IN THE TRADE

MOT TEST EXTENSION Emergency legislation introduced on 30 March grants all cars a six-month exemption from MOT testing. A Department for Transport spokesman said, ‘This will allow people to carry on with essential travel. We are working with insurers and the police to ensure people aren’t unfairly penalised.’ However, they also made it clear that safety is still key and vehicles must continue to be maintained in a roadworthy condition, and that garages would remain open for essential repair work. See gov.uk/getting-an-mot MERC SL CARE PACKAGES The SL Shop has launched care packages for SLS covered by monthly subscription payments to help spread the cost of ownership. Care Classic, Complete and Concierge cover the R107, R113 and R129 models and start from £11 per month. Care Complete starts at £40 a month and includes a service plan tailored to the owner’s use, an MOT pre-check and test, courtesy car, annual Vehicle Health Check, 5% discount on parts, hardtop summer storage and an annual insurance valuation. See slshop.com/care PICKING UP THE SLACK With many auction houses putting sales on hold and only a few venturing online, online classic auction house The Market posted a record month for sales of £752,000 in March, including £215,500 for the Dino 246GT above. Bidder registrations rose and site traffic was up 50%. Director Tristan Judge says, ‘We can move cars on to new owners in an incredibly short space of time, and pass an industry-leading 95% of the sale price on to vendors.’ See themarket.co.uk