How Early Can You Book an MOT?
It is vital to get your car or bike MOT tested before its current certificate runs out. The consequences of not doing so are dire; however, there is help at hand for people who always forget, or who want to know the earliest date they can book the test. Read on for a briefing on what you need to know.
The MOT makes sure that your car or bike is safe to drive and not contributing to air pollution. If you have a new car, you need the MOT in place on the third anniversary of the date you registered it - not during the month that follows. You need to book the test before your three years of ownership expire; no MOT means no insurance
If you are driving a car without a valid MOT certificate, you could find yourself with a £1,000 fine. No MOT also means no insurance - even if you have paid for a policy, the lack of an MOT certificate will invalidate the insurance. If your car is written off because you skid on an icy road, for example, you won’t be able to claim; furthermore, you can be charged with driving without insurance.
Once the MOT has run out, the only journey you can make in the car is to the MOT centre. Be prepared to prove that this is where you are going if you are stopped by the police. A stop is reasonably likely, as many police cars will receive an alert, which they call a ‘ping’, if the car in front of them has no MOT.
New online help from the government
Luckily, the government is surprisingly helpful in assisting you to stay on the right side of the system. Although people still talk about the MOT ‘certificate’, the whole thing is now online. You can easily check whether your vehicle has a valid MOT, and so can anyone else who knows your car’s registration number.
At Protyre we offer a simple way to check when your MOT is due. Click on the button below to use our MOT Checker and book your car in with Protyre today!
The car or bike’s current tax status will be displayed, along with whether it has an MOT and when the MOT runs out.
Many people would rather get the MOT done as soon as possible so that they don’t have to worry about it. Others have had new cars and want to sell them as soon as they are three years old but think they will get a better price if they include a 12-month MOT in the sales details.
The earliest you can get an MOT is one month before the MOT is due to expire. You can sign up to the government’s reminder service and be sent either a text message or an email a month before the MOT is due to run out; what’s more, showing a surprising understanding of human nature, another reminder will be sent a fortnight before the expiration date.
Remember to book your car into a reliable local garage with skilled mechanics, especially if it is a high-end, performance or sports model. Choose a garage that is used to working with these cars and can spot potential problems before they become expensive headaches.