Bodywork and your MOT

Bodywork condition of the car

There are a number of reasons why a car may fail its MOT but did you realise that the bodywork condition of the car could be one of them? Below we have put together a few tips how to avoid failing your MOT due to poor bodywork on the car.

Body Condition

The vehicle body must not insecure or displaced so as to constitute a risk of loss of control of the vehicle when driven, or a danger to other road users.

There must be no dangerous sharp edges or projections caused by corrosion or damage

Corrosion

A vehicle can fail with respect to corrosion for:

Excessive corrosion in a ‘prescribed area’ – within 30cm of certain components, e.g. brakes, steering, suspension, seat belt mountings etc.

Excessive corrosion in a ‘prescribed area’, but which is likely to adversely affect the vehicle’s brakes or steering.

Note: ‘Excessive corrosion’ can mean a hole or a significantly weakened structure.

Towbars

Inappropriate repair or modification to the towbar assembly will be a reason for failure if judged likely to affect the roadworthiness of the vehicle/trailer.

Check the overall condition of the bodywork for excess corrosion especially in load bearing areas such as side sills, chassis, cross members, and pillars. Any of these points which display corrosion or thinning of the panels can fail an MOT and will require qualified repair.

Any accident damage can be permissable providing that there are no sharp edges protruding and that any damage has not affected the structural integrity of the car.