The min equipment list is fairly obvious, if you havnet got lights, you cant fly at night, if you havent got a turn co-ordinator or artificial horizon you cant fly IMC etc etc. What you possibly dont know for sure and therefore should check is if the a/c is insured, 9 times out of then though, if you're hiring a club a/c its going to be insured and have a valid CofA and if its your own a/c you would keep a track of that anyway. A minimum equipment list is really there for when you are not sure about what you need for the conditions of flight you intend to fly in.