Is your vehicle due for MOT testing soon? As a DVSA-approved MOT testing centre, Atherley Garage is one of the leading workshops in Shirley and the surrounding Southampton area for Class IV MOTs. If your vehicle is more than 3 years old, you are required by law to book in for MOT testing every 12 months. As time-served specialists in MOTs, Atherley Garage is the perfect choice for your annual inspection.
We encourage a greater understanding of MOT testing, and its importance to the safety not just of our Shirley and Southampton customers, but also in our bid to make the roads safer.
What do you check during MOTs?
When one of our Shirley or Southampton-based customers leaves their vehicle in the hands of our DVSA-approved inspectors, MOT testing begins at the arranged time. MOTs involve a checklist to assess whether a vehicle meets guidelines set by the DVSA. The following areas of all vehicles brought to us are thoroughly checked for safety and roadworthiness:
Lights
Battery
Bodywork
Brakes
Doors
Fuel System
Horn
Mirrors
Registration Plates
Seats and Seatbelts
Speedometer
Steering and Suspension
Tyres and Wheels
Windows and Wipers
All vehicles of Shirley and Southampton customers which undergo MOTs are also subjected to exhaust emissions tests to ensure they meet minimum pollution criteria. MOT testing does not involve dismantling components of a vehicle. It is a simply a test to check for overall safety, and to ensure physical and mechanical features operate as they are supposed to. Our inspectors run the car as the owner would during the test. If a vehicle passes MOT testing, we supply the owner with an MOT test certificate. The vehicle is then legal to drive on the roads of Shirley, Southampton and Hampshire for 12 months, but owners have an obligation to keep cars in a safe, roadworthy condition.
What happens if my car fails MOT testing?
If one of our MOTs uncovers a problem in relation to anything on the list above, the vehicle fails the test. We hand a VT30 certificate to the owner outlining the reasons why. The majority of our Shirley and Southampton customers with vehicles which fail MOT testing leave them with us to be fixed. Even if the vehicle is driven away on the same day, customers still have 10 working days to return for the required work to be carried out. By returning within this timeframe, Shirley and Southampton motorists qualify for a free partial retest, where only the original failed issues will be inspected again. Any period longer than 10 days after our initial MOTs requires full testing.
MOTs can also be passed with ‘advisory notices’. These are usually minor issues which are too small to result in failure, but should be fixed soon. If they aren’t, they will only worsen and could fail in the period running up to your next MOT testing appointment. If MOT testing is due on your vehicle, please don’t hesitate to contact us for an appointment. Combine one of our MOTs with car servicing and benefit from competitive combined rates which help you to lower the annual cost of driving.
Atherley Garage, established in 1978, specialises in the delivery of first-class service and professional workmanship to local motorists in Shirley, Southampton and the surrounding areas. From fixed-price car servicing to modern engine diagnostics, our company performs scheduled and responsive maintenance work that detects problems at the earliest possible opportunity, and saves our customers money on the future cost of car repairs.
