Car maintenance guides & resources
Independent editorial guidance on the MOT, car servicing, repair decisions and electric vehicle maintenance. Every guide is written by the Serviced247 editorial team, dated, and sourced from GOV.UK, DVSA and other named organisations. None of it is garage-supplied and none of it quotes a price on any garage’s behalf.
Flagship guides
The Ultimate MOT Guide 2026/27
A complete, plain-English walkthrough of the MOT test in Great Britain - the rules, the fees, the defect categories, and what to do when things go wrong.
The Ultimate Car Servicing Guide 2026/27
Servicing is unregulated, which is why two garages can sell you the same-sounding job and do different work. Here is how to tell what you are actually buying.
MOT & Service Prices UK 2026/27
The MOT fee is capped by law. Servicing is not - so here is what the current published price data actually says, and who published it.
Common MOT Faults & Failures: 2026/27 Guide
A defect-by-defect walkthrough of the MOT items owners hit most often, graded the way a tester grades them, with the checks you can do at home.
Car Maintenance Costs UK 2026/27
A realistic annual maintenance budget, built from the costs that are fixed by law, the ones that are published by providers, and the ones nobody can quote until they look at your car.
Ultimate guides (5)
Comprehensive annual references, reviewed against current rules, statutory fees and dated pricing sources.
The Ultimate MOT Guide 2026/27
Everything UK drivers need for the MOT in 2026/27: when it is due, the £54.85 statutory maximum fee, what is tested, defect categories, retests and appeals.
The Ultimate Car Servicing Guide 2026/27
What a car service includes, how interim, full and major services differ, service intervals, what it costs in 2026/27 and how to compare garage quotes properly.
MOT & Service Prices UK 2026/27
What an MOT and a car service cost in the UK for 2026/27: the £54.85 statutory MOT cap, published RAC and AA service pricing, and how to compare quotes.
Common MOT Faults & Failures: 2026/27 Guide
The MOT defects drivers meet most often - lights, tyres, brakes, visibility, suspension and emissions - how each is graded, and what you can check yourself.
Car Maintenance Costs UK 2026/27
What UK car maintenance costs in 2026/27: the capped MOT fee, published servicing prices, wear items, big scheduled jobs and how to budget for them.
MOT rules & problems (7)
How the test works, what the rules say, and what to do when something goes wrong.
My MOT Failed and I Can't Afford the Repairs - What Can I Do?
Practical steps when an MOT failure lands a repair bill you cannot pay: what is legally required, whether you can drive, retest windows and free money guidance.
Can You Drive After an MOT Failure?
When you can and cannot legally drive after failing an MOT: dangerous defects, expired certificates, driving to repairs and the risks of getting it wrong.
MOT Retest Rules Explained
How MOT retests work: the free partial retest when the car stays at the station, the 10-working-day window, next-working-day items and when a fee applies.
MOT Advisories Explained: What You Need to Fix and When
What an MOT advisory means, how it differs from a minor defect, which advisories are urgent, and how to use them to plan repairs and avoid next year's failure.
Pre-MOT Checklist: What to Check Before Test Day
A practical pre-MOT checklist for UK drivers: lights, tyres, wipers, washers, mirrors, plates, warning lights and the small jobs that prevent avoidable failures.
How Long Does an MOT Take?
How long an MOT takes, why some tests run longer, what happens if your car fails, and how waiting, drop-off and combined MOT and service bookings compare.
What Does an MOT Check? The Full Test Explained
Exactly what is inspected in a UK MOT - brakes, tyres, lights, steering, suspension, seat belts, emissions, structure - and the important things it does not check.
Make MOT checks (3)
Practical owner checks before test day. These are checklists, not manufacturer failure statistics.
5 Audi MOT Checks Worth Doing Before Test Day
Five practical owner checks worth doing on an Audi before its MOT - lighting, tyres, brakes, visibility and warning lights - with what the test actually requires.
5 BMW MOT Checks Worth Doing Before Test Day
Five practical owner checks for a BMW before its MOT: lighting, run-flat tyres, brakes and warning systems, visibility and emissions readiness explained.
