MOT soon...

[Egg On Toast]

And I'm terrified the things gonna fail dramatically..

Now, what I want to know is, well, when do you think it's time to cut your losses, and secondly, what happens if you can't afford to sort it out straight away :| Kinda need the car for work XD

Thanks in advance

[Mk1Macca]

Fail is a fail. There's no grace period.

You can eliminate a lot of the basic stuff by doing a good walk around of the car and checking the obvious.

[Gavv8]

Give it a good clean, make sure all the obvious stuff is ok..lights/tyres/windscreen/wiper blades etc, give all the locks and latches a squirt with wd40 and make sure all the windows and locks are ok and top up all the levels so its all running well, i've always found that if you give the tester a straight forward job they'll be more reasonable.

[JC]

Give it a good clean,

This. all our testers HATE getting in a filthy car for MOT, INSIDE and out 

[Egg On Toast]

awesome thanks guys I'm planning on sending it in early just in case. that way it gives me the week or so i need to get the money up together (payday)

[JC]

and  as said, do the basics,

nowt worse than a tester having to fail it cos a number plate bulb is out. 

this sort of thing happens a LOT, 

[Egg On Toast]

Funny you should mention that, checked bulbs today and had to replace a brake light. I tend to check your average things like tyres, lights and levels fairly often just to keep on top of things so that should be ok. I know theres the slightest chip in my windscreen which I think I'll get filled in before I send it in. It's probably likely to be emissions/rust that kills me XD

[Gavv8]

The tester has a procedure to follow and the law is the law but if he or she thinks you don't give a toss about the car then they won't either.

[cняis]

Bring it to us Dan, we'll rip it to shreds! 

[dazzawest1987]

Also jack all the wheels up and give them a wiggle side to side and top to bottom, this should tell you if there's any play in steering gear, some suspension parts and wheel bearings.

While the cars jacked up you can also have a look underneath the car and check for rust, exhaust condition and just get a general good look under there for anything obvious