I took my car for it's 1st MOT test today. I knew it was going to fail because they like to fleece me.This time it was the back brakes.So I said I would take away the car to get it sorted, but they told me under the new law if I took it away I would have to pay another £44.15 for a full re-test.
So £80.00 later for back brake discs which were done at the garage in question and £44.15 for MOT, I'm broke.
I don't understand why we Brits are letting the govt take us for a ride like this. Surely a new car doesn't need an MOT for at least 4 - 5 years and a car under 10 years should only have an MOT done every 2 years. What is the history of the MOT test? ie. who was the bright spark that gave garages a licence to fleece people and when are they going to change this and what do other countries in Europe do ????
cheers chaps....
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>>Surely a new car doesn't need an MOT for at least 4 - 5 years and a car under 10 years should only have an MOT done every 2 years.
simple reason parts wear,dont care what other countries do.MOT is to make sure vehicle safe for the road..IMO MOT should be 6 months not as new cars are 3 years,I think the same should apply to older cars as well!
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Steve
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welcome to my world where i take s/h cars for mot every week,im a bit old to get child support credits or whatever they are called these days so i can retire in bliss, but as i see it this govt would like everyone to drive a less than 3 year old car or take a non existant bus.roll on retirement,oh thats now 68 isnt it
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welcome to my world where i take s/h cars for mot every week,im a bit old to get child support credits or whatever they are called these days so i can retire in bliss, but as i see it this govt would like everyone to drive a less than 3 year old car or take a non existant bus.roll on retirement,oh thats now 68 isnt it
Oldman - if you really are an old' un then you've done alright. Had married man's tax allowance and MIRAS in the past? Retirement age won't be changing for you. Its the youngsters I feel sorry for. Loans for everything, proper pension schemes being shut down and shortage of houses.
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MoT fees are up to the testing station - they don't have to charge the full amount - that's just the maximum they can charge.
There are places near me charging less than the max. Most traders won't be paying the full amount, that's only for retail customers Problem comes with places that have high labour rates - they don't want a tester doing MoT's when he could be earning them more by changing oil and filter (i.e. main dealers and the like). Hence computerisation is being used as an excuse by some to hike prices IMHO.
BTW - the new system does permit a 'PRS' ("Passed - Repaired at Station") - this allows defects to be fixed at the garage and a pass issued. There is also a free retest within 24 hours for certain failed items (bulbs etc).
Elsewhere in the world they can have it a lot tougher - e.g. TuV in Germany, Shaken in Japan etc.
As to waiting 5-years - well, I was down at my friends workshop recently and he'd just failed a Pug. on its first MoT - less than 25000 miles and severe wear in steering linkages. The owner was a bit stunned and couldn't quite believe it. Also there are plenty of three year old cars around with quite high mileage that have never had a full service and the brakes checked.
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MoT fees are up to the testing station
Up to a point. They are not allowed to charge more than the government recommended amount, but however, they can charge whatever they like up to that amount.
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I actually think that 3 years is about right and certainly needs doing every year after that.my advice (which is free)is the first mot should be done at least 3 weeks early.take it to a garage which does free pre mot checks ,if the car has a 3 year warranty anything covered by this can be taken to main dealer if needed ,if it is going to fail you can take it any where you want for repair and if it will pass let them put it on the computer
maybe garages dont do free checks where you are
my personal thought is the price should include a retest of failed items.
if you read the thread on bodges to cars you will see why we have mot tests ,some of the short term repairs would become permenant
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Brake discs are not a tested item, and they can't remove the wheels during the test, so if it failed, what did it say exactly?
The reason people are fleeced in this country is because they allow themselves to be all the time, IMHO the most gullable and least complaining are the Brits.
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Brake discs are not a tested item, and they can't remove the wheels during the test, so if it failed, what did it say exactly?
Brake efficiency is tested. Also brakes can be visually inspected (i.e. if disc is all rusty and pitted then a fail).
The reason people are fleeced in this country is because they allow themselves to be all the time, IMHO the most gullable and least complaining are the Brits.
Blimey mate, you have never run a garage or traded in cars. People moan and complain all the time - the trouble is that they moan and complain about the wrong things. IMHO there is not much wrong with the MoT. Nor is there a lot wrong with the charge (about £45 for 45 minutes work by a skilled and qualified tester). Much better value than a service at your local main dealer where a semi-skilled 'bonus monkey' changes your oil for £150 and then tells you that you need new discs and pads for £400.
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I take my cars to a place that is purely a testing station with no workshop facilities. They do it by the book, but if something gets flagged up as a fail, I know they are not trying to create work for themselves. You have the work done at your preferred/ trusted garage then take it back.
