...that some MOT test stations deliberately fail vehicles in order to boost the parts and labour section of their business or else serve as a opportunity to take "back-handers" ...therefore, should:
Commercial companies conduct MOTs?
Each town/district have a MOT test station(s) that is/are funded out of the MOT test fee and by the Road Fund License?
A town/district MOT centre, run by civil servants or contracted out to a service provider with no commercial outlet or association with the automotive trade?
Would this measure produce fewer failures due to non-incentivised staff (failures often equals parts and labour for the test station)?
Would this measure improve the overall safety standard of vehicles (of MOT age)?
Discuss...
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There are many companies that just conduct MOTs without being available to do the work.
Leicester has Leicester City Bus and Plymouth has Plymouth City Bus.
Apart from these then yes its a real lottery out there. Find someone you can trust and go with them.
H
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The Republic of Ireland has a sound system (not as in Bose) but reliable and incorruptable.
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My Dad has always insisted in takin his cars to an independant mot station in High Wycombe there r a few guys in there that have worked in the place for years! I think they should be more places like this around the country because my Dad says that garages try & fail something just 2 boost there labour costs & so on!
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Its not what you drive, its how you drive it! :-)
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>>My Dad has always insisted in takin his cars to an independant mot station in High Wycombe there r a few guys in there that have worked in the place for years! I think they should be more places like this around the country because my Dad says that garages try & fail something just 2 boost there labour
Bear in mind. any work needed will not have to be done by garage you take it to.Try it on as they may.You are entitled to take elsewhere for any work needed/Do it yourself
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Steve
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Yeh that is quite true but being my Dad he wud probably give in2 the garage anyway!! :-/
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Its not what you drive, its how you drive it! :-)
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So for the thousandth time, does anyone know of anywhere doing MOT tests ONLY in the Cambridge, Peterborough, Huntingdon, Bedford area??
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Try this link to enter your town or area to find out the MOT centres available:
www.ukmot.com/global.asp
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What\'s for you won\'t pass you by
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Similar type of link:
biz.autofizz.co.uk/b.php?qkw=Mot+Testing+in+Peterb...b
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What\'s for you won\'t pass you by
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>>Cambridge area:
'No.' But I can thoroughly recommend GP Motors in Newnham, Cambridge. Sleepy little back street garage. Honest as the day is long & good mechanics.
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Unless things have changed garages are entitled to charge a full retest fee if you take your vehicle off their premises without having the fault rectified there and then. Its not mandatory but can be intimidating
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The centre by us lets you take the car away to do repairs and you get 14 days in which to return for a free re-test, but I know of many others who either charge you the full cost or a reduced fee if you take the car away and then return at a later date.
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>>It's not mandatory but can be intimidating>>
Not quite correct. There are re-testing guidelines laid down for this area of MOT tests and listed at the Vosa website:
www.motester.co.uk/retest.html
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What\'s for you won\'t pass you by
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That should be MOT Tester website - Vosa doesn't clearly outline the subject.
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These search engines evidently only list those establishments that subscribe to their service. And the geography isn't very good either.
I entered PE28 (covers Warboys, some of Huntingdon, and Brampton). It returned four records (I can count at least 10 MOT centres in the area off-hand) all of which are in central Peterborough, and certainly not a PE28 postcode - more likely PE1 or PE2.
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Corrupt MOT testers...don't you just hate them...I once took my car in for a retest the day after it had failed (fail item was a perished nearside CV joint gator)-not 24 hours after it had rolled out of the place. I was sat 6m from the lift that the car was on and watched this idiot MOT tester brake my offside rear brake pipe off, because he decided it needed it's position adjusted. I took issue to this and said they should pay for the repair, as I never asked the guy to do any work or adjusting, the manager of the place fobbed me off and had the gaul to insist that it would have failed on the pipe anyway, because it was closed off and wasn't supplying the brake, despite the fact that it had been on the rollers not 24hrs before and flew through it's brake efficiency test, they rolled the car out of the place and left me stranded with an undriveable car due to no brakes. POS MOT station I'll certainly never take another vehicle there again.
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Get trading standards involved or go to the small claims court. You have a fairly concrete case if you have the written/printed results of the brake efficiency test the previous day.
Too often they think that their madate to test items for security entitles them to break off any part they fancy replacing and billing you for.
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I think you have to trust the place where the test is being done. I think it helps to turn up in clean vehicle, and ask if you can watch. I have done this for the last few years at the same garage, and the mechanic doing the testing knows that I have an interest in the condition of the car apart from the test items. I have been told that xxxxx passed this time but may not next time, xxxx is developing some rust, etc. A freindly approach and a genuine interest seem to work wonders. The chap is doing a safety related test, after all.
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I dont think most are as bad as painted.Most people think their car is in A1 condition without even looking under the car..As mjm said.You have to trust the place. if you dont trust the MOT centre.You dont have to use it..Attitude is another point.If you go in saying I have checked everything out/It was ok last time I looked.Tester tends to look even more for faults.I go in. just ask them to point any problems out.Never had a problem.I am always asked to go under the ramp and am shown the problem..One thing our local tester pointed out.An increase in tyre failures.Either torn sidewall/tread below limit/chunks taken out of sidewall
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Steve
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Nothing that I have read thus far convinces me of the objectivity nor indeed the need for objectivity of commercial garages that conduct MOTs.
I'll concede that there are many that do a fair and honest appraisal of a vehicle undergoing an MOT test. That in itself however, is hardly a ringing endorsement of a system that is fundementally flawed. The system should be fair, objective and without commercial interest.
Thanks,
TLB
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If you end up with what appears to be an excessive number of failures, you can of course just take it to another garage to be MoT'd and compare results afterwards.
Ahhh I remember doing this with my Austin Allegro, the only car I have ever had to get a note on the "..this car is dangerous to drive because of...." section on the MoT failure sheet (when the rubber was parting company from the metal on the engine mounts).
I had taken it to a leading high street garage chain, came away with about 12 failures, did the serious-ish ones (about 4) then tried again at another garage and only had 1 failure to sort out. And so one of BL's finest stayed on the road for another year (don't worry this was over 13 years ago, it is almost certainly now a brake drum on a bus or something)
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I doubt the system will ever be fair.But having said that.Mot is only a check done on the car on one day.It makes no reference to being (consider the car roadworthy for the next year)That is an impossible claim to make.Also vehicle needs to be checked out on a regular basis.Onus is on driver/vehicle owner to have these checks done.
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Steve
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Years ago my wife took her Talbot Sunbeam (in fetching bright green) to Mann Egerton in Morden for its MOT. After the test the mechanic offered to take it to the scrap yard! Thats what I call good service.
We now live in Eastbourne and Eastbourne Bus Company do MOTs at the garage. No commercial interest whatsoever and a good impartial test.
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\"Nothing less than 8 cylinders will do\"
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