MoT and what to do for now

[MonsterMork]

Latest from DVSA here:

https://www.gov.uk/guidance/coronavirus ... march-2020

Please make sure you follow any relevant links highlighted in the web page.

For the time being most garages and MoT stations are staying open (subject to the business itself wanting to stay open/virus restrictions). You will find that some main dealers are closed completely and some only have the workshop and/or MoT bay open (car sales is a closed non-essential business). Most smaller car repair garages and MoT stations look like they are staying open for now (we certainly are).

My MoT is due, must I get one?

Due on or before 29th March and you are now late then yes, you must get an MoT in the normal manner.

Due 30th March or after then you will get an automatic 6 month extension applied in due course by DVSA. This may change in the near future, so keep your eyes open for further news as and when DVSA update everyone. Keep an eye on your MoT status on the DVSA MoT checker here:

https://www.gov.uk/check-mot-status

If your vehicle hasn't been updated and you are now due then get tested in the normal manner. It will take DVSA a while to update every vehicle, and it looks like they are doing it on either a daily or weekly basis.

I have a 6 month extension, can I get an MoT anyway?

Yes. There is no restriction to applying for a test earlier than the due date, whether that be the original due date or the new extended date. This has always been the case - eg: some councils require Taxis to get an MoT every 6 months. Indeed, there is nothing in law or the MoT system which prevents you from having an MoT done every day of the year should you so desire!

Does this mean my car is safe to drive?

Not necessarily. The law still applies to driving a defective vehicle, whether knowingly or otherwise - you could face 3 points and a £2500 quid fine for driving a defective vehicle even though you have got a 6 month extension on your MoT. Having a valid MoT, be it under the normal scheme or the new extended ticket, does not mean a vehicle is safe to drive. If you have any doubts then book in to a garage in the normal way, just as before.

What happens when my extension expires?

At present the rule is you will need to get tested in the usual manner.

If i get a test in the near future will I get an automatic 6 month extension?

No. Any test carried out for the foreseeable future will still be subject to the standard 12 months ticket, there is no automatic extension for new tests.

The world is cured, what then?

Ah, now we get to the sticky situations building up for the future. The old MoT system (ie: what we are currently used to) will return, but what I foresee is cheap MoT prices disappearing - no more 20 quid deals with a service, everyone will most likely start charging full whack of £54.80. This is because every day we are under the 6 month extension doubles up the number of daily tests due in the future. The industry is already short of 6000 MoT testers and there simply isn't the spare capacity to test increased numbers of vehicles. This will mean garages opening earlier and closing later to fit in as many tests as they can. Some garages will go under in the meantime, thus reducing the future capacity. Simple supply and demand dictates an increase in basic MoT prices, along with labour rates and parts prices.

We also need to factor in the testers themselves. If we don't test for 6 months then we lose our licence, have to do our annual training and wait for the DVSA staff to come out and do a demonstration test with us. Annual training is currently suspended. DVSA are short of staff. Demo tests currently have a 6 week wait time. It could be that a tester now getting laid off could find themselves in a situation where it is a full year before they can test again. Those of us who keep testing will still have to do our annual training, and the courses were fully booked 6 months in advance already, so when they become available again they won't be able to keep up with demand, leading to even more testers losing their licences. And so the merry-go-round continues.

This is of course all conjecture on my part, but if it happens don't say I didn't warn you!

Best course of action?

IMHO get your MoT done in the usual manner, on or around the normal due date,the same as before. Just make sure you take the proper precautions for non-transmission of bugs and follow gubmint guidance on social separation etc. If nothing else at least you then know your vehicle is safe to drive and you are helping to keep an industry going in these troubled times.

MoTMork

[chas49]

Latest from DVSA here:
If your vehicle hasn't been updated and you are now due then get tested in the normal manner. It will take DVSA a while to update every vehicle, and it looks like they are doing it on either a daily or weekly basis.

The page (currently) says: (bold added)

"Check your MOT expiry date has been extended
Your MOT expiry date will usually be updated on the day your MOT is due to expire. However, it might be done up to a few days before.

You can check your MOT history to see when your MOT expiry date has been extended. Keep checking back if your new expiry date is not showing yet.

You will not get a paper certificate to show your new MOT expiry date."

