A marketing tie-up between Warranty Direct and fast-fit chain Kwik-Fit offers drivers of three-year-old cars the chance to get their first MoT test for free.

Cars registered for a quote at the warranty firm’s website, which sells directly to consumers, at least 30 days before the third anniversary of their original registration date, can be booked into one of 550 Kwik-Fit workshops for a free MoT.

The scheme is a bid to gather data for Warranty Direct of cars about to come out of the standard manufacturer warranty period, as well as driving business to Kwik-Fit, already the UK’s largest MoT tester.

To qualify for the free MoT fee offer, cars must also have an original manufacturer’s warranty that expires on or before the third anniversary.

Drivers are incentivised to take up an extended warranty from Warranty Direct by the promise of free MoTs for the life of their warranty.

Warranty Direct said the number of cars failing their MoT had increased by more than 2% to 40.6% over the past three years. That equates to an extra 976,000 vehicles.

Chevrolet fared best in Warranty Direct’s reliability index based on the number and frequency of warranty claims, cost of repair, mileage and age of cars in its database. Honda and Suzuki were second and third.

The worst performers were Alfa Romeo, Jeep and Land Rover.