Booking your car in for an MOT may not be the only thing you need to organise in order to get that all important certificate. Most MOT centres will have a waiting room where you can sit and wait, but if not or perhaps you’ve got better things to do than sit around, you may want to be a little more organised.
How to plan for your MOT test
An MOT is a legal requirement and if you use your car regularly you’ll soon discover that you need to get organised when it comes to booking in your test. You will need to leave your car at the MOT test centre for quite some time, so be prepared to stay bored for a while or figure out how you’re going to get home.
Some garages will allow you to leave the car there all day until they close. You may be able to drop it off first thing in the morning and get public transport or a lift home afterwards and then go back after work – saving you from taking a day of annual leave. If you live close enough to your garage and you can walk there and back, consider yourself lucky. You could walk down during a lunch break.
But how long will it take to test your car? The initial test can take anywhere from 45 minutes to an hour. Of course this depends on the experience of the person carrying out the test. If they are new it might take them a little longer than usual. There are a few other things that may extend the duration of your test, for example if it fails.
If you choose to sit and wait for your MOT test, say for example during an extended lunch break, you might think you’ve got it all sorted and it will be a quick errand. In some cases you may be right. But if your car fails, be prepared to get a taxi or public transport because it could be hours before your car is ready to leave the centre. Remember you cannot drive without that certificate.
How to maximise the potential of a pass first-time
Having to sit around and wait for an MOT certificate after your car fails can be incredibly frustrating. It’s why we tell you to spend your time before the test checking your vehicle. There are a number of things that you can control and correct before you send you car in for an MOT.
Windscreen wipers
Your windscreen wipers might be small and not used constantly, but they’re essential to the safety of your car. Can you imagine driving during a storm without a working one? That’s why they’re tested in your MOT. Check yours before you send your car in. You want to look for any cracks in the rubber that prevent them from clearing your windscreen. If you’re in luck then the garage will already have some in stock, but you can always buy some yourself. Fitting windscreen wipers isn’t too difficult either, a quick YouTube tutorial and you’ll be ready.
Tyres
Your tyres are of course essential to the safety of your vehicle. During your MOT test, the garage will be looking for tyre depth. You can be pulled over and issued a fine for not having the correct depth level in your tyres so don’t wait for the garage to tell you that they’re illegal. The tread needs to be a minimum of 1.6mm across the central ¾ of the tread. You can do this by popping a 20p coin in the tread. If the border of the coin disappears then your tyres are safe, if not then you should change them.
Seatbelts
Yes, you guessed it, another safety check! And what safety check is more important than the effectiveness of your seatbelts. During the MOT each seat will be checked to make sure that it has a seatbelt, first of all. Then each seatbelt will be checked to make sure that it fastens securely and that when pulled abruptly, it locks in place.
Registration plates
This one is a simple identification issue. We all must abide by the law and covering your number plates is a quick way to avoid being identified by the police if you’re caught doing something you shouldn’t. It may seem small, but a number plate that cannot be read will fail the vehicle in an MOT test. Give it a quick clean before your test and you can save yourself a lot of time because if your car fails for this reason, not many garages will clean your car. Not for free anyway!
Lights
An MOT test looks at your car to determine if it is fit for use. We know a lot of drivers fail to use their indicators and sometimes forget to turn off their lights, but if you car is going to legally drive on the road they all need to work. Before you take your car to the garage, do a quick check with a friend of family member. Test all of your light one by one and if any of them are broken, missing or faulty, fit them before you take your car in. A quick YouTube tutorial should help if you’re unsure on how.
Windscreen
Your windscreen will be examined during the MOT test. You can save a lot of time by giving it the once over before you book in. Check for any chips or cracks. While a small chip will not fail your MOT, it will show as an advisory. Any significant crack in the screen will fail it. So be sure to replace your screen before taking it it for the test. You might end up taking it to the same garage or a different one – potentially saving money as well as time.
Why does an MOT test take so long?
It all depends on how ready your car is for the test. If you prepare your car as much as possible, then you’re less likely to have to sit around and wait for a re-test after if it fails.
