Plans for new cars, no MOT for four years?

Published Date: 24th Jan 2017

Every new car and motorcycle could no longer require an MOT test for the first 4 years of their life under new government plans to save the public more than £100 million every year.

The Transport minister Andrew Jones has revealed proposals to extend the new car MOT free period of 3 years to 4.

The Government is going to be consulting on the plans with Scotland and Wales to bring the UK in line with many other European countries like France, Italy, Spain and Denmark that have this 4 year rule already in place.

The current three year plan was first introduced back in 1967, just before this time any new car only had to have an MOT ten years after purchase. Modern cars are now coming through with a lot of safety equipment as standard and improved manufacturing processes, now means that your average new car stays roadworthy for longer.  

The Transport minister said “We have some of the safest roads in the world and MOT tests play an important role in ensuring the standard of vehicles on our roads.”

“New vehicles are much safer than they were 50 years ago and so it is only right we bring the MOT test up to date to help save motorists money where we can.”

It is a legal requirement to not only have an MOT but to keep your car in a roadworthy condition during the whole ownership regardless of an up to date MOT certificate.

The whole basis of the MOT was to introduce a standard of safety for vehicles on the road at minimal cost to the owner, hence why it was ten years initially for a new car back in the sixties.

Each year more than 2.2million cars have to undergo their very first MOT test, at a recommended retail cost of £54.85 for each test the cost is astronomical at well over 100 million pounds.

Over the last 10 years, the number of 3-4 year old vehicles involved in accidents where a component failure or vehicle defect was a contributing factor has dropped by about two thirds. In 2006 there were 155 cases and just 57 in 2015.

What is the most common MOT Failure for new cars?

DVSA or Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency have revealed the most common cause of three year old cars failing their first test is faulty lights. In addition to this the DVSA also stated that almost of all MOT faults can be avoided by carrying out simple, basic checks and good maintenance. Just by checking your own lights, tyres and oil as well as checking the windscreen wipers work effectively to clear the screen.

Once the whole public consultation has been completed we could see the new stance on the MOT for new cars increased to four years from 2018.