Motoring Discussion > Can a car set up for LHD europe pass an MOT? Miscellaneous
Thread Author: J500ANT Replies: 22
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New Fri 25 Jun 10 18:20 
 Can a car set up for LHD europe pass an MOT? - J500ANT
I've been looking at some very rare cars, and have found a handful for sale in the UK, all but one is set up for LHD motoring (all versions ARE LHD) and so have no RH rear fog, KM speedo etc.

Can a car that's not been properly converted to UK spec pass an MOT?
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New Fri 25 Jun 10 18:31 
 Can a car set up for LHD europe pass an MOT? - Zero
certainly wont pass if the headlamps are not converted. Speedo is not part of MOT.
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New Fri 25 Jun 10 18:40 
 Can a car set up for LHD europe pass an MOT? - J500ANT
>> certainly wont pass if the headlamps are not converted. Speedo is not part of MOT.
>>
>>
Can this be done "on the cheap" ? IE with masks, deflectors etc aka not buying new lights?
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New Fri 25 Jun 10 19:40 
 Can a car set up for LHD europe pass an MOT? - Dave
Up to a few years ago (when I was last involved in the motor trade), a speedo, if fitted, should work. But it didn't have to be calibrated in mph. It could show metres/second or lightyears/millenium, as long as it can indicate road speed.

For the lights, the rules stated that headlights must not dazzle. They don't have to point the 'right' way, as long as they don't point the 'wrong' way. So tape will suffice.

Of course, they may have changed lately, but I doubt it.
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New Fri 25 Jun 10 19:50 
 Can a car set up for LHD europe pass an MOT? - Skoda
If it's so rare that you dont get them here, you might need an SVA?

Then you'd need the mph speedo and the fog lamp etc. to pass
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New Fri 25 Jun 10 20:01 
 Can a car set up for LHD europe pass an MOT? - Zero
Here is the testers manual

www.motuk.co.uk/manual/contents.htm
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New Fri 25 Jun 10 22:18 
 Can a car set up for LHD europe pass an MOT? - Harleyman
Speedo is not part of MOT.
>>
>>

Has to be calibrated in MPH though. Some cheap motorbikes used to have stickers on the speedo glass.

Last edited by: Harleyman on Fri 25 Jun 10 at 22:19
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New Fri 25 Jun 10 22:32 
 Can a car set up for LHD europe pass an MOT? - Zero
Not to pass the MOT. Cant find any mention of it in the manual.
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New Fri 25 Jun 10 22:34 
 Can a car set up for LHD europe pass an MOT? - Harleyman
I'll ask me mate tomorrow; he MOT's bikes for a living.
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New Fri 25 Jun 10 22:47 
 Can a car set up for LHD europe pass an MOT? - Bellboy
OP doesnt say if car has v5c so answers cannot be given until such times
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New Fri 25 Jun 10 22:52 
 Can a car set up for LHD europe pass an MOT? - Robin O'Reliant
I had a grey import Honda motorcycle with the speedo calibrated in KPH. A clear sticker with MPH calibrations was stuck on the glass to make it UK legal although it was usless, particularly at night.
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New Fri 25 Jun 10 22:54 
 Can a car set up for LHD europe pass an MOT? - Bellboy
the bike?
the sticker?
the rider?
we need to know?
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New Fri 25 Jun 10 23:53 
 Can a car set up for LHD europe pass an MOT? - J500ANT
Car has V5C, UK plates but in all other respects appears to be set up for Europe. Car is a smart crossblade, approx 20 were sold officially via UK dealers, but some EU cars have found their way over here. As they're all LHD it's not a deal breaker, but i'd rather go in knowing what's what.
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New Sat 26 Jun 10 15:58 
 Can a car set up for LHD europe pass an MOT? - Chris S
One of my colleagues had a LHD Smart - he just stuck a black triangle on one of the headlights to make them UK legal.
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New Sat 26 Jun 10 16:27 
 Can a car set up for LHD europe pass an MOT? - Dr_Rubber
I believe that providing it has a UK V5 (i.e. english plates) it is not too bad. Trying to get a foreign car through a modern SVA test to get a V5 is a complete PITA from talking to a friend with a French LHD car (MPH Spedo, proper UK lights etc).
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New Sat 26 Jun 10 17:02 
 Can a car set up for LHD europe pass an MOT? - teabelly
I've had two kph cars. Both passed MOTs without being converted. It's not that hard to work out kph and mph in your head...16kph per 10 mph.
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New Sat 26 Jun 10 17:55 
 Can a car set up for LHD europe pass an MOT? - Harleyman
It may be then that we're confusing MOT with SVA.

You'd think the specs would be identical, wouldn't you?

Wait a minute.... government, simple, conformity; those words don't belong in the same sentence do they?
Last edited by: Harleyman on Sat 26 Jun 10 at 17:56
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New Sat 26 Jun 10 19:00 
 Can a car set up for LHD europe pass an MOT? - Number_Cruncher
>>You'd think the specs would be identical, wouldn't you?

Why?

MOT is an annual inspection of an already acceptable type of car which is already on the road, and SVA is an inspection to determine the acceptability of a non-standard / low volume / kit car onto the road in the first place. There is a degree of overlap, but, there's no real case for making them exactly the same test. I certainly wouldn't be happy paying SVA type fees every year!
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New Sat 26 Jun 10 23:03 
 Can a car set up for LHD europe pass an MOT? - Harleyman
Perhaps I didn't make myself clear, NC.

I was not suggesting that cars should be subject to an annual SVA test and fee, but I found it slightly incongruous that certain details which would cause a car to fail the SVA test would be ignored on an MOT.
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New Sat 26 Jun 10 23:47 
 Can a car set up for LHD europe pass an MOT? - Number_Cruncher
I can see why it might look a bit odd, but, perhaps it's reasonable to make people putting new cars on the road meet higher standards, and pay for more rigourous inspection, and then accept that the vehicle will deteriorate from that condition as it ages.

I know I've made this point before, and please forgive me if I'm being boring, but, it's helpful to see the MOT as purely a quality check on your servicing regime rather than any kind of guarantee of absolute safety. Practicality forces the MOT to be a quick and cheap inspection, and I both support the MOT as it stands, and do not support any move to allow its scope to enlarge. Odd as it may seem the link between the MOT and road safety is remarkably tenuous!

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New Sun 27 Jun 10 10:33 
 Can a car set up for LHD europe pass an MOT? - Bagpuss
I had a mate who brought his car across from South Africa to the UK. Despite being right hand drive, it needed a number of things doing to it to get it registered and in hindsight he wished he hadn't bothered. Main things were converting the speedo to MPH and adding a rear fog light. There were some other bits and bobs which I can't remember in detail, but it all cost him time and money.
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New Fri 9 Jul 10 16:34 
 Can a car set up for LHD europe pass an MOT? - J500ANT
I gave up in the end and bought a proper UK spec version. Thanks for all the replies!

bit.ly/bjx8og
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New Fri 9 Jul 10 17:16 
 Can a car set up for LHD europe pass an MOT? - Skoda
And I thought the transformers edition of the Camaro was taking it too far ;-)

Enjoy! Hope you get the weather for it!
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