The test is £25, and if it fails you get a free re-test if you take it back within 14 days.
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Rich 9-3
I take the families cars to a similar outfit
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>>The test is £25, and if it fails you get a free re-test if you take it back within 14 days.
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From what I read on the forum, when the computer is introduced this will end.
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Henry K, that's right, when your local tester starts entering you onto their new online system which is direct to the DVLA and should your car fail on anything more than a lightbulb, then it will take them another 40 minutes to enter the information again, hence charging you another £44.15. Also, the 14 day allowance to repair etc has now fallen away. I made an error earlier and mentioned faulty disks, (it was the pads that failed, not the disks)
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Henry K, that's right, when your local tester starts entering you onto their new online system which is direct to the DVLA and should your car fail on anything more than a lightbulb, then it will take them another 40 minutes to enter the information again, hence charging you another £44.15. Also, the 14 day allowance to repair etc has now fallen away. I made an error earlier and mentioned faulty disks, (it was the pads that failed, not the disks)
Some misinformation here. The first time a vehicle is tested there is a certain amount of time taken to enter details into the MoT database. Thereafter it is very quick to bring up a car - certainly not "40 minutes to enter the information again".
There is quite a long list of things can be done on a free 24 hour retest, including tyres, headlamps, reflectors, numberplates, wipers, emissions etc. Any car left at the VTS for repair does not incurr a retest fee. Anyway, it is up to the garage what they charge. The computerised MoT does not actually take any longer than the old style MoT (about 45 minutes).
Quite why everybody has to exaggerate this is beyond me.
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Quite why everybody has to exaggerate this is beyond me
'cos its new and we don't undersand it and suspect everything that HMG says and does - for very good reasons. Government and computerisation not good bedfellows.
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>>The computerised MoT does not actually take any longer than the old style MoT (about 45 minutes).>>
That is perfectly correct. My Bora had its annual test about three weeks ago and was only the second to be undertaken using the new computerised system.
Even though the computerised system is currently linked up to at present using dialup modems, it only took the tester about two minutes for this section of the test and that included sending the final results.
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Quite why everybody has to exaggerate this is beyond me.
In reply to Aprilia:-
According to my mot place, the problem is that the system allocates 45 minutes for each mot or retest and there are only so many 45 min slots per day. So a retest which in real life may only be the check of the repaired component does take up 45 mins in DVLAland thus preventing the garage doing another test in that time slot. The retest should be carried out in full anyway according to DVLA but of course it isn't, nor should it be IMHO.
Another problem, if my source is correct, is that the system is only available during working hours thus preventing doing mots very early or late. This will affect the place I go to as the tester often gets in early at 6am as does a few tests before he opens.
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I knew it was going to fail because they like to fleece me. This time it was the back brakes.
So if you thought it might fail, then why didn't you do your upmost to lessen the odds by getting it serviced beforehand? A service would have picked up that the rear brakes needed attention.
Surely a new car doesn't need an MOT for at least 4 - 5 years and a car under 10 years should only have an MOT done every 2 years.
I think your car failing it's MOT proves that it does need checking more regularily than you suggest. What would have happened if you'd driven your car for another year not knowing the back brakes were faulty?
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I think the MOT should apply to all cars as soon as they are 12 months old,for many people this sis the only time things like tyres,emissions lights are ever checked.
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>>I think the MOT should apply to all cars as soon as they are 12 months old,
I actually meant to say the same,fully agree on that.
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Steve
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The logistics of that would be massive. It's bad enough now - the extra strain would be huge. Cars with sub 10,000 on the clock would be "unroadworthy" and "illegal" if they went for a test. What could possibly go wrong in general on cars that young? You'd stuggle to wear the tyres down in that amount of time (although I have!). Bulbs go but the prospect of an MOT just for bulbs strikes me as laughable. Yes they would make a car "unroadworthy" but it hardly justifies an MOT does it?
Not to mention the increase in illegal drivers - I forget the MOT at the best of times. All these people who change cars every year would forget, as would the new owner most likely.
I realise I'm setting myself up for a fall now but my car is five years old. Not one thing has gone wrong that has made it unroadworthy - or rather that would fail it's MOT...unless you count me fiddling with the numberplate light and blowing the bulb.
I'll admit things can go wrong before 3 years but I think offset against how reliable in the main most cars are now, it's worth it.
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Cars may be more reliable but do more miles and things still wear out. At the rough average of 12,000 miles per year a car will have it's first MOT at 36,000 miles which is quite enough for important things to have worn out.
