Motoring deals

If you’re a Halfords Motoring Club member (or you become one by signing up for free*), you can get a free 10-point car health check* as part of your membership. You can book your check in-store or online at Halfords*, at any of its 750 stores and garages (find your nearest*). Premium members (£4.99 a month or £49 a year) can get two 10-point car checks a year.

It takes about 30 minutes for the 10-point check, which normally costs £15. You can book these seven days a week from store/garage opening until closing time. Simply book in your car by choosing your time slot online or in-store.

What's covered by the Halfords 10-point car check?

• Headlight and brake light check
• Wiper blade condition check
• Battery health check
• Tyre depth check
• Tyre inflation check and top up
• Windscreen chip check
• MOT due date reminder 
• Oil level check
• Screen wash top up
• AdBlue and coolant check

There's no obligation to buy anything or act on any advice you're given, though Halfords could try and upsell you throughout the process. Halfords told us it doesn't offer these services in some city centres due to parking restrictions.

For other ways to drive down costs, see our Motoring MoneySaving tips.

If you go online to Halfords and sign up to its free Motoring Club*, you can get a £5 off £20 'welcome' voucher to use in store or online. Halfords confirmed the £5 voucher can be used on any product or service (excluding gift cards), and is valid for 12 months from when you sign up.

If you're shopping online, you'll have the option to select the £5 voucher in your basket once you've added the items you'd like to buy. If you're shopping in a store simply log into your account*, select 'My Account', then select 'Rewards & Benefits' and show the QR code at the checkout. 

What's more, the Motoring Club membership also gets you a free 10-point car health check and £10 off an MOT (normally £39.99) at any of its 700+ stores and garages. Simply book in your car by choosing your time slot online (find your nearest*). Halfords says both of these benefits are valid for a year and will be renewed annually. If you're already signed up to Motoring Club, you should be able to find these vouchers in your online account, too. 

There are two versions of the Motoring Club – a free version and a 'premium' version that costs £4.99 a month. You can sign up to the free version and still get the vouchers. However, when signing up you need to enter your vehicle registration number, so you'll need to have a vehicle to get this deal.

What's covered by the Halfords free car check?

The 10-point car health check takes around 20 minutes and normally costs £15, but it's totally free when you sign up to the free Motoring Club. The following checks will be carried out:

• Headlight check
• Brake light check
• Wiper blade condition check
• Battery health check
• Windscreen chip check
• Tyre depth check
• Tyre inflation check and top-up
• Oil level check
• Screen wash top-up
• AdBlue and coolant check
  

There's no obligation to buy anything or act on any advice you're given – these checks are completely free – though Halfords could try and upsell you throughout the process.

For other ways to drive down costs, see our Motoring MoneySaving tips.

If you're learning to drive OR you're an experienced driver and want to test your knowledge, you can take a free mock driving theory test online via the DVSA.

There are two separate mock tests for car drivers and two for motorcyclists. Each sample test has 50 multiple-choice questions, the same number you'd need to answer in the real test – so you've only got to do one mock test to mimic the real thing, but you can do a second one if you want more practice.

There are also mock tests for lorry drivers and bus/coach drivers – they each comprise 50 questions too, but the actual tests have 100 questions each, so you might want to try two mock tests for good measure.

You can take any of the practice tests as many times as you like, but each one can take up to an hour to complete. There's also a free practice hazard perception test where you can watch up to three videos (the real test has 14) with the aim of spotting developing hazards.

These mock tests are only for practice or fun – you still need to take the real one – but they're definitely worth a go, and may save you money by giving you that extra practice to help you pass first time and not need a retest of the real thing. There are many paid-for apps offering similar ways to practise, but not all of them are official like this one.

Want more MoneySaving motoring tips? See our guides on 50+ Ways To Cut Driving Costs, Cheap Car Insurance, Cheap Breakdown Cover, and Cheap Petrol & Diesel.

You can request a free annual email or text reminder before your MOT's due - simply visit the government's site and sign up for reminders. You'll need to give an email or phone number and the reg of a vehicle registered in England, Wales or Scotland (in Northern Ireland you get a postal reminder seven weeks before your MOT's due).

You'll need to activate the reminder via a link you'll be emailed after signing up. You'll get reminders a month before your MOT's due, and two weeks later if you've still not done it.

With fines of up to £1,000 for not having a valid MOT, forgetting could prove costly, so this free reminder should be a no-brainer for anyone who has a tendency to forget things.

You can unsubscribe from the reminders at any time from the confirmation or reminder email, but they won't automatically stop if you sell the vehicle or declare it off-road.

Want to drive down MOT costs? See our guide on Cheap Council MOTs and for other tips to cut the cost of owning a set of wheels, see our of 50+ Motoring MoneySavers checklist.