Expired MOT - fuuuuuuuck!

[Gryffindor]

Somehow, DH and I have both forgotten to take our car in for service/MOT and it is now TWO MONTHS overdue. No idea how this happened, other than the garage usually sends a reminder but didn't, and we have been ridiculously busy. Not that either of those is a good enough excuse.

Luckily the garage has squeezed us in today, but I am seriously panicking. Is this likely to be a problem in the future?

[Youdontneedacriminallawyer]

Well, the main point of having a MOT is to ensure that the car is roadworthy. Being eligible for insurance is the by product really.

You should ensure regular MOTs for your own safety, which in turn then allows you to be insured.

DON'T FORGET NEXT YEAR!!!

[emms1981]

happened to us once be fine, I told dh to tax car online (night before christmas eve) and found out we had missed mot oh dear but got it in as soon as poss and there were no problems

[Topseyt]

Don't worry about it. You are getting it sorted now.

I did this some years ago, before reminders from our local garage became the norm. No repercussions at all.

[Writerwannabe83]

My DH accidentally did it and his MOT was over 5 months out of date. That was about a year ago and he never had any problems.

[bigdog888]

Well, the main point of having a MOT is to ensure that the car is roadworthy on one day of the year.

Also it really is the absolute bare minimum of roadworthiness. Things generally have to be in a really bad state to fail an MOT.

[Gryffindor]

Hello, OP here! Thanks so much for the advice and stories.

Anyway... The car failed the MOT! Due to a slightly loose headlamp (we had no idea) but luckily it will be fixed on Monday and we have a courtesy car. It was a stressful enough week without this drama!

[Bambambini]

Seems my MOT was due last Nov and only got it done last month - don't know how I missed that one!

[RhondaJean]

Its not even points for a lapsed mot.

£100 fine and get it sorted, if you are u lucky enough to be caught.

[VeryStressedMum]

I'm in NI and we get sent reminders by post from DVLNI (whatever it's called, the same as DVLA) like the tax reminder.

[Wildchocolate]

I forgot to get my MOT done and my MOT expired on a Sunday and I had to go to work the next day. I found a site called Open on Sunday and this listed the garages that were near to me. I'm glad to say it passed. www.openonsunday.co.uk/

[specialsubject]

no repercussions, but as mentioned don't drive until you are on the way to that pre-booked appointment. System does not yet track this.

you could have been in deep shit if you'd had an accident.

buy a diary and fill it in, or pay the DVLA to text you a reminder.

oh and take a stroll round the car every so often to check lights.

[Fudgeface123]

Yup, I had the same but mine was 6 months overdue. Only found out when I tried to tax my car online!

[Wildchocolate]

I did only drive it to the MOT appointment. I'm just really glad that I found the Open on Sunday website which listed all the MOT garages near me that were open on Sunday. There was only one!

[ILovePud]

Similar happened to me where I forgot about MOT and just managed to get the test done on time but it failed and I had to wait a week until the work could be done. You can have it done about a month before it's due and so I do this now, it was such a hassle not having the car for that week and I was so nervous driving it to the garage to get the work done in-case I had an accident and wasn't insured.

[PourquoiTuGachesTaVie]

No idea how so many of you have got away with being MOT-less for such long periods of time! When dh had his first car he got the date the MOT was due mixed up and missed it. We found out exactly ONE day after it was due because he got pulled over by the police when we went to do the weekly shop. They gave him a week to get it MOT'd and he had to provide proof to the police station. It just proved to us that we really could never be criminals because our luck means we would be caught immediately.

[prh47bridge]

If you had had a crash at the time you would not have been insured...

This is a common myth. If the car is roadworthy you would still be insured regardless of the missing MOT.

[EmeraldLion]

Fuuuck. This thread has just made me pull all the car stuff out to check and one car is due this month, the other was in July :o

[EmeraldLion]

That was NOT supposed to be a big grin afterwards

[3stripesandout]

I got caught and fined £100. It was two days over . revenue collecting

[BuzzardBird]

There is a gov site you can go on and put in your Reg and it will tell you when your car is due. The new vehicle tax system (without the badge) will mean that there will be more registration cameras around, which will also identify cars without MOT. It is a good idea to put reminders on your calendars or marry your mechanic so that he books it in for you.

[BuzzardBird]

mot due

[70isaLimitNotaTarget]

My car has had 2 MOTs and on both occasions I didn't get a reminder
Main Dealer service department.

[FyreFly]

My car ran three months over last year - I only found out when I booked it in for it's annual service and the garage told me it wasn't MOT'd! Apparently they stopped sending reminders and didn't tell anyone I'm amazed the DVLA doesn't send out reminders like it does for tax.

[BuzzardBird]

You all need a good mechanic. My DH texts all his customers 4 wks in advance to advise them on MOTs. Main dealerships are to be avoided at all costs (mostly yours)

[specialsubject]

no idea why a diary/calendar with the date marked is so difficult...doesn't need backing up, won't get stolen...

you can get the MoT done up to a month in advance. Be aware that if it fails you are off the road straight away, no overlap any more.

I wouldn't like the argument with the insurers if you did have a claim with no MoT.