All cars over three years old must have a MOT carried out every year at an approved garage. As a car gets older, the likelihood is the car will need work doing to it for it to pass a MOT year upon year. The work that may be required to pass a MOT can vary from something very small such as replacing a bulb or wiper blades to a whole new exhaust system needing to be fitted. There are a number of simply checks you can do and possibly replace parts if needed to avoid a MOT failure and keep costs down. The wipers are checked on your vehicle as part of the MOT and if they are not working correctly or have little wear left on the blade then they will fail. Wiper blades can be picked up for less than £5 each but if you wait to have them done at a garage, you may end up pay £20- £30 for each one.

All the exterior bulbs are checked on the vehicle as part of the MOT even the number plate light! If one is not working, it is in your interest to get it changed prior to the MOT. You can often get a set of bulbs from somewhere like Halfords for less than £10 whereas a garage may charge you at least double that.