Petrol and diesel owners have been turned away from MOT centres because garages refused to test their vehicles.

A new report from Select Car Leasing found that 7,000 motorists received an MOT refusal instead of an MOT fail.

The data, taken from the DVSA under a Freedom of Information (FOI) request, shows a whopping 1,112 cars were denied entry because testers were unable to open the doors or the boot.

Meanwhile, 785 cars were denied entry because an inspection “may be dangerous or cause damage” with over 300 models considered ‘not fit to be driven”.

A staggering 526 cars were denied entry to a test because they were “too dirty to examine”.

Graham Conway, Managing Director at Select Car Leasing urged road users to make sure their cars were not in “disrepair” before their annual check.

He explained: “Our research proves that not all vehicles are someone’s ‘pride and joy’, and hundreds are seemingly neglected to the point of being downright dangerous.

“It is one thing for a car, van or motorcycle to fail an MOT, quite another to be in such a sorry state of disrepair and cleanliness that an inspection can’t be granted in the first place.

“The stats highlight the need to present your car to an MOT testing station in a clean and tidy condition. Make sure all the doors open and close as they should and empty the boot of detritus to make inspection simple and easy.

“And if your vehicle’s cabin is piled high with sandwich cartons, empty crisp packets, spent vapes, and dirty clothes, an MOT tester has every reason to refuse to set foot in it.”

However, the data shows petrol and diesel owners are also targeted with emissions still a major concern for garages.

A total of 139 vehicles were denied a test purely because of the “maintenance history of a diesel engine”.

A whopping 57 models were also stopped because the vehicle emitted “substantial smoke”.

Mr Conway added: “When a car is put through its MOT, the engine needs to be revved hard so that the tester can check for emissions and general roadworthiness.

“With a diesel engine, the car is often revved right to the redline limit. But if the tester suspects that your car hasn’t been well maintained, he or she will be reluctant to put it through the test in the first place, in case the testing process actually obliterates the engine.”

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Post source: Express