Walk me through getting an MOT

[HairsprayBabe]

First car due its MOT in about a month

Slightly older car - 2015 , bought off an elderly relative last year has less than 40k miles - has always passed MOT and I haven't noticed any issues since I have been driving it.

Please walk me through getting an MOT like I am an alien - what do I need to do and what should I expect.

Find a garage that does them, take your car (remove car seats if you have them)
Hide your trolley pound
Hope they don't rip you off

Phone a garage today to book it in - some will have a week or two wait for an appointment.

Take car to garage.

Pick it up when they phone you. That's about it - unless it fails, then you decide whether it's worth the repair work or not depending on the cost and your needs.

I always check simple things like tyre tread depth, windscreen wash and wipers before I take it in. Stupid things to fail on IMO

Simply put you book an MOT at the nearest garage, give them the car. You can wait there or go and get a coffee or something and they call you when it’s done.

It’s worth checking over the basic things before you go like do all the lights work, air in the tyres etc.

Book an MOT slot at a garage before the current one expires.
Drop off car
Await garage phoning to tell you if it's passed or not.
If it hasn't they'll usually give you a price and timescale for them to do the required repairs (you don't have to accept this and can shop around elsewhere).
If it's passed, happy days, go and collect your car and happy motoring for the next 12 months.

Make sure that your locking nut for any alloy wheels is in the glove compartment, and leave your service book on the front seat for them to stamp it when it's done.

Also, don't book it for the day the current MOT expires because if it fails you have no time to get any repairs done. Some might be able to be done that day but I had one that required parts to be ordered and my car had to spend the weekend at the garage waiting for it. I'd give yourself a week of leeway.

Get a bloke to take it for you. Loads of garages will still rip women off.

You take your car to an MOT garage. Check the tyres first, if they are bald or the tread is too worn it will fail the MOT. I get my tyres checked by a tyre garage the week before so I can get any replaced if needed.
Then you wait while they do the MOT and it will either pass or fail.
Sometimes it passes with recommendations of things to do before the next MOT.
If it fails you book it in for repairs and then they will pass your car if the work is done.
This time of year is exceptionally busy so I make sure I book mine in early. Usually 4 weeks before the MOT is due.

Look up a few garages near to you that do MoTs and it may even list the price online, or ask around who people use as it’s good to get recommendations.
Once it’s booked in , they will tell you how long it’ll take and if it doesn’t pass you’ll have to get it fixed ( it used to be within 14 days , but that might have changed ?)
You should receive a MOT certificate for one year.
I haven’t have to have one for years now , but I hope that someone with more recent experience can help.

Before your MOT test.... check the oil levels. Check tire pressure and depth. Make sure headlight s and indicators are working properly. Find a reputable garage that won't rip you off...the biggest thing lol

If it's an older car it's worth taking it for a drive to warm up the engine before the rest as this ensures that it is working at its optimum level for the emissions test. Cold engines can have higher pollution.

Also make sure that your headlights are clean, your lights and indicators work and your washer bottles topped up. All things that you can fail and MOT on but which are really easy to fix.

If you fail you are allowed to drive home and then to take the car to a pre booked garage for rectification.
If garage offers to fix any issues phone around and get quotes to ensure that you're not pressured into an over priced fix.

In general the branded garages are very expensive and not worth it for older cars as they are outside their warranty period. Kwik fit etc can be very good or very bad - depends on the franchise so check reviews

Ask family / friends for a local recommendation, book , take it along and hope for the best . If your relative that you purchased off was local to you take it where they took it . You can take it up to 30 days before the date it’s due and they will put the original date on it so you don’t lose any days .

It's an MOT not a service. You do not need the service book or locking wheel nut for an MOT

Do I need to empty the boot and take out the carseats?

First answer to your post says you need to remove the car seats

@Allthegoodhorses sorry I was skimming

We never take out our car seats. They just note that the rear seat belts were not tested.
So if you want them checked for peace of mind take out the seats. If you are confident checking them yourself then this isn't necessary

Why? I do not understand when someone posts to ask for advice and then ignores all the advice given by not reading the replies that people have taken the time to post.

Book car in for MOT.
Take car in for MOT
Pick car up from MOT
Dont forget to pay.

If you want to be really fancy and don't have the last MOT details you can check them online on the .gov website. It will show if there were any advisories or problems last year so you have a headsup in case anything comes up this year.

If you’re in Northern Ireland the process is completely different but I imagine if you lived there you would have said … I was shocked to have to sit in the car throughout during my first MOT in Belfast!

Most important step - ask for recommendations. Clear the boot if the spare tyre is under there. Also take off any dingy dangly things from your rear view mirror and the like.

I usually book a service and MOT at the same time.

@Allthegoodhorses because there are a lot of responses and when I read things quickly I make mistakes, apologies for being a fallible human.

Let me know what being perfect is like.

Its not about being perfect, its just so infuriating when posters can't even be bothered to read and digest the answers to their posts. People kindly take the time out of their day to respond and you just simply ignore it. If you know you make mistakes when reading quickly don't read quickly!

Get a mini service before the MOT.