BrianGT Posted November 4, 2012 Report Share Posted November 4, 2012 This may have been covered before so please forgive me if it has.......... There seems to be a grey area when taking an MOT a month earlier than the expiry of your last MOT. If it fails it appears that VOSA and the Insurance industry are taking different views. VOSA are saying that the original MOT is valid for the full term of the existing MOT.... but.... Insurers are saying if it has been submitted for an MOT and fails the car is not roadworthy and would not be covered. This could lead to a claim not being covered..... Does anyone know the certainty of this? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
celicamojo Posted November 4, 2012 Report Share Posted November 4, 2012 thats a good point, I have thought about this often. the car does have a valid MOT so therefore should be covered. if it fails within the term, that gives you a month to get it fixed. Thats how i see it anyway. Think however this is why you see a lot of cars for sale with 1 month MOT, they have stuck it in and it's failed miserably!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Old Red Celica Posted November 4, 2012 Report Share Posted November 4, 2012 If it fails, technically it's not roadworthy. I don't know the oficial line though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BrianGT Posted November 4, 2012 Author Report Share Posted November 4, 2012 If it fails, technically it's not roadworthy. I don't know the oficial line though. TBH that's how I see it too.....but I am sure there are many who think they have a month grace to get it sorted. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Boynxdoor Posted November 4, 2012 Report Share Posted November 4, 2012 This will be a good time for Ins. corp here to clear this out and gives Us the correct answer... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
celicamojo Posted November 4, 2012 Report Share Posted November 4, 2012 (edited) I can see that POV, after all for years it has been accepted that the MOT is only good for showing the car at that point in time. I know of cars that are unroadworthy the day after the MOT was passed........ for us honest people however the whole point of allowing the car to be tested in advance was to give you time to fix and keep the history going. Actually as I type this I now realise that doesn't work!!! Edited November 4, 2012 by celicamojo Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rpsmith79 Posted November 5, 2012 Report Share Posted November 5, 2012 If it fails, technically it's not roadworthy. I don't know the oficial line though. But something could break within a month of having an MOT done that will effectively make you car unroadworthy for the next 11 months Unless every car that is ever involved in a claim then has to pass a roadworthness test then surely an MOT is granted for 1 year, so should last for 1 whole year I even know of a guy who wrote his car off with an expired MOT (about 2 weeks out of date), he still got paid out but lost about 5% of the payout as the insurance company penalised him for not having an up to date MOT Also, what if your car was broken into, would it still be covered without an MOT???? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ams Posted November 5, 2012 Report Share Posted November 5, 2012 If the car is dangerous, the tester can class it as being unsafe after which point you cannot drive the car at all, ie not even home, used to be a box on the bottom of the old failure sheet before computerisation , can't remember the exact details Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
_Chris_ Posted November 5, 2012 Report Share Posted November 5, 2012 In theory - driving a car on the road with faults is an offence, driving knowing it has faults is a bigger offence - that's RTA offence, not insurance of course. The mitigating part is that most MOT failures do not present an immediate danger, those that do have a separate section filled in by the tester to say the vehicle should not be driven (I've had it done in the past). They are at liberty to call the police if the customer ignores the warning. MOT's are intended to pick up the early signs of wear or degradation so they are dealt with before they become dangerous, e.g. a set of brake pads with a couple of mm left will fail, even though they are still working fine and will do so for a few weeks. As far as insurance not honouring a claim, I think they would need to show that the 'fault' which failed the MOT was a contributing factor. No one could argue that a small rust hole in a sill caused the driver to fail to brake in time and run into the back of another car. With most insurance companies though, I suspect they would refuse to pay and the onus would be on the policyholder to fight through the courts. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ant Baker Posted November 5, 2012 Report Share Posted November 5, 2012 An MOT is only officially valid for the time that it is being tested, you could pass an MOT with 1.6mm of tread on yours tyres, drive down the road and be stopped by a copper who does his test and get 1.5mm. 3 points and £2500 later you realise that your MOT certificate is worth nothing. It is YOUR job to ensure YOUR vehicle is roadworthy at all times, if it isnt and you do have an accident you can bet that the insurance company will wriggle out of paying As per OP i am of the opinion that the new MOT overides your old one, just as it would if it had passed the test Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tctech Posted November 5, 2012 Report Share Posted November 5, 2012 I asked this question at a testers course .Once issued a mot certificate is valid for the time period it covers ie 12 months or whatever the balance to be added to the period is ie 12 months and up to thirty days (the maximum) The mot is current and valid and is NOT cancelled out by any other test ,pass or fail Once a pass has been issued it can not be cancelled by anyone ,not even the queen A fail does not cancel an existing mot ,,the only issue you have is the question whether the vehicle is roadworthy which if it has failed it is then deemed to be unfit and has not met the minimum required standard for use on the road .So as such the vehicle has a current mot on it but has a defect or defects which should be