Whats going on with MOT Availability at the moment?

Boksic

RMS Regular
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Yes my car is perfectly road worthy thanks and I don’t need public transport I can use my parents cars but surely there must be a way around this for people in the same situation

There are options yes, they've been mentioned already, most of them are based around planning further in advance which is the option you no longer have.
 

stevieturbo

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Antrim
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Yes my car is perfectly road worthy thanks and I don’t need public transport I can use my parents cars but surely there must be a way around this for people in the same situation

Buy a car that is already MOT'd for a year, then you'll have12 months to plan for next time. Or buy a new car.
 

lightning

RMS Trader
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glenavy
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volvo 740
Maybe a stupid question, but you should have been able to tax the car before the MoT ran out? Then you could have kept on motoring until you got an MoT slot as long as the car is actually road worthy.

Without tax there is only one option - park it up, nowhere near a public road. Not even parked in your street, only off the road. Nothing else to do. And then keep refreshing the booking page throughout the day until a cancellation comes up.

Without tax you can't even drive to the test centre or a garage though. It's a proper hole to be in...

I don't think there is anything new here, this is how it's always been? Next time you tax the car, go for the six month option so the tax date ends up well away from the MoT date.

It's a pain when tax and MoT come up at the same time...

Not sure if this is tongue and cheek but he wouldn't have been able to tax the car if the new tax was due to start after the mot expired no matter how early he tried. And you can drive a car to and from the mot with no tax. Plus the police have said if there is evidence a date booked and the car is road worthy its fine mot wise, and theres tons of cancellations with 30 minutes work looking for one. The whole situation is a non issue really.
 

svensktoppen

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You can tax the car up to a month before it expires. But not after MoT has expired. So there's a window. Been there... Too late now by the sounds of it.

MoT and tax dates at the same time has always been a pain. The system is broken but it's always been. It's nothing to do with new booking systems.

Get a six month tax next time and then the tax and MoT dates are well apart.
 

svensktoppen

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FK2 CTR
Oh crap... Well, good it's that cheap obviously :cool: :innocent:

This whole tax/MoT/insurance catch 22 seems to be an NI thing... Nightmare when they're close, if you blink you miss it... Ended up in the same spot as you a couple of times, kept driving and chased MoT cancellations. But you can only do that for a short period, as in days or maybe a week tops, and definitely don't park on the public road. Driving without tax is a big no-no.

A bit more flexible in England.
 

Simon83

RMS Regular
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At Sea
Booked the old Passat’s MOT last night earliest I could get an appointment in either Ards or Downpatrick was 1st December
 

Boksic

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Cushendun
Booked the old Passat’s MOT last night earliest I could get an appointment in either Ards or Downpatrick was 1st December

Yeah it changes all the time as @lightning says. Obviously depending on whether the time/centre suits you or not..

E.g. just there now..

Screenshot_2021-09-30-22-48-22-683_com.android.chrome.jpg
 

stevieturbo

RMS Regular
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Antrim
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Old Ford
Was expecting them to come up with something by now or some sort of information for drivers because you know, it’s their job..

And it's the drivers job to ensure their car is legal at all times....and for MOT and the like...well you kinda get 12 months notice each time.
 

PDK

RMS Regular
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1,762
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Belfast
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BMW E92 & E46
I tax by direct debit on monthly, and it was about to auto-cancel as my MOT had expired. Thankfully got an MOT just at the end of the month and then the Tax DD continued.
I did not know this. Useful.
 

rollinstone

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Here there and everywhere
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Old man car
Just got mine changed from 25th November till tomorrow as last day is today so pretty pleased with the system was like watching stocks the changing available appointments much better than the last system well has worked for me anyway
 

Bryan

RMS Regular
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10,022
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Tandragee
I'm still no further forward with my 206. Still doesn't exist on their system. I did get a reply by email after I emailed the second address earlier in this thread. They asked me to provide the V5 but all I have is the new keeper slip so far. I sent a copy of that on Wednesday and it still hasn't been added.

Such a mess.
 

Turks

RMS Regular
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2,602
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Passat/Impreza
All is well, upon explanation that I had an MOT booked, the very helpful lady at the post office took my money and taxed my car for 12 months, relieved wouldn’t be the word 😂
Just be careful, the police said they would accept the fact your car has an mot booked as long as it was road worthy. It also stated that you will need to check with your insurance company that they would accept this.
 

Michael M

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Co. Down
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VW Golfs
Just got confirmation mine did get changed to this Sunday. Thanks to my bro and a helpful MOT man.

Fingers crossed 🤞 it passes

Bit of a strange one today though, sitting booking a retest for a car in work today at 12.35 and they offered me a slot for 12.50! I didn’t want to risk traffic so opted for a later time
 

jimc

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1,021
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work
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caddy
tried to book an Mot for ards but not showing on the list, does anyone know if i book say mallusk when you try for an earlier date can you change your test centre?

i really didn't see a problem with the old system
 

svensktoppen

RMS Regular
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32,751
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FK2 CTR
Yes, you can change both time and test centre.

Just book whatever is available the first time, and then sit refreshing the rebooking page through the day until something more suitable comes up.
 
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