The APK, or General Periodic Inspection, is a safety and environmental inspection that cars three or four years old and older are subjected to annually. When and how often your car needs to be inspected depends on the fuel type and age of the vehicle.
For example, petrol cars need to be inspected after four years and diesel cars after three. After those two years, petrol cars only need to be inspected once every two years until they are eight, while diesels need to be inspected every year. After eight years, both petrol and diesel cars are subject to an annual inspection requirement. Oddly enough, cars older than thirty years only need to be inspected every two years, while classic cars (<1960) do not need to be inspected at all.
The APK guarantees that you can safely drive on the road at the time of the inspection. This does not mean that you are exempt from safety issues or repairs until the next APK inspection. The APK examines the technical condition of the car, with a view to safety, the environment and the registration of the car. The brakes, shock absorbers, lighting, exhaust gases and mileage are checked, among other things. In total, more than a hundred points are checked.
Is a car that has a recent MOT a good buy? Well, not necessarily. A car that supposedly 'passed the MOT' can be rejected on dozens of points next year. While a car that has been rejected on one point - for example a broken light - can be a great buy. Do you want to be assured that you will enjoy your used car for a long time to come? Then you should have a purchase inspection, or total inspection, carried out.
If you want to be well prepared for the inspection, you can check a number of points yourself. Think of the tire pressure and tread depth, lighting, windscreen wipers and the oil level. This will prevent an unnecessary rejection. A widespread misunderstanding is that the owner of the car must appear at the inspection himself. That is not true. Nor do you have to bring the old inspection report. You must, of course, keep the new one for a year. If you have lost it, you can request a copy from the RDW or the APK inspection station for a fee.
Finally: you are no longer allowed to drive a car that has failed its inspection, even if the old inspection report is still valid in principle!
Has your car ever failed its inspection? If so, on what point(s)? Share it with our followers! Rent a car in Kerkrade and surroundings of Adrem? Of course our cars are MOT approved!