5 Mercedes MOT Checks Worth Doing Before Test Day
Five practical owner checks for a Mercedes-Benz before its MOT: lighting, tyres, brakes and warning lamps, windscreen and emissions readiness, explained simply.
Car servicing (8)
What servicing includes, when it is due and how to compare quotes.
How Often Should You Service Your Car?
How service intervals really work: manufacturer schedules, time versus mileage, condition-based servicing, severe use, low-mileage cars and why an MOT is not a service.
Interim vs Full Service: Which Do You Need?
How interim and full services usually differ, why the names are garage conventions rather than standards, and how to compare two written checklists properly.
Full vs Major Service: What's Actually Different?
A major service usually adds longer-interval items to a full service, but there is no statutory definition. How to check what you are buying and what the schedule requires.
Dealer or Independent Garage for Servicing?
How to choose between a franchised dealer and an independent garage: warranty terms, parts and oil specification, technical data access, recalls and record keeping.
Will an Independent Service Void My Warranty?
What UK competition rules protect, what your warranty terms still require, and the evidence to keep so an independent service does not put a claim at risk.
Cambelt Replacement: When, Why and What It Costs
What a cambelt does, why the replacement interval is model-specific, the risk if it fails, what is normally replaced alongside it and how to interpret quoted costs.
DSG and Automatic Gearbox Servicing Explained
How dual-clutch, torque-converter and CVT transmissions differ, why fluid service intervals are model-specific, and what to ask a garage before booking.
10 Questions to Ask Before Approving a Service Quote
The questions that make two service quotes genuinely comparable: VAT, parts quality, oil specification, authorisation for extras, diagnostic fees, sundries and records.
Faults & repairs (7)
Warning signs, likely causes and how to decide what to do next.
Engine Management Light: What to Do Next
What the engine management light indicates, why steady and flashing warnings differ, when to stop driving, and how diagnosis actually works at a garage.
DPF Warning Light: What It Means and What Not to Do
How a diesel particulate filter regenerates, what the warning light is telling you, why driving patterns matter, and why removal or tampering is not an option.
Clutch Slipping: Signs, Causes and Costs
How a slipping clutch typically behaves, what else can produce similar symptoms, why it tends to worsen, and what actually drives the cost of the repair.
Car Won't Start: A Structured Diagnosis
Work through the four situations - no crank, slow crank, cranks but won't fire, starts then dies - with safety guidance and when to call a mobile mechanic.
Timing Belt vs Timing Chain: What Your Car Has
How belts and chains differ, how to find out which your engine uses, why belts have a scheduled interval, and why chains are long-life rather than maintenance-free.
Brake Judder: Causes, Risks and Repair Options
How to tell braking-related vibration from road-speed vibration, the causes garages commonly find, when to stop driving, and how to compare repair options.
Repair or Scrap? Making the Call on an Older Car
A decision framework using the repair quote, realistic value, MOT advisory trajectory, replacement cost and cashflow - plus how to scrap legally through an ATF.
EV & hybrid (4)
Maintenance and MOT guidance for electric and hybrid vehicles.
Does a Tesla need servicing?
Teslas have no annual service, but they are not maintenance-free. What actually needs doing, on what intervals, and what it means for UK owners.
Tesla Model 3 service schedule
What maintenance a Tesla Model 3 needs and when: cabin filter, brake fluid, caliper service, tyres and air conditioning, plus MOT rules in Great Britain.
Tesla Model Y service schedule
What maintenance a Tesla Model Y needs: cabin filter, brake fluid, caliper service, tyres and air conditioning, how it differs from the Model 3, and MOT rules.
Tesla MOT and servicing
How the MOT works for a Tesla in Great Britain, what is and is not tested, whether you can use any garage, and how it fits alongside Tesla maintenance.
Main guides and directory
Serviced247 holds DVSA MOT-authorisation records for test centres in England, Scotland and Wales. We do not hold verified records of which garages carry out servicing or repairs, their prices, opening hours or availability. Third-party price figures quoted in these guides are attributed to the organisation that published them, with the date we checked them.