Can You Drive Your Car Without an MOT?

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If your vehicle fails its MOT test, you aren’t allowed to drive it further unless you are driving to a pre-booked repair and MOT appointment and no serious faults were found on your vehicle.

MOT testing follows a strict set of criteria set out by the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA), and your car must meet the minimum standards required to pass.

However, research suggests that over four million drivers have admitted to driving their vehicle without a valid MOT. Without a valid MOT certificate, you won’t be able to renew your annual road tax, and more importantly, you will be driving your car illegally.

Consequences for not having a MOT
What To Bring on The Day
Driving to Test Centre With No MOT
Driving To Garage With No MOT
Insurance Implications
Avoid Driving With No MOT
Cost of a MOT Test

What Happens if I’m Caught Driving Without a Valid MOT?

Recent modernisation of the DVSA system for testing MOTs has equipped the police and camera units with the capability to detect if a vehicle has an invalid MOT. Being caught driving without a valid MOT certificate could result in a police caution, but in some cases, it can carry the penalty of massive fines of up to £2,500. Fines can also include points on your licence or a driving disqualification in more severe cases.

If your car is involved in a traffic accident, you’ll be asked to produce an up-to-date MOT certificate. If you don’t possess one, any insurance claims that need to be made could well be affected. This is usually the case if the incident resulted in physical injury.

It’s a wise idea to keep your MOT valid to avoid these needless situations. There are effective options available that will ensure you never forget a test, so make sure you take advantage of them. For example, tests can be booked up to a month before the date your current MOT expires without losing the expiry date that pre-exists.

What Do You Need to Bring to an MOT Check?

Taking your car for an MOT test is not difficult. You won’t need to take any details or supporting paperwork. You only need to take your vehicle to the test. Using the comprehensive DVSA database, your tester will find your car and discover all the existing details needed for the MOT.

Can You Drive Your Car Without MOT to a Testing Centre?

While it shouldn’t be necessary if you plan properly, you can drive your vehicle to a testing centre without an MOT, but if you’re stopped by the police, you will have to show proof of your appointment. Regardless of your booking, if your vehicle is shown to be dangerous, you may still face a penalty.

Can You Drive a Car Without MOT to a Garage?

For the safety of yourself and others, if your car is discovered to possess a defect that is deemed dangerous by your MOT tester and fails, you should never drive it from the place of testing until the fault is fully fixed and your vehicle roadworthy once more. It is unlawful to drive a vehicle that endangers lives. This rule applies in every case, whether a car has an up-to-date MOT certificate or not.

A testing centre doesn’t have the authority to stop a customer from driving away in a vehicle they’ve examined and failed, although they are likely to advise against it. If you choose to do so, you can drive your faulty vehicle to a garage for repair, but you’ll be taking the risk of facing a huge fine, points on your licence, or even a ban if caught by the police or camera units.

There are MOT centres run by local authorities that often don’t offer repair services when vehicles fail. In some cases, not all garages offering MOT will be able to handle failed parts in vehicles if they are not full service. For necessary welding or other issues, sometimes a specialty repairer is required.

Rather than risk unnecessary lawbreaking that may result in expensive and, in the worst case, harmful incidents, it’s a better idea to arrange to have your dangerous vehicle collected and taken to the garage by a breakdown company. At a cost to yourself, you should arrange to have your vehicle towed and taken to the garage where the essential repairs will be carried out. The cost of driving an unsafe vehicle could be far more serious.

Is Car Insurance Invalid Without MOT?

While it will vary depending on policy and the nature of your incident, in many cases, when your MOT certificate reaches its expiry date, your insurance becomes invalid. If you are part of a traffic accident, you won’t be insured by your provider and will have to cover any repair costs yourself.

If the fault for the accident falls with you, damages caused to any other involved vehicles will be your responsibility – which can be highly expensive. To add to this, driving without valid cover is illegal; so, if caught, you can face fines which are unlimited, a six-to-eight-point penalty, or even a ban.