I tend to agree that 3 years "is about right" as a sensible compromise.
The MOT is inconvenient but not as inconvenient as being rammed by some heap of junk with bald tyres, no brakes and iffy lights one dark night on the way home. To be honest, the MOT is not that strict and the list of things checked are basic sensible things. Anyone who knowingly drives a car which can't pass a basic MOT is, to be frank, an idiot and if it keeps them and their cars off the road so much the better.
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>>To be honest, the MOT is not that strict and the list of things checked are basic sensible things.
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I am afraid I cannot totally agree with you.
I do not spend money on very new cars and keep them for a few years.
I am concerned to keep my car in good shape and spend what is required while doing oil changes, keeping an eye on brakes etc.
At My Sierras final MoT the tester said that they are not allowed to poke around any vehicle very much.
He pointed to an area of my cill and said "It looks a bit iffy, Take a good look at it when you get home"
Having created a pile of rust from my poking around, the Sierra was delivered slowly to the dismantlers and a replacement found.
Although it was a reasonable runner and could have had the cills welded I was much happier getting it off the road for good and finding a replacement.
So I for one would like a stricter MoT test
The "Worst bodge ups" thread tells what can go on.
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>>>To be honest, the MOT is not that strict and the list of things checked are basic sensible things.
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>I am afraid I cannot totally agree with you.
I think we're actually sort of in agreement - it isn't that strict and I can't see many good reasons to moan about the current one except it isn't thorough enough. Try the German TUV check if you want thorough.
A MOT isn't any guarentee of a car being roadworthy but I certainly wouldn't want to drive a car which can't even pass an MOT as it stands.
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>>A MOT isn't any guarentee of a car being roadworthy but I certainly wouldn't want to drive a car which can't even pass an MOT as it stands.
It is only on the day it was examined,not after as anything could happen and sometimes does
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Steve
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It is only on the day it was examined,not after as anything could happen and sometimes does --
IMO... On the day....In my case a gentle prod with a biro whould have changed a pass to a failure.
I do think some additions to the test are required to identify these type of structural problems.
We had a very tatty UNO but mechanically it was kept up to standard as far as we were aware. At the first hint of a serious problem it too was delivered to the scrap yard so the good parts were recycled to help another poor motorist.
i.e. many parts were returned to their original source.
Since I significantly upgraded my wheels, do I miss climbing up a pile of four high donations when it is raining and muddy?...Nooooo!
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Took the words right out of my mouth DD.
Fullchat
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I took my car for it's 1st MOT test today. I knew it was going to fail because they like to fleece me.This time it was the back brakes>>
Either it was the first time it had been tested or it wasn't ("This time it was the back brakes").
If you were so convinced you were going "to be fleeced", I completely fail to understand why you used this particular outlet.
Asking friends, family members and other contacts soon reveals those garage and MOT centres that can be relied upon to conduct an honest test - I know the one I use certainly fits this description, along with a particular National outlet I been to in the past but which is some distance from my home.
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New cars in Germany are tested before you can register them thats how much they trust them.
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>>New cars in Germany are tested before you can register them thats how much they trust them.>>
In view of the mutual admiration society comprising Germany and France does this mean that French cars are exempt...:-)
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My Passat failed MOT with a split CV joint gaiter.
List of amber warnings including rusty discs, perished gaiter and low brake fluid level.
The edge of the discs are indeed rusty but brakes seem to work fine.
Getting the bare minimum done on Wednesday to get the certificate. Quoted at ~£20 for part plus 1 hour labour so £80 ish.
Oh and the brake fluid level is bang on the maximum.
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I wasna fu but just had plenty.
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No problem with the MoT in my book. I agree with the current system. It probably isn't strict enough and maybe should allow the tester to remove 'loose' bits of trim to examine some seams etc. But other than that it is fine.
If your garage is charging £44-ish for a re-test if you take it away then find another one.
I was charged £30 for a test for my TR7, it failed, I took it away, fixed the failure items & brought it back for a retest a month later and job done. 12 months MoT. No retest fee.
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Some useful links regarding MOTs:
www.motuk.co.uk/manual/mc_contents.htm (motorbikes and side cars) and www.motuk.co.uk/manual/contents.htm )cars)
www.motester.co.uk/
www.ukmot.com/malcolm.asp
MOT failures:
"My MOT has expired but I have to drive the vehicle to a garage.
"You are permitted to drive a vehicle with an expired MOT to a garage where you have a pre-arranged MOT appointment. If the vehicle fails the MOT you may NOT then drive the vehicle back home."
(www.askthe.police.uk/content/default.mth )
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