MOT and road tax

[Pierrick]

Hi everyone, the Z is the first car I own in England and I have both MOT and road tax to renew before the end of the month, so here are my questions.

Where is the best/safest place to get a road tax?

And for the MOT, is there better places than others? BMW specialised? and what is a normal price? should I book long in advance...

Thanks.

[Del]

Hi Pierrick

1) You can apply for your “road tax” on line or by visiting a Post Office with your required documentation.

https://www.taxdisc.direct.gov.uk/EvlPo ... =directgov

2) Certain garages are approved to conduct an MOT – certain mechanics have been approved as MOT inspectors. Prices can vary from the official price of £54.85 down to discounted prices as low as £30. BMW are likley to charge the full price. It's diffilcult to say whether one place is better than another. My local garage doesn't normally need more than 1 week's notice. MOTs on Z3s don't require specialist inspectors.

[Mor61e]

Hi everyone, the Z is the first car I own in England and I have both MOT and road tax to renew before the end of the month, so here are my questions.

Where is the best/safest place to get a road tax?

And for the MOT, is there better places than others? BMW specialised? and what is a normal price? should I book long in advance...

Thanks.

Seeing as no one has replied just yet I guess i'll give you a rough idea

If you have the tax reminder or the V5 you can tax it online via the DVLA which is the easiest/safest I guess. Otherwise it's a DVLA office or post office.

I think the regular MOT price is still £40, you can't tax a car with no MOT so it'll be a good idea to tax it first before the MOT runs out

I can't help you with recommendations though sorry, I tend to do any work on the car myself so any place that offers a free retest within a week is a good idea

**I typed all that out before Del replied and can't be bothered to edit it now so there you go haha

[Pierrick]

Thanks guys.

So if I apply online I'll pay by card and recieve my tax disc by post? yes?

And I do the work on my car myself as well so I'll try to find an MOT where I can go back without paying again!

I'll go to my local garage tomorrow and ask him if he knows good places to go. And do all BMW dealers are autorised for MOT testing?

[Robert T]

you can't tax a car with no MOT so it'll be a good idea to tax it first before the MOT runs out

This only works if the MOT and tax don't expire at the same time, as the MOT must be valid on the 1st day that the tax disc is valid - mine both expire at the end of the month. I get mine MOT'd first and then tax it at the post office (though the same rule applies online). I like doing mine at the post office, as I get to walk away with the disc in my hand, rather than risk it getting lost in the post. It costs the same whichever way you do it.

Cheers R.

[Mor61e]

Thanks guys.

So if I apply online I'll pay by card and recieve my tax disc by post? yes?

Yup

This only works if the MOT and tax don't expire at the same time, as the MOT must be valid on the 1st day that the tax disc is valid - mine both expire at the end of the month. I get mine MOT'd first and then tax it at the post office (though the same rule applies online). I like doing mine at the post office, as I get to walk away with the disc in my hand, rather than risk it getting lost in the post. It costs the same whichever way you do it.

Cheers R.

Ah ok, that's definately the smart thing to do, getting the MOT done a few weeks in advance, i'm never that organised though

Out of interest, say if you applied for your tax disc three weeks before it was due and recieved it in the post, then two weeks later the MOT runs out how could the new tax then be cancelled?

[Pierrick]

So... I just had a look on the DVLA web site. I cant get a dax disc on line because.... my MOT runs out in 5 days!!!!! I just checked, I know it was in marth but I didn't know it xas the 5th! So I have to do this very quickly!

My tax runs out the 31st so I have a bit of time before to worry to much about it!

After some research on the internet I found out there is an MOT station not far from home just next to the BMW specialised garage I go to. So if I'm lucky I may ba able to get an MOT tomorrow! The price is 50£ and there is some pictures on line, it seems to be very clean!
http://www.abtechavssltd.com/

Thanks for your help

[RichP]

if it does fail, i believe you are still allowed to drive without an MOT to a pre-booked mot test.

I hope you are allowed, because i have.

[Pierrick]

I booked an MOT for tuesday so everything is ok!

[Pierrick]

MOT went all right! No advisories, nothing wrong, like a new car... well, alomst!

[Del]

good news

[RichP]

+1

[Lewy]

Excellent news, happy motoring

[Mint]

Always good to get through the MOT and with no advisories, a bonus