May 2021

About 12 months ago as we were in the midst of the first lockdown, the DVLA announced an extension on MOTs.

This was to reflect the reduced number of operational MOT test centres, and the fact that many drivers were shielding or otherwise unable to take their vehicle to be tested.

If your MOT certificate was due to expire before July 31 2020, you could automatically take a 6 month extension, meaning that cars with MOTs coming due at the end of July would be road-legal up to the end of January 2021.

Figures from the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) show that almost 20% of all the vehicles eligible for an MOT extension last year are still yet to be tested.

This means that up to 2 million cars could be on the roads illegally across the country.

If you’re not sure when your MOT is due, you can easily check by heading over to the GOV.UK website and entering your vehicle's registration.

Another report from Kwik-Fit has shown that a higher proportion of the cars it has been testing have passed their MOT first time compared with usual, possibly due to fewer miles being driven since the last test.

The explanation for so many cars remaining untested could be as simple as drivers forgetting. The extension may have thrown regular timings out, and with fewer journeys being made the reminder to get an MOT may not kick in.

However, the fines for being caught without a valid MOT are still up to £1000 and 6-8 penalty points, and it is likely to also invalidate your insurance.

At Thame Cars we have a straight forward system of sending reminders to our MOT customers 4 weeks before the test becomes due. This is the length of time you are allowed to have your MOT tested before the official expiry date, and still preserve the anniversary.

If your test is past due or coming up to the date, give us a call ASAP and we’ll make sure we can book you an appointment at a convenient time.