Free MOT @ Audi

[ickleric]

Hi,

Audi are offering a free mot for audi owners at the moment.

What i wanted to know is if i had say 2 months left on my MOT and took it to Audi and it failed. Would my MOT be invalid, or would i still have 2 months left?

Thanks
Richard

 

[Steuart64]

Technically void
Just happened with my mothers car.

 

[BahnStormer77]

ermmm.... I thought this was the story that some dealerships were using to then keep the car in and do work, but I thought that the original MOT was perfectly valid up until the the expiry date, even if the car failed a subsequent MOT.... the only real issue is that if the car wasn't deemed to be road-worthy and you drove it to another garage... just tell 'em you've got free AA roadside towing so you can get teh car towed to a garage nearer to your house for free (and then drive it).

 

[quattrojames]

Why would you get it MoT'd 2 months early? Is the free MoT offer only available for a limited time?

 

[s-line stu]

I understand it's available for a while and you can register now then just take you car in when it's due.

On the point of it being done early surely if you keep the original MOT certificate it will still be valid as it states on it 'valid until ----' regardless of if you've had another MOT before the date lapses. That's why I normally get mine MOT'd slightly early, so I have until the expiry date to get any problems sorted out and get it re-tested just in case it fails first time?

 

[ickleric]

well i'm trying to sell the audi at the moment, thought it would be good to get 12 months MOT on it.

would be good to clarify if it would be INVALID. can't find any definate answer on this...

 

[jdp1962]

well i'm trying to sell the audi at the moment, thought it would be good to get 12 months MOT on it.

would be good to clarify if it would be INVALID. can't find any definate answer on this...

Why not phone your local MOT station and ask them?

 

[quattrojames]

That would be the best plan.

I don't see how a subsequent fail would invalidate your existing Mot though. It wouldn't be recorded anywhere it had failed, serial number linked certificates are only issued for a pass, so if you 'lost' your failure sheet it wouldn't actually be recorded anywhere would it?

Unless they seized your current certificate lol!

 

[ickleric]

just spoke to a local MOT tester and they said its still VALID, however when looking around other people say different things.

came across this http://www.mottest.net/mot/mot-failure-question

quote from VOSA

"An MOT certificate is valid until its expiry date. However if your vehicle fails a test before this date and you do not rectify the defects then you are driving an unroadworthy vehicle which is an offence."

probably not worth risking it, although if it had a major failure that could be dangourous i would just get AA to pick it up anyway. I'm only thinking if it fails on minor things like bulbs etc....

 

[quattrojames]

quote from VOSA

"An MOT certificate is valid until its expiry date. However if your vehicle fails a test before this date and you do not rectify the defects then you are driving an unroadworthy vehicle which is an offence."

It's an offence to drive an unroadworthy vehicle even if the test certificate was issued a day before. An Mot certificate literally just means the vehicle is roadworthy on the day of the test, anything could happen after that!

 

[JohnboyC]

I like to get an MOT done about 4 weeks before it expires.....cos then I have 4 weeks to get any problems fixed in a reasonable timescale rather than a mad panic (you know when all local garages cannot "fit you in")
...and I have to have car in good shape as I need it to get to work......considering there is no public transport alternative...

 

[ickleric]

Hi,

I phoned my local MOT station and they said it would still be valid. I also emailed VOSA, i got the following response (which sounds like its still valid too)

> Dear Richard,
>
> Thank you for your email enquiry dated 25th August 2009, concerning your
> MOT.
>
> Once an MOT has been issued it cannot be revoked, regardless of whether the
> vehicle has failed another test in the mean time. However, it is the
> vehicle owners responsibility to make sure the vehicle is in a roadworthy
> condition at all times.
>
> I hope this information has assisted you with your enquiry, but if you have
> any further questions please do not hesitate to contact us again.
>
> Kind Regards,
> Rebecca
>
> VOSA Contact Centre
> Customer Directorate
> Tel: 0300 123 9000
>
> The staff at the VOSA Contact Centre are keen to hear your feedback on the
> service that they provide for you, to enable them to further understand
> customer requirements and make improvements where possible. Please take a
> few moments to complete our Contact Centre Customer Feedback form by
> clicking here

 

[BahnStormer77]

nice work ickle!

Just remember that there are degrees of "fail".... a lot of the time you can fail an MOT and the car is still perfectly roadworthy*, the most obvious example being things like tyre tread depth or brake disk wear) and like JohnnyC says - that then gives you a few weeks to sort it out... also - when a new MOT is issued - they can carry anythign up to a month's worth of the previous one over (so effectively valid for 13 months)...

*an MOT's thresholds are set such that the car should (with reasonable wear and tear) still be roadworthy in 12 months time.