester's judgement whether an item passes or fails.