It doesn't say what happens if your record isn't updated. But it seems clear to me that the MOT expiry will have been extended by law - regardless of whether the database is updated (I hope)

chas49

[Lanark]

A thing to consider is that if you put off an MOT thats due in April until say September, that new MOT will still expire in April 2021, so you wont be saving any "MOT time".
Also in September the car is more likely to have a failure point and there may be a large backlog of MOTs and repairs for garages to get through.
So I say if you can get it done earlier go for it.

Where the advice is a little vague is knowing if this counts as an essential journey, if you need the car for getting to work, and you need to test it to be sure it is still safe then my guess is yes. If the car is actually parked up for the duration then my guess is no.

[RedSnapper]

A thing to consider is that if you put off an MOT thats due in April until say September, that new MOT will still expire in April 2021, so you wont be saving any "MOT time".

Do you have a reference for this? My understanding was that an exemption (which is not a new mechanism) very simply means a vehicle does not need to have an MOT. DVSA have indicated that expiry dates will be reset to 6 months ahead. I've seen no mention of subsequent MOTs having a limited duration.

[DrFfybes]

A thing to consider is that if you put off an MOT thats due in April until say September, that new MOT will still expire in April 2021, so you wont be saving any "MOT time".

I wondered about that, but could't see it anywhere, from what I could see the new MOT lasts 12 months from date of issue.

What you say would make sense, as otherwise thre will be no MOTs due between April and October next year, which might mess the system up slightly.

However, my car is SORNd. The MOT expires 5 May. If I leave it SORN until June then get the garage to collect, service, and MOT it, surely my new MOT runs from the date it is done, not from the 5 May?



Paul

[RedSnapper]

What you say would make sense, as otherwise thre will be no MOTs due between April and October next year, which might mess the system up slightly.

It looks like the 'scheme' (of giving automatic 6 month exemption/extensions) is intended to last for 12 months (haven't seen the full legislation yet). I wonder if the background intention is to let it run for the full 12mths (minimum) for exactly that reason.

[MonsterMork]

However, my car is SORNd. The MOT expires 5 May. If I leave it SORN until June then get the garage to collect, service, and MOT it, surely my new MOT runs from the date it is done, not from the 5 May?



Paul

Correct, new MoT runs from date of test being passed, and, as you rightly say, not from the expiry of the last ticket.

MM

[swill453]

Correct, new MoT runs from date of test being passed, and, as you rightly say, not from the expiry of the last ticket.

But what about expiry?

If my MOT is due on, say, 15th April 2020 it will get a 6 month extension to 15th October 2020. Assuming things are back to normal and I MOT it on 15th October 2020, when will the new one expire? 15 April 2021 or 15 October 2021?

And if I've SORNed it and delay getting the MOT until 1st November 2020, when would that expire?

Scott.

[Lanark]

I was thinking this would follow the rules if you perform an MOT early, but now I'm thinking not - there likely isnt the capacity to cram a years worth of MOT tests into 6 months.

[JohnB]

There are lots of things where we won't be able to catch up, dental checks for example. So I predict the MOT extension scheme will continue after lockdown, gradually reducing the extension length. Can't fault the DoT not modelling all the consequences of an emergency announcement.

[robbelg]

For what its worth - a Tyre/Exhaust /MOT place near me is still open.

Rob

[DrBunsenHoneydew]

Wasn't there a plan to extend MOT intervals to 2 years?
This would be an appropriate moment to introduce that.

There was a consultation by DoT around various intervals to replace the usual 3 1 1 1 1 years with
e.g 4 1 1 1 1
or 4 2 1 1 1 1
or 4 2 2 2 1 1 1

[chas49]

Wasn't there a plan to extend MOT intervals to 2 years?
This would be an appropriate moment to introduce that.

There was a consultation by DoT around various intervals to replace the usual 3 1 1 1 1 years with
e.g 4 1 1 1 1
or 4 2 1 1 1 1
or 4 2 2 2 1 1 1

"These responses have now been reviewed and considered. After careful
consideration, I have decided not to proceed with the changes proposed
to the timing of the first MOT test. Great Britain has a comprehensive
testing system for vehicles which makes an important contribution to
road safety. The changes proposed had potential for both benefits and
risks, and after due consideration I do not consider it right to take them
forward at this time. This is in the light of the views expressed, the age of
some of the evidence base and the potential wider issues associated
with testing (such as its relationship with insurance and capability related
to safety and environmental outcomes).
While the changes proposed in this consultation will not be taken forward
at this time, further research will take place in the near future. This work
will help to ensure that the MOT test remains robust and appropriate to
the evolving needs of the road transport sector. "

https://www.gov.uk/government/consultat ... to-4-years

[orangepekoe]

The new MOT system is working.

