To drive my car knowing MOT has expired?

[Bouncingbeans]

Desperate situation and cant sleep for worrying.

I am normally very law-abiding (honestly) and would never normally consider this but my MOT expired last week. It failed due to leaks and other problems which will cost me around £300 to fix. The mechanic confirmed it is safe to drive for now but they were not aware of expiry date and I didnt tell them that it had expired that day.

Heres the dilemma. I cannot get DD to school and then myself to work without my car. I am in serious financial problems with a debt management plan in place and no family that I can reach out to for help. My exH left me around 5 years ago and I have struggled through in that time, building up credit card debts and stupidly getting into lots of problems but trying so hard to keep roof over our heads. I have no savings and no access to any credit/extra money due to the DMP.

I will be able to pay for the car repairs when I get paid on 28th by using money I was going to use for Christmas (juggling around Direct Debits). I cannot afford to take that amount of time off work by asking for unpaid leave and it would not go down well to phone in sick either.

Really cant get my head around what to do. Public transport is not really possible as would mean trains/buses/long walks but even if I could I do not have the money (car has enough petrol to get me through till payday).

So, aibu to get in my car in the morning? I think it may invalidate my insurance, so does this mean I am putting other people at risk too? I am 52 years old and feel like the biggest idiot ever.

[sunshine401]

aww no this thread is so sad.
So sorry for your trouble op.
Please do not drive your car with no mot you will be caught and it will make everything so much worse.
(If you do drive a vehicle without a valid MOT it will usually Invalidate your Insurance, and if you have an accident or are stopped by the police, you will be liable to face prosecution for MOT non-compliance.)
Taken from the driving standards site. Its all on computer now so police will know as soon as they are driving behind you and your number plate is scanned by them.
Any work friends that could pick you up?
Are you on any type of benefit to apply for some kind of crisis loan ?

:( so hope someone is able to help you.

[Bouncingbeans]

EnjoyResponsibly, thank you! Wish I had posted this on Friday rather than sat here all weekend contemplating the unforgiveable but I did need to hear the truth and fully deserve some of the comments. Just thankful for the really helpful suggestions and kind words too :-)

[TiredBooyhoo]

ok firstly, ring round lots of other garages tomorrow and get quotes

secondly is there anyone at all that you could ask to borrow the money from til payday?

thirdly can you sell anything that would get you some money towards it. if you were to offer the mechanic even half now and the rest on payday (with a bottle of wine) they might be able to do it for you.

is there anything you can do that would make you some money? have you any skills? or would your employer give you an advance?

[Ilovemydogandmydoglovesme]

Just a thought, but Mot' records are all computerised now. I know police can pick up on out of date tax discs with those computers they have in car. Can they pick up on registration plates without a valid Mot as well? Because if you're driving without a valid Mot it will automatically invalidate your insurance and then you will be in trouble. Driving without insurance and/or Mot might be automatic disqualification or something horrible. Please don't risk it. It really will not be worth it.

[TiredBooyhoo]

or is it possible to borrow someone's car? (as long as your insurance covers you!)

[EnjoyResponsibly]

Bouncing when your skint and something like a car goes wrong it's a HUGE problem, and I know I would have panicked too, and my brain would totally shut down its rational decision process.

If you can get the money from advancing your salary, ask the garage for a loan car - don't ask, don't get. Cry if you have to

[Plomino]

Bouncing , I am a PC , and can confirm that the date of your MOT is available to us. Please please don't drive without it, it could set off a whole cycle of events that you really really don't need .

[ShellyBoobs]

...you are being totally irresponsible, putting other people's lives in danger...

Gross exaggeration doesn't help. MOTs can be failed for a multitude of totally non-dangerous reasons.

OP has already stated that the mechanic said it wasn't dangerous.

Bouncing, pressumably the oil leak is from the steering box rather than the steering column? According to the VOSA standards, the requirement is to have 'no significant oil leak'. I.e. it's subjective so perhaps another tester wouldn't fail it?

Was the issue noted in the 'danger box' on the failure report? It's in the bottom left corner and is where items which make the vehicle dangerous to drive should have been noted.

I read the above on the motester.co.uk site.

[Plomino]

Gah! Posted too soon .

What I meant to say was speak to your employers and see if they can help you out with an advance. You won't be the first , and it's not like you're going to make a habit of it . If they want you at work, it's to their advantage it gets fixed . Also agree that you get more than one quote for the work , and , although it grieves me to say it , if you have got a male friend or relative who can get someone to give them a quote , then do, because you might find the cost may be less . And yes , I am grinding my teeth as I type that , but it might save you some cash .

