New MOT before current one expirers?

Car_54

Mildly_Miffed said:

Goudy said:

400ixl said:

Goudy said:

Contrary to popular belief, if you take it in early at any time and it fails, any existing MOT it may have still had is no longer valid.  
It's not road worthy anymore and it will be logged on the system as such no matter how long you still had left on the original MOT.

Not quite correct, your current MOT is still valid.

You can still drive it from the MOT station provided there were no dangerous faults. Once you have fixed the failure items you can still drive it under the original MOT. You just can't drive it until you get the failed items fixed.

https://www.gov.uk/getting-an-mot/after-the-test#:~:text=Driving a vehicle that's failed&text=your current MOT is still valid

Ok, it's valid but pretty much useless until you have the faults fixed.
So in effect the new failed MOT overrides the old one until the faults are rectified.

What you can't do is take it in 3 months early and it fails, then carry on under the original MOT without repairing the faults.

It wouldn't have a "valid" MOT as fair the ANPR is concerned without being fixed and retested as a Pass.

The only thing that's changed is that the owner is now aware of the car's unroadworthiness...

Not quite. Anyone else who cares to check will also be aware. E.g. police, potential buyers ...

metropolis090

A small heads-up for anyone reading: if you go in early and get a fail, it stays in the system and you’re not supposed to drive until it’s fixed, especially if the issues are major or dangerous. I first did a pre-check at MB MOTORS (kind of like a pre-MOT), they pointed out small things (bulb, wiper), and only then I went through with the actual test.

Car_54

metropolis090 said:

A small heads-up for anyone reading: if you go in early and get a fail, it stays in the system and you’re not supposed to drive until it’s fixed, especially if the issues are major or dangerous. I first did a pre-check at MB MOTORS (kind of like a pre-MOT), they pointed out small things (bulb, wiper), and only then I went through with the actual test.

That is not true.

A dangerous fault means that it would be illegal to drive the vehicle. Other faults do not, unless they would mean breaking specific laws (e.g. lighting regs.)

Mildly_Miffed

Goudy said:

Contrary to popular belief, if you take it in early at any time and it fails, any existing MOT it may have still had is no longer valid.  
It's not road worthy anymore and it will be logged on the system as such no matter how long you still had left on the original MOT.

That IS the incorrect "popular belief".

It may well have failed *because* it's unroadworthy... and therefore be illegal, just as it would have been on the way to that test. But the old MOT remains valid until the expiry date.

If you don't believe me, go and look at https://www.gov.uk/check-mot-history immediately after a fail with some time left on the old certificate. It will still show green, and still be legal.

prowla

The actual rules are at https://www.gov.uk/getting-an-mot/after-the-test

Now, the wording there is amgiguous, as it's not clear whether those bullet points are an "AND" or an "OR"; other bullet points on that page are clearly "OR"s.

It also says you can "take" your vehicle away, as opposed to you can "drive" it away, so does that mean you can't take it away on a trailor?

Further, it states that the vehicle must meet the minimum standards of roadworthiness (https://www.gov.uk/check-vehicle-safe ), but that page is also poorly written with "should" as opposed to "must" on all items except tyre tread.

facade

metropolis090 said:

A small heads-up for anyone reading: if you go in early and get a fail, it stays in the system and you’re not supposed to drive until it’s fixed, especially if the issues are major or dangerous. I first did a pre-check at MB MOTORS (kind of like a pre-MOT), they pointed out small things (bulb, wiper), and only then I went through with the actual test.

While this is true, because if you don't fix the issues then you would be driving an unroadworthy vehicle, which is an offence, it doesn't invalidate the existing MOT, so you cannot be prosecuted for driving without a valid MOT until the previous one expires.

There is a belief (which is not discouraged, like TV detector vans) that the fail pings up a flag on an ANPR system, so if those Police that you see on TV see it, they stop you to check if it is fixed, and if not nick you for driving an unroadworthy vehicle (but not for no MOT)....

marlot

Driving with an expired MOT is regarded as an administrative mistake - a fine but no points.

Driving an unroadworthy car is MUCH more serious.

If it failed on a dangerous item, it is regarded as unroadworthy.  But it was unroadworthy driving to the MOT too.

Car_54

facade said:

metropolis090 said:

A small heads-up for anyone reading: if you go in early and get a fail, it stays in the system and you’re not supposed to drive until it’s fixed, especially if the issues are major or dangerous. I first did a pre-check at MB MOTORS (kind of like a pre-MOT), they pointed out small things (bulb, wiper), and only then I went through with the actual test.

While this is true, because if you don't fix the issues then you would be driving an unroadworthy vehicle, which is an offence, 

AFAIK it is not, 

However, using a vehicle in a dangerous condition is an offence [Road Traffic Act 1988, s40A]. 

"Unroadworthiness" is defined in Section 75(3) of the Act, but solely in the context of the supply of a vehicle. I don't believe it is defined anywhere else.

prowla

metropolis090 said:

A small heads-up for anyone reading: if you go in early and get a fail, it stays in the system and you’re not supposed to drive until it’s fixed, especially if the issues are major or dangerous. I first did a pre-check at MB MOTORS (kind of like a pre-MOT), they pointed out small things (bulb, wiper), and only then I went through with the actual test.

The caveat to that is if they find something dangerous and inform you.

It's not relevant to the MOT, but driving it would be an offence (if caught).

Goudy

Mildly_Miffed said:

Goudy said:

Contrary to popular belief, if you take it in early at any time and it fails, any existing MOT it may have still had is no longer valid.  
It's not road worthy anymore and it will be logged on the system as such no matter how long you still had left on the original MOT.

That IS the incorrect "popular belief".

It may well have failed *because* it's unroadworthy... and therefore be illegal, just as it would have been on the way to that test. But the old MOT remains valid until the expiry date.

If you don't believe me, go and look at https://www.gov.uk/check-mot-history immediately after a fail with some time left on the old certificate. It will still show green, and still be legal.

The law and the government rules (MOT rules) don't match up fully.
Your car may fail an MOT because it may have a Dangerous or Major fault.

There is no specific law for driving a car with a Major MOT fault.
As far as the law is concerned it's either in a Dangerous condition or it isn't.

So for an example, you may get a Major Fault if two out of your three brake lights are not working and a Dangerous Fault if all brake lights aren't working.

Out on the road, the fault is it is in a Dangerous condition for both.
There is no difference between the two different MOT category fails in this situation.

So your remainder of your MOT is in effect worthless unless you repair the fault that renders your car Dangerous in law, even though it may appear to be valid on the Governments website. 

Breaking the law has a higher penalty that breaking the government rules, so the emphasis should be to comply with that above all else. If you do that, you'll have no problems with the government rules (the MOT).

This is why there is some ambiguity on the Government website. They try to fit their rules in with the law when they clearly don't fully mesh together at times.

There is also some ambiguity in the wording of most car insurance policies.
There will be a clause stating something along the lines your car must be in a roadworthy condition AND have a valid mot to use on the road.
Now if it failed a test early, it's obviously not in a roadworthy condition and may not be insured even through the MOT appears valid.