We have a car with MOT expiring 30 March. It's service/MOT booked in at a main dealer was cancelled last week when the dealership closed doors. Yesterday (March 31) the MOT showed as overdue but overnight it changed to expires 30 Sept 2020.

[Breelander]

The new MOT system is working... Yesterday (March 31) the MOT showed as overdue but overnight it changed to expires 30 Sept 2020.

Nice to see confirmation that it's working as intended...

Your MOT expiry date will usually be updated on the day your MOT is due to expire.

https://www.gov.uk/guidance/coronavirus ... need-to-do

...mine is still showing its original July expiry date.

[MonsterMork]

But what about expiry?

If my MOT is due on, say, 15th April 2020 it will get a 6 month extension to 15th October 2020. Assuming things are back to normal and I MOT it on 15th October 2020, when will the new one expire? 15 April 2021 or 15 October 2021?

And if I've SORNed it and delay getting the MOT until 1st November 2020, when would that expire?

Scott.

New test as per your dates will be for 12 months, so expiry will be 14 October 2021. Post-SORN MoT would expire 31 October 2021, again 12 months.,

MM

[DrFfybes]

But what about expiry?

If my MOT is due on, say, 15th April 2020 it will get a 6 month extension to 15th October 2020. Assuming things are back to normal and I MOT it on 15th October 2020, when will the new one expire? 15 April 2021 or 15 October 2021?

And if I've SORNed it and delay getting the MOT until 1st November 2020, when would that expire?

Scott.

New test as per your dates will be for 12 months, so expiry will be 14 October 2021. Post-SORN MoT would expire 31 October 2021, again 12 months.,

MM

Also, probably better to MOT it on 30/31 Oct, as you need the MOT before taxing it and 1st nov 2020 is a Sunday.


Paul

[MonsterMork]

Wasn't there a plan to extend MOT intervals to 2 years?
This would be an appropriate moment to introduce that.

There was a consultation by DoT around various intervals to replace the usual 3 1 1 1 1 years with
e.g 4 1 1 1 1
or 4 2 1 1 1 1
or 4 2 2 2 1 1 1

Ditto wot Chas49 said, this idea was kicked out toot sweet by the industry. It was (I believe) an idea first touted in Euroland as part of the plan to get everyone testing in a similar fashion to that as practiced throughout the lesser countries of the northern hemisphere (ahem! ).

Some smegwit somewhere reckoned it was a good safety idea to allow tyres to be bald, brakes to be malfunctioning and steering to keep the front end ahead of the rear only some of the time ....

MM

[swill453]

But what about expiry?

If my MOT is due on, say, 15th April 2020 it will get a 6 month extension to 15th October 2020. Assuming things are back to normal and I MOT it on 15th October 2020, when will the new one expire? 15 April 2021 or 15 October 2021?

And if I've SORNed it and delay getting the MOT until 1st November 2020, when would that expire?

New test as per your dates will be for 12 months, so expiry will be 14 October 2021. Post-SORN MoT would expire 31 October 2021, again 12 months.,

Interesting. And contradicting some information (not from you) earlier in the thread. So there's going to be a six month period April-September next year (and every following year*) when very few MOTs will come due. How will MOT stations handle that?

* - eventually newer cars will come due, spread throughout the year.

Scott.

[MonsterMork]

For what its worth - a Tyre/Exhaust /MOT place near me is still open.

Rob

Yup, garages and MoT stations are exempt from closure rules (at the time of writing). Many main dealers, however, are closed as car sales, their main money-spinner, is a no-no so they shut up shop entirely. The little guys, normal garages and so on, are still keeping on going as best they can

Our place (normal service, repair and MoT garage, no dealer ties or owt) is now shut until next week, and even then only opening on a part-time basis, as due to the onset of FUD, mis-information, mass hysteria and panic out there our previously bulging order book now looks more parsimonious than a Yorkshire monk living on an otherwise uninhabited Scottish island. Thinner than a supermodel on heroin. As empty as a politicians promise. I think you get my point

I reckon this is going to rape, pillage and plunder the industry. My guess is that at least 10% of garages and workshops out there won't survive this, even with gubmint assistance.

DoleQueueMork