Guides
Guides for drivers
Straight answers to common questions about the MOT, servicing, warning lights, buying a used car and the ULEZ. Each guide lists the official pages its facts come from.
The MOT
- When is my MOT due?A car’s first MOT is due by the third anniversary of its registration, then yearly. How to find your date, test early and what to do if it has run out.
- What an MOT checksFrom brakes and tyres to lights, seatbelts and emissions: what an MOT tester checks, what the test leaves out, checks to do first and the maximum fee.
- MOT results explainedWhat dangerous, major, minor and advisory mean on an MOT result, when you can drive after a fail, how retests and appeals work, and what to do next.
Servicing and warning lights
- Interim, full and major servicesWhat interim, full and major services usually include, why they vary between garages, how to follow your car’s schedule, and what to ask before you book.
- Dashboard warning lightsWhat red, amber and green warning lights usually mean, what the Highway Code says to do when one comes on, and which lit warnings the MOT treats as a defect.
Buying and driving
- Checks before you buy a used carThe official checks to run on a used car with just its registration, how to check the log book, what to do before you drive away, and getting it inspected.
- ULEZ for Surrey driversSurrey isn’t in the ULEZ, but a drive into London usually is. Where the zone is, checking your car, the £12.50 daily charge, penalties and the MOT’s DPF rules.
Getting quotes
When the car needs work
Post the job free with the car’s registration and your postcode. Garages on Matchanic can see it and choose whether to quote, and you only go ahead if you accept one. See the jobs you can post.
Matchanic is new and launching in Surrey, so there may be few or no garages on Matchanic near you yet. See Matchanic in Surrey for the towns and postcodes we’re starting with.