Forge Garage – at Your Service!
This month, as financial pressures continue to squeeze household budgets, causing some driver to reduce or defer vehicle maintenance according to published research, I’ve decided to tackle the topic of your MOT and your service, and the key difference between the two.
For vehicles over three years old (with certain classic car exemptions), annual MOT testing isn’t optional – it’s required by law. Driving without a valid certificate risks a £1,000 fine, rising to £2,500 plus licence points if your vehicle is found in dangerous condition, and, if you are out of MOT, your insurance company are unlikely to pay out if you are involved in an accident. You can only drive a vehicle without a valid MOT in the following limited situations:
- Driving it to a pre-booked MOT test at an authorised test centre.
- Driving it to a garage for repairs to fix defects that caused it to fail a previous MOT test.
In both cases, you must have proof of the appointment (such as an email or text confirmation) and take the most direct route possible. The vehicle must also not have any defects classified as “dangerous”; if it does, you cannot drive it on public roads and must arrange for it to be transported.
A MOT is a snapshot of your vehicle’s basic roadworthiness at one moment in time. It checks fundamental safety aspects like brakes, tyres, and steering against minimum government standards. However, it can’t predict how these components will perform next week, next month, or during your next emergency stop.
Here’s a few things that the MOT test doesn’t fully check:
- Timing belt condition – not included in MOT checks, yet failure often means catastrophic engine damage
- Brake fluid condition – testers can only view fluid level and obvious contamination through transparent reservoirs. They can’t remove caps or test fluid quality.
- Internal drum brake components – proper inspection requires disassembly, which isn’t part of MOT testing
- Battery performance – the test only verifies secure mounting, not whether your battery will start reliably in winter
- Spark plug operation – essential for engine performance but only assessed during servicing
Vehicle servicing goes beyond the legal minimum and considers the longer term health of your vehicle to keep you safe.
As an example, take tyre tread depth – while 1.6mm is legally acceptable, manufacturers typically recommend replacement at 3mm. Testing at the Motor Industry Research Association’s wet track revealed that at 70mph, a car with 1.6mm tread was still moving at 50mph when an identical vehicle with 3mm tread had completely stopped. That extra 1.4mm could literally save lives.
There are different levels of servicing, ranging from a simple oil and oil filter change to a major service where your brakes are fully examined, and the most appropriate service for your vehicle, and your budget, can be discussed with your garage. The key thing is that your vehicle is safe for you to drive on the roads.
Whether the condition of the roads aids that safety is another question…..maybe I’ll look at the impact of pot holes on your vehicle next month.
See you in April, Katie & Simon
