If you would like your car to pass its annual MOT inspection first time and not have any costly repairs conducted to keep it on the road, then it is a good idea to undertake as many maintenance checks as you can in between tests. These will not take much time and you do not have to be a professionally trained mechanic to carry them out either. Before you book a professional MOT service in London at Elite Direct which will go into dozens of individual inspections, it is worth confirming a few things about the roadworthiness of your vehicle. What are they?

Lights

Your car’s lights will all be inspected during an MOT. As such, you should make sure they all work properly before taking your car in. Usually, a simple light bulb change is all that is needed to sort them out. Check your indicators, headlamps, dipped beam and sidelights before moving on to your brake lights and fog lamp. Don’t forget the reversing light either since this is essential to pass an MOT nowadays.

Brakes

If your brakes feel spongy when you are coming to a halt, then it probably means that the pads have worn down. Either that, or it could be a loss of pressure in your brake fluid. These things are not hard to sort out yourself. Alternatively, take your car to a mechanic before your MOT to have the issue of squealing or spongy brakes sorted out.

Seatbelts

Large numbers of vehicles fail their MOT because of the condition of seatbelts. These are essential safety systems so should not be overlooked. Untangle any that have got caught up and look out for signs of wear, such as frayed edges. Hoover up anything in the buckle that may prevent a good, first-time connection, too.

Tyres

You need to have four compatible car tyres fitted to your vehicle for it to pass its MOT inspection. Make sure there is sufficient tread depth left on them for them to be street legal. A simple gauge can be bought that makes this easy to verify. Also, pump your tyres up to the recommended level of air pressure before your MOT. If your tyres are partially flat, then they’ll wear down quicker and you might fail your inspection as a result. Finally, it is a good idea to give the sidewalls of your car tyres a visual inspection, too. If there are bulges or gouges in them, then it is probably because the rubber compounds they are made from are splitting. Tyres like this should be replaced immediately regardless of whether you have an MOT booked in or not.