How to Avoid Driving Without a Valid MOT

Make sure your MOT is always in date by setting a reminder on your mobile or signing up for a free reminder, which can come to you via email or text.

You can check when your MOT is due here. All you need to do is enter your car’s registration number to access the answers.

For the safety of yourself and others, take responsibility for your actions and your car, and make sure your MOT certificate stays up-to-date. If you have an MOT test coming up and need reliable service, get in touch with Thurton Auto Centre.

How Much Does an MOT Test Cost?

When it comes to booking an MOT, there are a variety of factors that come into play when it comes to the final price. However, drivers of a car (with up to eight passengers) has a maximum fee of £54.85

Thurton Auto Centre customers enjoy a discounted MOT test fee of only £39.99

Call us

The whole team has a great work ethic

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ 1 Month Ago

I’m not normally speechless but today I succumbed ! I just could not believe the sparkling motorhome standing in front of me was the same tired one I left in the hands of these guys a week earlier ! Quick, efficient and professional throughout. They kept me updated with photos and emails of work done, being done and teaser shots of the then and now ! Completely stunning, I really can’t recommend these guys enough The whole team has a great work ethic and I found out that there is “No Can’t “in their vocabulary only “ of course we can “ A workforce to be proud of, very rarely found these days and YES it’s a 100% recommendation from me and Yes I will be returning to have the MOT and service done here, plus more interior work Lyn P - Read more about this project

Lyn & Bo P - Wolfie Restoration

The customer service was 1st class.

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ 5 weeks ago

A month has now passed since we drove into Tradervan for a full service, mot & bodywork on our motorhome. It is time to review. This was our first visit. We were welcomed and put at ease immediately. Nothing was a trouble. We had previously booked so work began that day. The customer service was 1st. class. The rig shone on our pick up day and I write this review from the heart of Spain with a new cam belt, brakes & a vehicle to be proud of. Thanks to the team & see you in the future.

John & Sharon King - Dethleff A Class Motorhome

I was pleasantly surprised to be given a bill much less than anticipated

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ 1 Day Ago

This was the 2nd time I have used this company and can honestly say very happy with the service I recieved, after completing a major service on my motorhome they highlighted some welding which was required, I was already aware it needed doing but asked if they could do it whilst my vehicle was with them. They agreed to do the work and provided a quote to complete the work whilst this wasn't a small sum to do the work I agreed for them to carry the work out for me. Yesterday I received a call to say the work was completed and my vehicle was ready for collection, expecting to pay the price of the quote I was pleasantly surprised to be given a bill much less than anticipated. In my mind that shows honesty and integrity as they could have charged me as per the quote and I wouldn't have known any different. So all in all very happy and would have no issues using them again.

John

John Barnes - Thurton resident

Five stars isnt enough i would give 10 if i could

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Drove down for the weekend from london and had something go wrong with my car. They managed to fit me in at really short notice and they didnt try to rip me off. I was able to drive back to london safely and without having to be inconvenienced by being stuck there until i found a way of fixing my car or getting it back. Five stars isnt enough i would give 10 if i could

Ben - Visitor to Norfolk

I would recommend Thurton Auto Centre to anyone

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Rating...

I’m not someone who normally writes reviews, but because the customer service was so good I wanted to let others be aware of this company. I needed to replace the cam belt for the Motorhome as well as giving it a major service prior to putting it up for sale. The very knowledgeable staff took my details and then provided me the quote. Works came in on price and on time, and I asked for help in selling the van. They arranged the whole deal including valeting the van, and had my money in the bank within a few weeks after a successful sale. I
would recommend Thurton Auto Centre to anyone who are feeling let down by their own garage. They are an independently owned garage who genuinly wants to look after its customers hoping they will return, I certainly will.

Ian Logan - Local resident

Huge Thank You...

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A huge thank you to Terry and the team for the amazing job they did on our 11 year-old Motorhome - absolutely delighted with the results - looks like new!

Teresa Linstead