corrected before further use ,knowingly using a defective vehicle is an offence in itself Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BrianGT Posted November 5, 2012 Author Report Share Posted November 5, 2012 I asked this question at a testers course .Once issued a mot certificate is valid for the time period it covers ie 12 months or whatever the balance to be added to the period is ie 12 months and up to thirty days (the maximum) The mot is current and valid and is NOT cancelled out by any other test ,pass or fail Once a pass has been issued it can not be cancelled by anyone ,not even the queen A fail does not cancel an existing mot ,,the only issue you have is the question whether the vehicle is roadworthy which if it has failed it is then deemed to be unfit and has not met the minimum required standard for use on the road .So as such the vehicle has a current mot on it but has a defect or defects which should be corrected before further use ,knowingly using a defective vehicle is an offence in itself That's exactly how i understood VOSA's position.......but would insurers not cover you if you had an accident after you had an early test and was failed by a brake light out......even though you were on your way to buying one? I'm just playing devils advocate! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tctech Posted November 5, 2012 Report Share Posted November 5, 2012 That's exactly how i understood VOSA's position.......but would insurers not cover you if you had an accident after you had an early test and was failed by a brake light out......even though you were on your way to buying one? I'm just playing devils advocate! probably not ,there is most likely going to be some small print that allows them a get out of jail ,however how would they know if you didn't tell them Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ant Baker Posted November 5, 2012 Report Share Posted November 5, 2012 It is all logged on a computer....they will dig up everything... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Razorjack Posted November 6, 2012 Report Share Posted November 6, 2012 Some companies I've been with before have small print that says they reduce cover to third party only, put your excess up massively etc if you have no valid MOT. Not sure how that would apply to a car that was laid up on the driveway waiting an MOT though, i.e. if it got broken into! As for an MOT being valid for 12 months, what about if the coppers pull you over and decide they don't like something about your car - I thought they could make you go take an MOT? Surely that means your 'current' MOT would then be invalid/canceled? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ant Baker Posted November 6, 2012 Report Share Posted November 6, 2012 Yeah see the problem being that an MOT does not say your vehicle is roadworthy for 12 months...like said earlier in this thread all it is there for is to detect early signs of deterioration i certainly wouldnt like to argue about it in a court of law!! at the end of the day if your car fails the MOT then would you really want to drive it? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rpsmith79 Posted November 6, 2012 Report Share Posted November 6, 2012 (edited) at the end of the day if your car fails the MOT then would you really want to drive it? As stated above, unless it was deemed unsafe then yes i would And as said before, your car could become unMOTable within a month of having your test done, does that mean that you are irresponsible if you drive around for the remaining 11 months in an unroadworthy car, should MOT's become a monthly thing then? No it doesn't and as stated if that were the case MOT garages shouldn't allow any MOT failed car to ever be allowed back on the road, but this is not the case Edited November 6, 2012 by rpsmith79 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ant Baker Posted November 6, 2012 Report Share Posted November 6, 2012 (edited) So now we launch an attack on me? Like i said it is your job as the owner of the vehicle to ensure your car is roadworthy all year round..an MOT is not carte blanche that your car is tickety boo...i am not saying that anyone on here doesnt look after their cars i am simply saying the people who drive their cars all year round and never look at it until The MOT comes round are not really being what you would call a 'responsible' owner...and unfortunately when an MOT tester fails your car your insurance company will slip out of it...hell they manage it even when everything on your car is legal... https://www.gov.uk/getting-an-mot/after-the-test In here it does say that if your car fails then it cannot be driven until a retest has been passed. Also would you like to stand in front of a court of law after you have killed someone and say 'sorry sir, but i still had 20 days of my old MOT left, even though it failed two days ago?' Dont think so..... Edited November 6, 2012 by Ant Baker Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tctech Posted November 6, 2012 Report Share Posted November 6, 2012 Some companies I've been with before have small print that says they reduce cover to third party only, put your excess up massively etc if you have no valid MOT. Not sure how that would apply to a car that was laid up on the driveway waiting an MOT though, i.e. if it got broken into! As for an MOT being valid for 12 months, what about if the coppers pull you over and decide they don't like something about your car - I thought they could make you go take an MOT? Surely that means your 'current' MOT would then be invalid/canceled? the police can only issue a pg9 (i think thats the one) you then have to take your vehicle to a vosa approved station for inspection and the defect to be signed off, quite simply an mot pass can not be cancelled in any circumstance , Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Monkey Boy 1 Posted November 10, 2012 Report Share Posted November 10, 2012 From what I have read up on, and also re-posted on another motoring web forum, it looks like VOSA is correct. BUT it is always good to check with your insurers to see their take on it. As has been said before, if a Pass cert. has been given, it is valid for 12 months, no more and no less. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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