Drivers urged to remove one item from car before MOT to avoid £55 retest

A motoring expert has urged all drivers to make three checks to their car before taking it for an MOT in a bid to avoid having to spend up to £55 for a retest. Whilst the mandatory annual inspection for cars aged between three and 40 years old is largely designed to spot serious faults before they can cause an accident, some minor issues can result in an immediate fail. As a result, a spokesperson for the car repair finance specialists Bumper urged all drivers to thoroughly check small details on their vehicle before taking it to be inspected.

They said: "It’s easy to assume that small details won’t matter in an MOT, but that’s exactly what catches drivers out. Things like a hanging air freshener or a dashboard warning light might not seem serious, but they can lead to an instant fail. We often speak to customers who are surprised by the reasons they’ve failed – especially when it’s something as simple as a dirty number plate or worn windscreen wipers. These issues are avoidable, but they’re flagged for a reason: they relate to visibility, safety, and control."

According to Bumper, one of the simplest ways a vehicle can fail its MOT is by having an air freshener hanging from the rearview mirror.

Despite typically being seen as a cost-effective way to improve the look and smell of a vehicle's interior, some air fresheners can obstruct the driver's view of the road - potentially giving them less time to react in an emergency.

Other items that block a driver's view of the road, such as stickers on the windscreen, can also result in their vehicle failing the MOT test.

Similarly, Bumper also recommended that drivers pay close attention to their vehicle's wiper blades before driving it to the garage, with worn-out blades being another common cause of failures.

Whilst drivers may not notice it at first, worn-out blades could fail to sweep water or dirt off the surface of the windscreen and rear window, resulting in an obscured view.

Depending on how much the vehicle is used, wiper blades generally need to be changed every six to 12 months, motorists able to tell by listening for a scraping noise when they are switched on.

Finally, drivers about to take their car for an MOT test were warned to make sure the number plates are squeaky clean.

Whilst it may seem like a very minor issue at first, a vehicle with dirty number plates is much harder for authorities and other road users to identify.

In addition to failing the MOT, drivers travelling to the garage could also be pulled over and receive a fine of up to £1,000 for not cleaning the important feature.