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richman711

MOT laws changed?

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Hi guys

 

A mechanic friend of mine informed me today that the laws have now changed and if I was too put my car in for a mot and it failed the mot expires then rather than continuing to the end date?

 

Apprently you can't get a 13 month mot by going in a month early either.

 

Is it just me this news to? When did it change as it all seems a bit sneaky

 

Cheers

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Well mines going in friday 30th oct and mines not due till 20th nov. They have to allow people to do it in advance so cant see them cutting off the 13 month mot. As for mot expiring if it fails cant see that being true either as how would you get your repairs done if doing it yourself.

Nothing on dvla website to say of changes either.

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I got a 13 month MOT last month for the Audi I was selling, so when did it change? Sounds like your mates pulling your wire :lol:

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This came up in a conversation recently which began about the new road fund licence rules. The logic, or lack of it, ran something like this.

 

All new MOT's are now instantly logged on a central computer so if your car passes it is shown as a pass and everything is hunky dory.

If it fails it is logged as a failure and will be shown on the computer as a failure, therefore if it still had some of the previous MOT still to run this would be negated by the new one as your vehicle is now unfit for use and should not be used until it has been repaired. (Remember an MOT is only valid at the time of test.)

Now that your car has been declare unfit your insurance will probably leap on the opportunity to declare your cover invalid as you are driving a car that you know is unfit for use.

This does not take into account the 13 month MOT as no one was sober enough to think about it.

 

It is basically working on the premise that if you are advertising your car as faulty by putting it on a central database that the police can check instantly. Whether you would be done for just the fault or additionally for having no MOT I do not have the faintest idea.

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Seems more logical, if you put a car in early and it fails then it should quite rightly expire your current MOT as it is not road worthy. I've never put a car in early for an MOT anyway. If it is true, I wouldn't say it's a change in the rules but rather an alteration to procedures of how the MOT databse is updated.

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Having read the above, I decided to check. The DVLA say it is illegal to drive a car after it has failed a MOT unless you are taking it for a retest or taking it to be repaired. I think even then it would be illegal to drive a car if it was dangerous, i.e. ok to drive it had failed the emissions test, but not is the brakes were faulty.

 

It is all here on the DVLA website link below:

 

https://www.gov.uk/getting-an-mot/after-the-test

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Interesting. The wording is:

 

You must not drive the vehicle on the road if it fails the test, even if the MOT hasn’t run out, except to:

 

* have the failed defects fixed

* a pre-arranged MOT test appointment

 

I wonder how flexible "have the failed defects fixed" is... does that mean you can drive it back home again, under the premise you're going to be working on it yourself, or could you drive it from that garage back to your home, then subsequently to another garage to get it fixed?

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Yes you can drive it back home again to repair it but it is at your own risk. Your insurance may not cover you in the event of an accident if it is deemed unroadworthy wether it has an mot or not, so there is no clear yes or no answer into the entire legality but it depends on individual circumstances. If an MOT tester tells you the car is too dangerous to drive away then that would be the first reason not to drive it. The law states you must have an MOT, but it is ultimately trumped by the current condition of the car as you can both have an unroadworthy vehicle with an MOT and a perfectly safe car without one.

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Interesting. The wording is:

 

You must not drive the vehicle on the road if it fails the test, even if the MOT hasn’t run out, except to:

 

* have the failed defects fixed

* a pre-arranged MOT test appointment

 

I wonder how flexible "have the failed defects fixed" is... does that mean you can drive it back home again, under the premise you're going to be working on it yourself, or could you drive it from that garage back to your home, then subsequently to another garage to get it fixed?

 

That's exactly what it's there for but I would always make sure I had an appointment with the garage you are taking it to as cover for that, also you could be fixing the faults yourself at home and that's legal too.

 

As Jamo says though if its failed because you are leaking brake fluid everywhere then its a no brainer on driving it but a hole in the exhaust or a split wiper blade are not likely to be fatal.

 

I do know some folk who have bought a car without an MOT and then driven it home with an MOT booked near home as a way of getting it back..

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