Most of the time cars will fail their MOT test for good reasons, such as faulty brakes or problems with the engine. However, there are a few daft car owners out there who fail their MOT test for pretty ridiculous reasons. In fact, according to research from ‘What Car?’ Motorists are wasting around £500,000 every year because of failures that are really quite absurd and could have been easily prevented.
In fact, according to figures released by VOSA (the government organisation that oversees the MOT test), 20% of failures are simple problems that motorists could have prevented on their own.
So what are some of the dumb reasons why many cars will fail their MOT test?
Stickers on the Windscreen
Ok, so when you were in primary school you used to decorate your notebooks and pencil case with all sorts of stickers promoting your favourite bands or football team – but why have you carried on this habit into adulthood? Plastering stickers and decals all over your windscreen not only makes your car look a bit tacky, but it also will impede your view and make it dangerous for you to drive. If your windscreen is covered in stickers, be prepared to scrape them off or fail your MOT. There are some that you have to have on, such as your parking permit, your tax disc or maybe a child on board sign, but those should be placed outside of the area that the windscreen wipers cover.
A Cluttered Car
Do you have the bad habit of chucking food wrappers and fizzy drink containers into your car when you are finished eating, rather than throwing them in the bin?
According to the study by ‘What Car?’ a whopping 2852 car owners failed their MOT between August 2012 and August 2013 because their car was extremely dirty and full of junk. This is a ridiculous reason not to pass – as it doesn’t take long to collect the rubbish from your car and throw it away, especially when you know that someone you don’t know is going to be in there inspecting it! Give your car a quick clean before you bring it in and this won’t be an issue.
Driving around in a cluttered car can put you in danger, as the rubbish on the floor can impede your reach of the foot pedals and food containers falling off the seats onto the floor can distract you while you are driving. Also a cluttered and messy car tends to smell pretty bad, which is not a nice environment to be in when you are driving around.
Registration Plate Anomalies
Simple anomalies in registration plates accounted for 1,398 ridiculous MOT fails. Some people failed because the number plate was the wrong colour, the wrong font or too dirty to read. Remarkably, 114 failed because their car didn’t have a number plate at all. It makes you wonder what those people were thinking! There are standards for how you present your number plate and it has to be clearly visible, so make sure that you take a look at it before you bring your car in for a check.
Ignoring Warning Lights
If you are driving your car and a warning light pops up on the dash, what should you do? If your answer is, “ignore it” then you will fail your MOT like 799 car owners did in the ‘WhatCar?’ survey. The warning light element became a part of the MOT test in 2012 and it relates to any type of warning light on your vehicle – whether it is indicating a problem with your oil, tyre pressure or brakes. If there is a warning light flashing, you will fail the test – so make sure that you deal with the problem as quickly as possible so that it doesn’t lead to bigger problems later on.
It’s really silly that people would waste their time and money and fail their MOT due to theseridiculous reasons which could have been easily avoided. Don’t waste money by failing your MOT for a ridiculous reason. Shrugging off these small problems will not only cost you the price of a car service in Leeds, but it could also be dangerous and make it more likely that you will get in an accident. Make sure that you take a look at your vehicle and spot these issues before it is too late!
To save even more money you can look for an MOT test cost comparison to find the cheapest prices on MOT testing in your area, so that you can get your car checked out for less!
