Car servicing and MOT service in the UK

Car servicing and MOTs – they’re not always popular subjects; quite often people find it a nuisance and try to bury their heads in the sand when car maintenance is brought up in conversation. However, people aren’t so closed minded that they don’t concede that it is in fact an important process.

A great number of people, in order to save money, rely on friends or even their own technical knowledge when it comes to car maintenance, which is fine for small jobs. However, the fact that MOT’s are a legal requirement means that your car must see the inside of a garage at least once a year.
It is the responsibility of all vehicle owners to ensure that their vehicle is maintained regularly. This includes finding a reputable garage to have work done on your car, which isn’t as difficult as you may first think.

Finding a good garage

With thanks to a set of laws that were created in 2003 – the Block Exemption Regulations – any garage can do work on your car and the manufacturer’s warranty will not be affected. In the past, the warranty would have become void if anyone but a car manufacturer owned car servicing centre had repaired or serviced your car.

One of the best places to start your search for a garage is on the Internet. After all, there are many reputable companies based online that have an extensive network of approved garages. These companies can offer vehicle repairs and servicing at far lower rates, compared to high street dealers thanks to low overheads. So it is always worth your while, when looking for someone to carry out maintenance on your car, to check online – you might be pleasantly surprised at the deals that you can find.

What’s included in a service

At this point you might be wondering what exactly is included in car servicing. It’s a good question. The truth is that is varies from garage to garage. The most common of services that are offered often include oil change, tyre inspection (including the checking of tread depths and tyre pressure), examination of the brakes (including the brake fluids), and inspection of the exhaust, as well as suspension and handbrake testing.

The tyre inspection part of a car service sometimes bemuses people. There are some individuals that don’t appreciate the importance of having high quality, safe car tyres mounted to their vehicles. This can be a dangerous thing to overlook though. After all, your tyres are the only point of contact that your car has with the road, neglecting you car’s tyres could turn into a potentially fatal mistake.

MOT Tests

As previously mentioned, it is part of the law that a car owner must put their vehicle through a MOT annually once the car is three years old. According to direct.gov.uk, “The MOT certificate confirms that at the time of the test, without dismantling it, the vehicle met the minimum acceptable environmental and road safety standards required by law. It doesn’t mean that the vehicle is roadworthy for the length of time the certificate is valid.”

If you are looking for a garage to complete a MOT test on your vehicle, there are over 19,000 such service centres throughout the UK and you can tell whether or not a garage has been given the authority to carry out a MOT if it has a blue three triangles logo displayed.

If you are ever unsure as to what takes place during your MOT test, the procedures will be printed in a manual that you can request to see when you arrive at the garage that you are booked into. You can also request to witness the MOT test, but are not allowed to interrupt the mechanic in any way.

If your vehicle does not pass the test, you will be presented with a failure document detailing why. Repairs will more often than not be needed to be carried out on your vehicle if it has failed the MOT and you wish to get in roadworthy once again.