Reduce your MOT bill

Even if you are unable to fix your car yourself, you can avoid wasting money on a failed MOT test by identifying and dealing with problems early on, to limit repair bills. If you follow this guide, you could save time and money on your MOT.

Visual checks
At the most basic end of the spectrum, there are a several things that the least mechanical of us can do, which involve simple visual checks on our vehicle.

Check the windscreen for chips and cracks. Cracks can often be spotted in good time before they widen, and if you mend them in good time before the MOT, you can lower your final bill.
The MOT particularly checks for chips or cracks in the windscreen directly in front of the driver, and in the area swept by the wiper blades. They are only acceptable if they are less than 10mm in diameter.

Make sure the door mirrors aren’t broken, and are in good working order, and also check that the horn, wipers and washers work correctly and are in good condition. An MOT inspector will look at all of these things, so you can be a step ahead of the game if you check them in good time.

Ask a friend to help you check that all the exterior lights are working, including the fog light. You can replace any blown bulbs fairly easily, and watch out for broken cover lenses.

Also check the registration plate is clean and readable, and secure.

Manual checks
The next level is the manual checks and this will involve some pulling and fiddling. Check all the seatbelt buckles work and also ensure the handbrake will hold the car on a hill.

Checking your fluid levels is good car maintenance, and should be done once a month, or before long journeys, making sure you top up as and when required. To check the fluids, first make sure the car is parked on a level surface. Then use the dipstick to check the oil level, and monitor the coolant, windscreen-washer fluid and brake-fluid levels by checking them against the markers on the side of their respective reservoirs.

Hydraulic power-steering systems and automatic gearboxes may also need periodic fluid checks. You may notice the dashboard warning lights coming on to alert you when levels drop too low, but don’t wait until this happens.

Tired tyres
Next, you should check the condition and pressure of your tyres, from cold, at least once a month. Keep the tyres inflated to the pressure recommended in the owner’s handbook to keep the car safe, and save on your fuel bills. Low tyre pressure can affect your driving and vehicle handling, but tyres in good condition will keep you safe and lower your CO2 emissions as the engine has less work to do.

In addition, tyres that are low on tread can fail an MOT, so check the tread is the right depth in terms of millimetres, and if it isn’t, get them changed at a reputable garage.

You can use a tread-depth gauge to make sure all tyres exceed the legal minimum depth of 1.6mm across 75% of the width of the tyre. It’s best to replace tyres when they reach 2mm. Also, don’t forget to check the spare – the MOT inspector won’t!

Getting technical
If you want to get involved with the more in-depth under-the-hood aspects of replacing springs and spark plugs, or changing your air filter, then here are five links that might help:

1. http://autorepair.about.com/doityourself
2. www.carbibles.com
3. http://autorepair.about.com
4. www.carbasics.co.uk
5. www.ehow.com

Get a car insurance quote from Privilege today.