It Is Very Important to Look after your Car with an Annual Car Service MOT - By: Felicity Lightbody

To get the best from your vehicle you should consider an annual check-up or an MOT as the best way of making sure that your car is performing well and as an early warning to fix any problems before they may arise. An MOT test along with car servicing is also extremely important to help increase the life of your car and to make it as efficient as possible.

Here in the UK, a MOT test, or Ministry of Transport test is a mandatory requirement for every vehicle over three years of age. It is needed when you purchase your road tax and in some instances, for some insurance companies as well. If you have a car, it is up to you to check and make sure your car is take to a MOT test centre before the 12 months expires and your MOT is invalid. An MOT can help to identify car's that are not roadworthy or that would present a serious hazard to other road users.

The MOT test itself can be taken at any point during the year and if for example you are away when the MOT time is up then you can get it tested earlier and have the new MOT extended to cover a year from the date of your previous test.

The most important thing to look out for is to make sure that the garage you go to is a MOT approved test centre and has been checked by the department of transport and is allowed to do the test. An obvious sign for this is to look for a blue sign accompanied with three triangles, which are white in colour.

So what does an MOT Test consist of?
Mainly its testing your car to make sure the emission and safety levels are within various tolerances. The test inspector will also carry out other checks on areas such as brakes, fuels, doors (including welding), and the fuel tank system as well as the levels of emissions that your car is making. Safety areas tested include, seatbelts, steering, the hooter and stability of your seats. Before you authorise a test centre to do work on your vehicle it is worth checking out if they will do a re-test for free, in case your vehicle fails the initial MOT test, otherwise this is likely to mean you will have to pay twice for the same test.

The test takes on average of 30 minutes and costs around £30-46 for a car and a bit less for a motorbike. It is worth shopping around for a good price but a word of mouth referral may also be useful, as a trusted, friendly garage should be your number one priority.

Make sure the test centre looks capable of carrying out a MOT test, so there should be a test pay with a ramp so they can look under the car as well as necessary testing equipment. Remember an appointment is usually needed so call before you drive down.

About the Author

Felicity is a passionate car enthusiast. Felicity works for a car servicing company who specialise in car servicing in London, UK as well as van servicing in the UK. For more information, please visit their site, Prestige Car Servicing

Article Directory Source: http://www.articlerich.com/profile/Felicity-Lightbody/39388

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