ACC UK Ltd, Winners of The Independent Garage of the Year 2015, Inspire Customer Service Excellence 2016 Award & The Eagle Radio Customer Focus Business
2017 Award, are Servicing, Repair & MOT Specialists based in the heart of Farnborough, Hampshire.
We like to give you hints and tips on maintaining your Volvo or Toyota to help reduce breakdowns and expensive car repair bills.
The blog this week is about simple things that you can do before you bring your Volvo or Toyota to your independent garage for its annual MOT. Figures
show that almost 1/3 of vehicles fail their MOT. Some of the things they fail on are really simple items. The blog this week is about rectifying these
items BEFORE you bring your Volvo or Toyota in for its MOT.
Check that your lights all work as they should, including headlights, brake lights, indicators, hazard lights, number plate lights and fog lights. Figures
show that 23% of vehicles that failed in 2015 had faulty lights.
Are your brakes making a noise? It may be time to change them. The legal brake pad requirement is 1.5mm. If you are driving your Volvo or Toyota with insufficient
brake pads not only are you at risk of not being able to stop in the event of an emergency you are also putting yourself and other road users at risk.
You also run the risk of damaging your brake disks, this will be a much more costly item to rectify. Figures show that 20% of MOT failures in 2015
were down to brake issues.
Are your tyres legal? You can read our previous blog posts about tyre care. However check your tyre pressures and the general condition of your tyres prior
to taking your Volvo or Toyota in for its MOT. If there are bulges or tyre wall damage or the depth is less that 1.6mm your Volvo or Toyota will fail
its MOT.
Have you got any chips or cracks in your Volvo or Toyota’s windscreen? It is advisable to get these seen to as soon as they happen. Most insurance policies
cover chip damage. If the chip or crack is over 10mm and directly in your field of vision then this will result in an MOT failure. If the chip or crack
is outside of the central line of vision but less than 40mm this will be ok. You must also ensure that your windscreen washer bottle is full as your
wiper blades will also be tested. If your blades have perished get them changed prior to your MOT.
A staggering 15% of MOT failures in 2015 were down to suspension issues – this could be because of the state of the roads and the huge amount of potholes
we encounter on a weekly basis. One way of protecting your Volvo or Toyota is to ensure that you have sufficient tyre pressures and drive slowly through
damaged road surfaces. If you have hit a pothole particularly hard get your Volvo or Toyota checked by your local independent garage straight away
to ensure that you do not do further damage and also for your peace of mind.
Make sure that all your fluid levels have been topped up including oil and petrol/diesel. Your car will be running for emissions testing. In 2015 10% of
vehicles failed the MOT because their emissions were too high. These can in part be due to the DPF being blocked or in some cases removed or because
the car is older. Fuel additives can help along with checking that the exhaust system is operating correctly. A blocked DPF filter will need attention.
Read our blogs about the DPF filter.
Here at ACC UK Ltd, Winners of The Motor Trader Independent Garage of The Year 2015, The Inspire Customer Service
Excellence 2016 Award and The Eagle Radio Customer Focus 2017 Business Award, we pride ourselves on offering an outstanding customer experience for
a fraction of the cost of a dealership. Give us a call and let us quote you for your next service or repair on your Volvo or Toyota. We service all
areas around Farnborough, Fleet, Aldershot, Farnham, Guildford, Frimley, Camberley, Hook, Sandhurst, Crowthorne, Yateley, Hampshire and Surrey. We
offer free collection and drop off services. We also have a fleet of courtesy cars to allow you to get on with your schedule whilst your Volvo or Toyota
is with us. Happy Motoring from all at ACC UK Ltd – Independent Volvo & Toyota servicing, repair and MOT specialists based in the heart of Farnborough,
Hampshire.
