MOT check

An MOT check shows you whether a car has a valid MOT, when it runs out, and how it's done in every test since 2005. It's free, it comes straight from the DVSA's records, and it's one of the most useful things you can read before buying a used car.

What our MOT check shows

• MOT status and expiry. Whether the car is currently road legal and the date the certificate runs out.
• Every test result. Each pass and fail, with the date.
• Fail reasons and advisories. Exactly what the tester found, word for word, sorted into dangerous, major, minor and advisory.
• Mileage at each test. A mileage history going back years, with any reading that went down flagged. See our mileage check for why that matters.

How to read an MOT history

A long list of results can look worrying, but most of it is normal wear and tear. What you're looking for are patterns.

Advisories that come back. One note about "slight corrosion" on a ten-year-old car is nothing. The same corrosion getting worse over three or four tests, then turning into a fail, tells you the owner didn't fix things until they had to.

Structural problems. Corrosion on sills, subframes or suspension mounts is more serious than surface rust on a bracket, and it's expensive to put right.

Fails followed by a quick pass. A fail followed by a pass a few days later usually just means the car was repaired, which is fine. A string of fails can mean a car that's been nursed along.

Big gaps. A missing year can mean the car was off the road. Worth asking why.

Our guide to MOT advisories explained goes through the common ones and which ones should put you off.

Dangerous, major, minor and advisory

Since May 2018, anything a tester finds goes into one of four groups:

• Dangerous: an immediate risk to safety. The car fails and shouldn't be driven until it's fixed.
• Major: could affect safety or the environment. The car fails.
• Minor: should be fixed soon, but the car passes.
• Advisory: something to keep an eye on. The car passes.

When you're buying, minor defects and advisories are a preview of the next bills. Tyres, brake discs and pads are the common ones, and a fair reason to ask for a little off the price.

When is an MOT due?

In England, Scotland and Wales, a car needs its first MOT three years after it was first registered, then every year after that. In Northern Ireland the first test is at four years. You can have an MOT up to a month (minus a day) before the current one expires and keep the same renewal date.

A car under three years old won't have any MOT history yet, which is normal. For those, a full vehicle check and the service record tell you more.

Driving without an MOT

You can only drive a car without a valid MOT to a pre-booked test, or to a garage for repairs needed to pass. Otherwise you can be fined up to £1,000, and your insurance may not pay out if you have an accident. A car with no MOT also can't usually be taxed. If you're buying a car without an MOT, check whether it's taxed with our car tax check, and plan how you'll get it home legally.

MOT check before you buy

The MOT history is free, and it tells you more about how a car has been looked after than almost anything else. Put the registration in before you arrange a viewing, and bring your questions with you. If it all looks good, the free car check gives you the tax, mileage and vehicle details on the same page.