It can be an expensive business running a van on a daily basis, but there are some things that you can do to keep on top of the van’s maintenance.
If your van is due its annual MOT, there is no point just taking it to the testing station and letting it fail. You can check out a few things yourself first, that if faulty would mean an automatic fail.
• Check all the car lights work; this includes the headlights, taillights and even number plate lights.
• The windscreen wipers are a common point of fail. Lift them off the windscreen and check to see if the rubber is delaminating from the wiper.
• The horn and windscreen washers need to be working to pass an MOT.
• The handbrake needs to able to hold your van in position, even if it parked on a hill.
• All seatbelts must work.
• Both driver side and passenger side mirrors must be in place and not cracked or broken.
• There must be no cracks in the windscreen or damage that will affect the driver’s field of view.
• Tyre tread depths must be 1.6mm over ¾ of the width of each tyre to pass an MOT.
You might not have the skills to adjust or repair these things yourself, but if you have them sorted out before the MOT, you will stand a better chance of the vehicle passing.
