Everyone wants their MOT test to be plain sailing, with their car passing the various tests and checks without any issue however sometimes this turns out to be wishful thinking. 

If you are passionate about driving around the UK taking your loved ones on road trips within UK areas like London, you then need to have your car fully prepared to experience a smooth and pleasant drive. One way of making your vehicle roadworthy is to get it tested for proper MOT.

You can save yourself from some of the inconvenience of a failed MOT by taking the following five important checks into consideration before you take your car for its MOT test.

Tyre Check

Your tyres are checked three or four different times during the MOT test. The inspector looks at them from the outside, from under the vehicle and tests the brakes, which press down on the tyre rim to slow the vehicle down. You can ensure that your tyres are in great condition by always driving carefully, avoiding rough roads and potholes and by changing them when they are too worn or old for safety. Your tyres’ tread depth will be checked to make sure it is within legal limits, and the air pressure too, should be within the manufacturer’s recommended range of inflation. If you can, get your wheels and tyres balanced and aligned before you take your car in for its MOT – having your tyres perfectly aligned will be a positive point in the inspector’s eyes, even if he does not specifically check for this.

Light Check

Well over one third of MOT test fails mention the word ‘lights’. This is perhaps not so surprising when one considers how many lights there are in a modern car: headlights, brake lights, reversing lights, fog lamps, hazard and regular indicators, dashboard warning lights, even interior lights… Make sure all your lights are in good working order by checking them all with the help of a friend, and replacing any that do not seem to be working as well as they should. When lights are in pairs, they should light up at the same time, burning with the same brilliance as their partner – it can be dangerous to have one bright and one dim light when other road users are expecting two even lights.

Brake Check

Your brakes are, in extreme cases, the only thing holding you back from disaster. They were, along with lights and steering, one of the three items on the original MOT test back in 1960, and they are still vital to the safe operation and control of your vehicle. Like your wheels and tyres, the brake system is thoroughly checked during several sections of the test, and then they have their own section where their function is thoroughly checked, both the hand or parking brake and the service brake. As you can surmise, just from the points so far. Furthermore, driving a car with an expired MOT is illegal and dangerous hence, you can get a MOT in London at DAT Tyres today (020 8969 3030).  

Vision Check

You must always be able to see all around yourself and the vehicle when you are driving, and having dirty windows, cracked mirrors or piles of clutter in one of the other seats can all interfere with your field of vision. The MOT inspector will definitely note anything that detracts from your view, and this could even be severe enough to earn you a fail and having to go through the hassle of a retest after you have remedied the problem. Many small cracks and chips can be easily fixed in a few minutes for about ten or twenty pounds, so be proactive with issues like this.

General Condition Check

Each section of the MOT test has a notation that the inspector will ‘check general condition’. This literally means looking at – and perhaps touching or tapping it here and there – to make sure that the vehicle’s structure is sound, has not been tampered with and shows no sign of accident damage or other issues that might cause a problem. Tighten any bolts, ensure your mirrors, number plate and bumpers are firmly attached, and have any dents or patches of rust sorted out as soon as you notice them.