taking the car for it’s first MOT. Imagine there are loads of potential pitfalls and don’t want the cost to run up too much. Any large chains to visit/avoid? any advice? any fun MOT anecdotes?
tyres can be expensive. if they’re fucked you might want to go to a budget tyre place and get them done there first.
though if it’s the first MOT they’re probs fine.
Tell them you’d do it yourself but you’re too busy with all your other cars so they know you’re a pro and can’t scam you
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Avoid Halford’s
Try and find an honest, independent garage. Easier said then done I know. Ask around.
obviously check all the silly stuff like windscreen wipers etc. other than that, I got nowt, man
got a £250 bill to get my car through mot the other week. guy said ‘it’s not bad, is it’ - clearly has no understanding of money, that prick
Money Saving Expert have a good guide for this:
badly worded OP. It’s my first MOT. The car’s old as fuck
I learned that an ‘advisory’ on replacing a tyre means ‘definitely do it’.
Similar to what @bird says, check all the obvious things yourself. Last thing you want it to fail on is a broken bulb or something daft like that.
I failed a driving test before I got in the car due to a broken bulb
Shouldn’t have smashed it in the examiners face
Wait what?? How did you know?
What?!
I was the examiner
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Had to show him I knew how to turn the lights on (or maybe it was because they needed to check as it was mildly poor conditions IDK). And one of the lights blew. No test for Twinkletoes.
Ah, he was called ma00sm. I guess you dropped one of the ‘eyes’ from your name after the ‘incident’
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I’ve started going to a place that just does MOTs
Then if it fails (done 2x MOTs this way now, and it only failed once) then I take it to another garage round the corner to get the work done
I check tyres, lights, wiper blades etc first
The MOT place will also do an oil change for a bit extra
I always felt like I was getting done at the variety of garages I’ve used before. Never been lucky enough to find a garage where I felt I could 100% trust them
I do drive an old banger though
Bikes are much better - I can fix my bike myself
My girlfriend’s dad’s mechanic mate might be able to fit us in while we’re in Blackpool for the weekend. Cashback
Avoid Halfords or Kwik Fit probably.
Managed to get mine for £29 through the Pug website, rather than the £45 the same dealer would’ve charged if I’d rang them up to book it.
Everything should be fine if it’s the first test, apart from tyres or wipers, possibly brakes depending on how bad a driver you are. Basically, as long as your daily vehicle checks don’t show any problems, it should be fine.
Check the condition of your wiper blades, make sure they clean the screen properly and don’t leave any streaks.
No chips or cracks within the swept area of the windscreen. No shit on the dashboard in the same area.
Mirrors aren’t smashed.
Check your lights are all working correctly.
Check your horn works.
Check the condition of your tyres - No cuts and bulges in the side wall; stick your fingers in the grooves of the tread and you should feel some little indicators in there, as long as they aren’t flush with the surface of the tyre, you’ve got a legal amount of tread.
Bodywork is in good condition, no sharp edges, etc.
Check there is no excess smoke from the exhaust.
Handbrake works correctly.
Seat belts all fasten correctly and your seat locks into place properly.
No red lights on the dashboard.
Congratulations, you have done your MOT.