[sashh]

Phone the mechanic and explain the situation TODAY. Ask about paying on payday, and be prepared to hand something over as 'security', jewelry, a watch, even the TV.

The people I have found to be the best for MOT services is the ambulance service.

[McChristmasPants2012]

Op how are you feeling today.

[gettingeasier]

I hope you got some money sorted to fix up the car and the tide turns for you financially , you sound very stoical in the face of a crappy situation

[DameEnidsOrange]

No advice OP just wanted to say well done for responding so positively to the comments on this thread.

Hope better times are ahead for you

[RuleBritannia]

I use a mobile serviceman to come and service my car at my home. He also does MOTs by taking them to an establishment that does. He charges very reasonably, too. I think he would be reasonable about payment, as well. Is there one near you (look on internet) to whom you could talk about it?

[specialsubject]

the consequences of this will make your current financial troubles look like a broken piggybank.

you would be driving uninsured, in a car that you know is faulty even if it is not dangerous. If you get caught (and you may well be) it is points, a fine and huge insurance bills or uninsurable in future. If you have an accident -well, just think about it. Actually, don't - you have enough to worry about!

you cannot drive. End of. The only legal driving you can do is direct to a pre-booked MoT by the shortest route.

please, please don't even think about it. The issues of not driving are minor compared to what could happen. Not being able to get to work and kid missing school are MINOR compared to driving uninsured.

ideas; call colleagues for lift, call school to explain, speak to neighbours? Hope someone can help.

[Bouncingbeans]

Hi everyone, thank you so much for posting such helpful responses to what I am ashamed to say was a very desperate post yesterday.

Good news is that everything has now been sorted and I am very happy to promise you all that the car has not left my drive. I dont think I would have gone through with it but after reading this thread and the great PMs I received, I knew what I had to do.

I have managed to sort out lifts for the next week so that my neighbour is going to drop me off around 15 mins walk from work on his way to work in the mornings and a colleague will do a similar run on her way home and drop me a similar distance from home. So the only inconvenience is a 30 minute walk every day which I am actually looking forward to! DD doing a similar route - walk / bus / walk.

I have offered both of these kind people a contribution to petrol money when I get paid and they have both said they will not take it. I never, ever ask for help so I am touched by how people have rallied around me, both in RL and on here!

Of course, I didnt admit to anyone my stupid temptation about driving, but I have really learnt a valuable lesson. I havent booked my car in for the works yet as I am now thinking about scrapping it, it has such high mileage, is 12 years old, and I am sure this is the beginning of the end. On my tight budget, it is a luxury and if I plan for train and bus fares this might work out better for us in the long run (thanks for the suggestion upthread!).

So thank you again for helping me apply perspective. I hope I dont sound dismissive of the seriousness of what I was actually contemplating doing but 2 nights of not sleeping made everything look hopeless to me yesterday and I really thought I didnt have a choice. Getting behind the wheel this morning would have a very stupid choice indeed though :(

[bureni]

I cant get away with driving here, an expired mot disc makes it obvious but we do get a reminder through he post a few weeks before the test is due.

[Softlysoftly]

It doesn't matter if you had done it earlier than expiry date, once an mot is failed it is illegal to drive the car and insurance is invalidated.

I think the previous Parkers link maybe outdated (2010) there is info from an insurance company here on the law.

I feel for you op and do hope you can sort it.

[Softlysoftly]

Oops sorry x post so glad it all worked out,

[SoftKittyWarmKitty]

You did the right thing, OP. Do a bit of research, and you might even get some scrap money for it, if that's the way you choose to go. At least you have lifts sorted for this week while you look into it all.

[hellhasnofurylikeahungrywoman]

Good luck OP, I hope life gives you a break now.

[DeWe]

I thought the garage wasn't allowed to release a car that had failed its MOT, even if the expiry date wasn't for a couple of weeks?

[bureni]

A car can be impounded by a test centre if it is in a dangerous condition but they cannot hold the car for minor defects.

[IneedAsockamnesty]

I'm glad you now have support from others to help you.

Can I surgest that you contact the debt management company as its clearly setting payments to High to allow you to live, and please please if it's one of those that charge for its services get an appointment at the cab debt repayment plans should be affordable and take in to account the ability to deal with things like bus fairs in an emergency

[hellhasnofurylikeahungrywoman]

The MOT paperwork has a box that marks it as 'dangerous to drive' but not every car that fails it's MOT will fall into that category.