Mr Whippy
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| posted on 22/11/23 at 08:00 AM |
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Driving without MOT or tax
Hi,
After resurrecting my Volvo from the dead, it's booked in for the MOT on the 1st at my very local garage at the top of the street! It's been
sitting totally unused and unloved for over 2 years (I thought I was going to scrap it...) and although it's had tons of work done lately, it
really needs a good hard drive to sort it out, which I'd like to do before the MOT. I'm insuring it tonight so that's covered. Sods law
the police will magically appear behind me if I take it for a spin... too risky?
Cheers, me.
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Slimy38
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| posted on 22/11/23 at 08:12 AM |
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Police, cameras, DVSA, personally I wouldn't take the risk. What I would do (and this is still a bit questionable) is take it for an extended
detour on MOT day. Of course that doesn't give you much time to fix anything but at least it'll get rid of the cobwebs.
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adithorp
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| posted on 22/11/23 at 08:39 AM |
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You've done work on it but you're not confident it's good enough to pass an mot (safety inspection) so you think giving it "a
good hard drive" will "sort it out"?
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Mr Whippy
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| posted on 22/11/23 at 08:56 AM |
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quote:
Originally posted by adithorp
You've done work on it but you're not confident it's good enough to pass an mot (safety inspection) so you think giving it "a
good hard drive" will "sort it out"?
Mainly the brakes as I've cleaned the disks and pads but their not new but not worn either so bedding them in would be beneficial. Engines only
sat idling for a few hours but could do with a good thrashing to get rid of carbon. The cars probably in better condition than it's been in a
decade and is a real flyer, so I'm not worried about it not being up to par. Once it's passed I'm going to take it for a blast up North
for the day 
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motorcycle_mayhem
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| posted on 22/11/23 at 09:54 AM |
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What I would do is book the MoT and just do it.
All you're doing is bedding in the brakes, the engine can be run up on the drive... actually if you get the thing on stands the driven wheels can
be bedded in nicely, warm the gearbox up too. It's not a race car, the brakes will bed quickly on the MoT rollers anyway, so what's the
problem..
If it's a diesel, a good few pumps on the throttle should clear the system, with Thunberg feeling a disturbance in the Force.
If you're sure it's a bedding 'issue', you can always take the fail, drive it home, rebook. Unlikely though, in my experience
(worth nothing of course).
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craig1410
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| posted on 22/11/23 at 03:13 PM |
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I agree, just go reasonably directly to your MOT station and do 5 stops from 60MPH to 20MPH with ideally 30 seconds between them at 60MPH to cool down
again. Don't be tempted, as some are, to drive along with your foot gently on the brake as this will just glaze the pads.
It needs to be, let's say 50-60% of max braking effort each time with perhaps the first time a bit less to just clear any loose surface rust.
Once you hit 20MPH then accelerate back to 60MPH promptly to cool them down.
Also, make sure you have a quarter tank of fuel at least as you wouldn't be the first to be failed due to a lack of fuel after a car was off the
road for a while.
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Mr Whippy
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| posted on 23/11/23 at 07:37 AM |
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Cheers for the reply's.
Only caveat is my MOT garage is about 1/8 of a mile away in a 20mph zone i.e. the top of our street  it will be fine...
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coyoteboy
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| posted on 23/11/23 at 09:36 AM |
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quote:
Originally posted by Mr Whippy
Cheers for the reply's.
Only caveat is my MOT garage is about 1/8 of a mile away in a 20mph zone i.e. the top of our street it will be fine...
That's ok, the police don't know where the car was stored prior to the MOT.
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Mr Whippy
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| posted on 23/11/23 at 12:42 PM |
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quote:
Originally posted by coyoteboy
quote:
Originally posted by Mr Whippy
Cheers for the reply's.
Only caveat is my MOT garage is about 1/8 of a mile away in a 20mph zone i.e. the top of our street it will be fine...
That's ok, the police don't know where the car was stored prior to the MOT.
Exactly, miles and miles away...  and yes I just happen to be going the opposite direction officer...I got lost!
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ianhurley20
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| posted on 23/11/23 at 08:48 PM |
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Why not book it into a place a distance away for an MOT at the same time as the one you are going to. If you actually know the garage you can tell
them you will not actually attend. Then go for a drive which includes both target stations. I bought a car at an auction about 100 miles away from
where I live, phoned and booked an MOT at my local station and drove said 100 ish miles to my local test station. No problems except it failed. 3 year
old 20000 mile BMW X1 2 days outside MOT age 
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