mot help!!!

[danroll]

my car is going in for an MOT on monday and i'm pretty certain it's going to fail. There must be a few things i can do over the weekend to bring it up to scratch...

Also let me stress, i am NOT a mechanic and have absolutley no idea when it comes to cars!

[pug100]

Ok, if you're not a mechanic then the things you can check are lights front and rear, dip and main beam, fog lamps if fitted, brake lights, indicators that flash on and off, hazard warning lights. None of the light covers sholud be cracked or broken.
Next windsrceen no cracks and only small chips (size of a 5p or smaller allowed) within the swept area covered by the wipers. Wipers should both work and clear the screen without leaving tracks and operate smoothly without dragging across the screen. Same for the rear if fitted. Top up the washer bottle as this should also work.
Seatbelts should operate smoothly and engage when pulled sharply and have no rips tears or fraying.
Tyres - legal minimum is 1.6mm across the tread, ideally change them if below 2mm. There should be no bald patches or excess wear to the edges. Edge wear is an indicator of tracking problems, have it checked at a trye depot or garage.Check for nails or sidewall damage check pressures are correct and same for the spare which sould be inflated.
Exhaust - without jacking up the car there is a limit to what you can do here, but if it sounds noisy check for leaks by starting the engine and looking / listening under the car to see if the exhaust is blowing. Main places they go at is the joints and rear box, so check there.
Thats most of what you can do as a layman, if you suspect you'll fail on brakes or suspension then get it sorted at a garage before the MOT. Good luck

[danroll]

Thanks pug, you're information is very helpful..

my exhaust is blowing, is there anything i can do myself or will it need to be looked at properly???

[pug100]

Depends if the exhaust is really shot or just going. If it's not too bad and you can easily repair it then get to Halfords and buy some exhaust repair stuff. If the hole is on or near a joint it'll be very tricky to do a good enough repair, get it changed for a new one.
Exhuasts usually come in sections so don't usually cost that much but it also depends on if the car is British or not. British cars (Ford Vauxhall) can be cheaper to repair than Nissan or Toyota as the parts don't have to be shipped from Japan.

[david1702198]

what a load of s h i t e !! pug first of all the only obligatory fog light is the rear one as long as its fitted in the middle or at the drivers side. front fog lights are not checked during the mot. rear wiper is not checked during an mot and the spare wheel is not checked during an mot as its not a legal requirement. only the spare wheel carrier is checked for security. a very slight blow of the exhaust will be advised, if its blowing quite badly then it will fail for this and may cause problems trying to get through the emissions test.

[david1702198]

ford and vauxhall are american. you can get exhaust parts for near enough all makes/manufacturers of care at most exhaust dealers. these are not original dealer parts but pattern parts which are slightly less quality but obviously easier on the wallet.

[pug100]

Here's a link to a page on the items tested on the MOT just click on the red and white icons to see what is tested.
http://www.motester.co.uk/cog.html
I forgot to say reg plate lights (easy one to miss) and horn.
As David so eloquently states front fogs arent tested, my apologies for being inaccurate.

[david1702198]

well if you dont know yourself dont tell other folk duff information. i know whats tested i used to earn a living doing them.

[johnny37]

Danroll - do you not get your car professionally serviced? Risky if you ask me for someone who is not fmailiar with mot regs. You would be unlcky for all your lights to fail. If there are a couple of dodgy lights and nothing else most mot stations would change then to get the car through and just charge you for the bulbs. Majors like brakes and tyres and exhaust I suspect you are unlikely to be able to change yourself anyway. Just put it through an see what happens.

[Toureman]

At last a sensible uncomplicated answer from johnny, best advice of the lot !