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Just wondered if anyone has had their car tested at the local council garage. We had a leaflet saying the district council do MOT's at their workshop. They don't do repairs just tests and re-tests. I was reading that a lot of councils throughout the country do this and they are usually more reliable than garages as they have nothing to gain by inventing jobs that need doing.
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I used to have my old Triumph motorcycle MOT'd by the council garage. They gave it up after the new rolling road brake testers came in.Always felt they had no axe to grind or hidden agenda.
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I wasna fu but just had plenty.
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COPY of post from last June:
For anyone within striking distance of Welwyn Garden City, on the road to Codicote there's Royton Express, an MOT test centre that proclaims "no repairs, just fair tests only" and charges only £26 too [now £40, darn it, but still cheaper than the official charge].
No comment on Royton Express [who are thorough and rigorous], but I have little faith in MOT testing. When I revived my Capri, it came through the MOT (at the local Vauxhall dealership) with the offside rear brake about to fail; my mechanic knew that and was astonished that it had got through, not least because the tester himself spoke of smelling brake fluid. I recently acquired a W126 MB, complete with recent MOT certificate; it should have failed on at least three points. Fortunately, I can trust my mechanic to spot a lot more than gets noticed in the average test.
On reflection, the whole system would have been better with many fewer but much larger testing centres run by the public sector. The idea that distributing testing over the servicing-garage community would result in a good and reliable system was always fanciful. No doubt that community influenced the initial decision; now, who was the relevant minister at the time?
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I've used them and with no axe to grind I found them spot on.
Pointed out bits that needed seeing to 'in the near future' which probably kept their conscience clear and helped me to prioritise jobs.
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How do you find them? I've looked at the Website for my council and can find no mention..
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Espada III - well if you have a family and need a Lamborghini, what else do you drive?
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Who's your council ?
I can't find any suggestion that manchester do it, but salford do... www.salford.gov.uk/living/advice/consumer/ca-cabs....m
or if you want, I can recommend a MOT only (no repairs) tester about a mile away from the Subaru dealer we were talking about at the meet the other week
Go on, get out of the car...
www.mikes-walks.co.uk
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In the days when my town was run by a borough council (with vastly superior services at reasonable council rates, rather than a grossly expensive Metropolitan establishment as today), the local bus depot had its own MOT station.
It was fully independent as no repairs were undertaken and the tests were conducted by the mechanics who also worked on servicing the bus fleet.
The peace of mind that no one was possibly intending to rip me off was most reassuring.
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What\'s for you won\'t pass you by
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I used to use my local AA depot, not the Halfords store ones but an actual AA depot where AA vehicles used to be serviced. Great customer service. Changed significantly once it was bought out by Centrica. It went from servicing cars and vans to tracked diggers. Also labour rates increased.
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our bt garage in crawley does mot's,the workshop manager told me they have to offer this service they are not allowed just to do there own vehicles so this may be why some councils offer the service.
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Thanks Mike. I was thinking of Salford, but Manchester and Bury will do just as well. Of course, I should have realsied that the minicab and black cab testing places are the council run MoT stations.
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Espada III - well if you have a family and need a Lamborghini, what else do you drive?
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I have had MOTs on our two cars carried out at the local authority's workshop for the last 10 years or so. I have never disagreed with their comments. Also, they open very early or even work through the night which can be an advantage.
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