MOT ready

magpies79

So just had a nice mot bill for wife’s car £450 have a thread on this partly my fault for not forward planning and ended up going on a credit card!!.

so Astra mot is due 9th of jan between that I’ve got my daughters birthday Xmas and wife’s 40th!!!
so how to I go about making the burden less painful so one less needs doing plus i don’t end up needing to put it on a card.

Looking at the last mot rear pads need doing and 2 rear tyres I’ve ordered pads can do that myself looking at tyres lowest I can find for 225/50/17 is £60 looking at £120 was thinking of getting one tyre this month then one next pay is this the best course of action.

CliveOfIndia

magpies79 said:

Looking at the last mot rear pads need doing and 2 rear tyres I’ve ordered pads can do that myself looking at tyres lowest I can find for 225/50/17 is £60 looking at £120 was thinking of getting one tyre this month then one next pay is this the best course of action.

Do you mean they were advisories on the last MOT, or were they failures that were rectified then re-tested?  If the latter, I'd be surprised if they need replacing again.

It's absolutely a top idea to do as many checks you can before the car goes in for the MOT.  If you're interested, it's easy enough to find out everything that gets tested.  For example: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/car-parts-checked-at-an-mot/car-parts-checked-at-an-mot

And you can even find detailed tester's handbooks online that give precise details of every aspect, if you're so inclined.

Some stuff you can't check at home (exhaust emissions, for instance).  But all the basic stuff is easy enough - lights, wipers, tyre condition, dashboard warning lights, etc.

magpies79 said:

was thinking of getting one tyre this month then one next pay is this the best course of action.

I'd be a bit wary of doing that - especially at this time of year.  If the tyres are down to the legal minimum then you need to replace both straight away.  If they've got a bit left in them, I'd be tempted to wait and do them both together.  Sure, on the one hand having a brand new tyre is better than having one that's getting close to the minimum.  But it can make the car a bit unstable in the wet if you've got different tread depths on each side of the same axle.

(And yes, I know you really ought to replace them before they get to the legal minimum, but I do understand where you're coming from).

magpies79

Sorry they were advisories the car doesn’t do many miles I literally use it to get to and from work for nights be lucky if I do 4k miles a year in it so they will definitely need doing pads and rear tyres front tyres are good as are pads at front.

no fault lights on dash, no emission lights on so hopefully all good there changed all rear lights afew months back ready for winter as 2 had gone so just did them all front lights all good to.

fatbelly

I'd try to buy and fit the rear tyres as a pair. You could buy one, then buy another, storing them in a shed, then asking a garage to fit them, but is it worth the hassle?

I know money is tight, but it's not a great move to buy the cheapest. If you can't stretch to a premium brand there are good mid-range tyres (Kumho, Toyo) and often there are deals to be had. E.g.

https://www.mytyres.co.uk/tyre-offers.html

magpies79

Appreciate the advice I’ll have a look thanks 

angrycrow

Whilst it won't help this year if MOT just after Christmas hurts the finances, it would for most people do a second MOT June / July to move the date to the middle of the year or whenever is convenient.

MOT can be done any time if the year upto the expiry date. A test done with 30 days of expiry adds the remaining days to the new test date so it is possible to get a 12 month and 30 day long MOT. 

magpies79

Yeah good point as both ours are close together as well so think that’s something I might do thanks 

Baldytyke88

magpies79 said:

Sorry they were advisories the car doesn’t do many miles I literally use it to get to and from work for nights be lucky if I do 4k miles a year in it so they will definitely need doing pads and rear tyres front tyres are good as are pads at front.

It depends on how many miles and what the advisories were for, but it might still be ok.

The cheapest is £132 for 2 tyres local to me.

Bigwheels1111

Last year my car had mot advisories for cracked tyres.
Did not change them as had 5-6mm on each tyre.
This year, no tyre advisories, but pitted front discs. Still the same tyres.
I think they need to add a few here and there. Or is that just me.
My old Vectra got pitted discs warning for 5 years, never changed them.
To cover myself, I do the basic checks. Bulbs, Tyres, wiper blades & washer jets, in the old day I got the engine steam cleaned, so no oil could drip down. 

I point out to Peugeot that I have their mot insurance with my extended warranty, less grey areas for them to screw me over. As repairing would be a warranty job, can’t pull the wool over warranty company.

magpies79

That’s what the advisories are for Mine rear ones cracked but treads are ok
 i found a garage that can do 2 rear tyres for £115 but someone mention on here it may be better do go a bit more premium rather then budget 

Bigwheels1111

magpies79 said:

That’s what the advisories are for Mine rear ones cracked but treads are ok
 i found a garage that can do 2 rear tyres for £115 but someone mention on here it may be better do go a bit more premium rather then budget 

What size are they, and what area are you in.
I’ve used premium and budget tyres. 
They all crack nowadays I think it’s the eco oils used in production.
I think I will be changing to Landsail LS388 BBB rated.
Changing from 215/50/17v to 215/50/17w.
W makes them cheaper.
Found for £68 a corner at a small tyre fitting centre but getting ATS Euromaster to price match.