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Car maintenance and breakdown cover

Keeping your car in check

Car maintenance and breakdown cover

Cars go wrong and the wet and cold British winter annually claims its fair share of automotive victims. It’s cheaper in the long run to make sure you properly service your vehicle and you need to make sure that it remains legally roadworthy anyway. You may also find you can save a lot of money by making an investment in breakdown insurance, as it costs a lot less than paying once to a tow truck to rescue you if you have a breakdown.

Obligatory maintenance

All vehicles that are over 3 years old require an annual Ministry of Transport (MOT) test. MOT tests have to be performed by officially approved test centres, which include most large garages. The test is not supposed to cost more than £40 and lasts about half an hour. Your car will pass the test if it is deemed ‘roadworthy’. If your car fails its MOT test, you will have to pay for the necessary improvements in order to get the car to pass a follow-up test.

Motoring organisations

There are a number of motoring organisations in the UK which offer 24-hour breakdown service to their members. Breakdown service is also available to non-members, but it can be very expensive, so you are advised to become a member as a form of insurance for yourself.

The main organisations include:

As ever, you are advised to shop around as each organisation provides different services. For example, some cover the car (for any driver) while others cover the driver (for any car). Most of the organisations also offer sweeteners to new members, such as free MOT tests.

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