Your car has just failed its MOT. It is a stressful moment, especially if you need the car to get home, collect the children or get to work. The good news is that the answer is not always no. The situation depends on a few key factors.
Did your current MOT certificate run out?
This is the most important question. If your current MOT certificate is still valid on the day of the test, you can drive the car away from the garage even if it has failed. Your previous certificate covers you until its expiry date, giving you time to get the repairs done and book a retest.
If your MOT had already expired before the test, you cannot legally drive the car on a public road after a failure, with one exception.
The one exception: driving to a pre-booked repair
If your MOT has expired and your car has failed, you are allowed to drive it to a pre-booked garage appointment for repairs. The journey must be specifically to get the car fixed, and the appointment must already be booked. This does not extend to general driving, parking elsewhere or running errands on the way.
What about dangerous failures?
MOT failures are divided into two categories: dangerous and major. A dangerous failure means the vehicle poses an immediate risk to road safety. In this case, even if your previous certificate is still valid, you should not drive the car. The tester is required to tell you if a failure is classed as dangerous, and in some cases they can refuse to release the vehicle until the issue is resolved.
Common causes of a dangerous failure include severely worn brakes, a tyre below the legal minimum, serious steering defects or significant structural corrosion. If your car has been given a dangerous failure, the right course of action is to have it recovered or repaired at the garage before it goes back on the road.
Major failures
A major failure is a fault that significantly affects safety or the environment but is not classified as immediately dangerous. These are more common and generally mean the car can be driven away if the previous certificate is still valid, while you arrange repairs. Examples include worn brake pads above the dangerous threshold, a cracked windscreen outside the driver's direct line of sight or a lighting fault.
What about insurance?
Driving without a valid MOT can affect your insurance cover. Some insurers will not pay out on a claim for a vehicle being driven without a valid MOT at the time of an accident, particularly if the fault that caused the failure is related to the incident. Check your policy wording carefully. When in doubt, do not drive.
Getting it fixed quickly
At Motorsector in Streatham, MOT retests are carried out as quickly as possible once repairs are complete. We will tell you what the car failed on, show you the relevant footage, give you a written quote and do the work with your approval. For most repairs, we can turn it around the same day.
Failed your MOT elsewhere and need the repairs done? We can help with that too. Call us on 020 3981 1781 or book online at motorsector.com.