"Time to scrap 'outdated' MoT test, ministers are told: Drivers are wasting £250m a year on 'rip-off' checks and unnecessary repairs, claims think tank"
www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-5988627/Drivers-wasting-250m-year-rip-MOT-checks.html
A bad idea, IMHO, but I agree it needs to have a rethink to stop some of the garages ripping people off with unnecessary repairs.
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>>"Time to scrap 'outdated' MoT test, ministers are told:
Perhaps the ministers should visit a MoT test site and see what is presented for testing?
>>A bad idea, IMHO
I agree.
>stop some of the garages ripping people off with unnecessary repairs.
I do not have a problem as my stand alone MoT place does not do repairs.
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It's a paper from the Adam Smith Institute, a free market think tank:
tinyurl.com/y83dbfgh (pdf on ASI website)
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>> It's a paper from the Adam Smith Institute, a free market think tank:
>>
>> tinyurl.com/y83dbfgh (pdf on ASI website)
And having scanned the paper it's a set of unsubstantiated assertions based on a shallow knowledge of real world vehicle use. As an example it refers to checks on dash warning lights as though they were a petty imposition rather than indication of fault in safety critical systems.
While it asserts only 2% of accidents are due to mechanical faults it presents no real source for or analysis of that figure. Makes comparison with 'analogous' States in US that have abolished tests but not with our European neighbours whose real world conditions are much closer to ours.
Wouldn't pass muster in answer to a GCSE question never mind policy advice to government.
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>> I do not have a problem as my stand alone MoT place does not do
>> repairs.
Where's that henry?
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>> Where's that henry?
>>
Cranford.
I have always taken my cars and there over the last 30+ years and my daughters car for 15+ years.
I consider the round trip and my time to be worth it.
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Yes. That is the place.
I have not seen a bad report about them.
See reviews on line.
A few ancient reviews in:-
forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.php?t=327809
They do not do " repairs" but do stock some wipers blades and some common bulbs.
They will fit these for a small fee which might turn a fail into a pass.
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Only 2% of accidents blamed on mechanical failure was 1 point raised.
MoT means for at least 1 day the car can go, stop, the tyres are legal, the exhaust is not leaking, the seat belts work & all the lights work.........................
However, this is the same logic as the Police employed taking street patrols away!!
There is little or no crime in that area so they withdraw patrols - what happens? Crime rises.
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Anything that can go wrong with a car etc etc will go wrong anytime - if it's anything biggish or oily most folk will put it straight in to a garage for repair, the only things that may go unnoticed are mainly brake wear or trivial things. I think 2 year mot's would be adequate.
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What are the failure stats for MoT, particularly for non-trivial faults?
Anecdotally it's said that MoT is only check/attention a lot of cars get in a year. Don't think US states are a particularly good comparator as they have effective Highway Patrols and, outwith big cities, much lower population density.
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Perhaps mileage should be considered. I do 3000 miles per year, i used to do 10000, yet it's the same test done annually.
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>> Perhaps mileage should be considered. I do 3000 miles per year, i used to do
>> 10000, yet it's the same test done annually.
Age is as much of a catalyst for car issues as mileage.
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>>What are the failure stats for MoT, particularly for non-trivial faults?
What you don't see is how much repair work, fault fixing and the like is done to prevent an MOT failure.
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I might agree with that except for the number of cars I see every day with faulty lights.
Don't expect the great motoring public to be as conscientious as most folk on here. For many people lights, tyres etc are checked annually at MOT time.
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The timing of this is strange as it wasn't long ago that the idea of moving to first MOT at 4yrs was dropped, and IIRC there was some suggestion of tests only every 2yrs.
Instead we got the opposite - a revamped and tighter MOT.
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Wasn’t it mooted that cars serviced by a certified garage would be excluded from the need to have a test?
Last edited by: CGNorwich on Wed 25 Jul 18 at 15:23
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Checked in on my old CRV.
Still ploughing on at over 200k miles.
SK05 LXD
www.gov.uk/check-mot-history
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Its the rip off garages that need to be brought under control as at present they seem to be game keeper and poacher in one.
Council MOT centres or local businesses that have MOT centres for other purposes seem ideal.
Our local BT depot does MOTS but doesn't offer any other vehicle related services. Perhaps that's the way to go?
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There are a number of potentially serious faults on vehicles that simply cannot be found without getting it up on a ramp and crawling around underneath it. Corrosion, damaged brake or fuel lines, play in bushes or bearings, split gaiters, leaking exhausts, the list goes on.
for people who have their cars maintained at a properly equipped garage, or who have access to ramps, this will be fine, but we all know there is a significant minority of owners out there who either don't bother, or who do what they can at home using basic tools. For these people, the MOT is a useful catch-all, which ensures that the car is professionally inspected in the right way at least once a year.
I support the MOT test, and think any effort to scrap it is a mistake. I don't agree with the 40 year / classic exemption for the same reasons.
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I've not come across a rip off garage for many years and I suspect that your info is hearsay only, and is somewhat out of date - at least as far as MOTs go.
Actually I've used Halfords for the past few years (3 a year) and I've got no complaints. They would have been expensive to rectify a brake fault, but only because their answer was more involved than my local indie.
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When I think of some of the bodged up wrecks I used as a youngster binning the MOT is definitely not a good idea. Just because most of us own or use relatively up to date cars it does not mean everyone does. It won't make any difference to the no licence, insurance, or MOT drivers whatever happens. It is the people with a few assets that would be mad to skip insurance.
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I recall a time when I was picking my car up from (passing) its MOT. A lady at the counter was most upset that her car had failed because of inadequate brakes. Never mind that inadequate brakes may have caused her injury or worse, in discussing with the MOT station owner she proclaimed that she never had the car serviced as it was "a waste of money" and that as long as the car passed the MOT test (or not in this case) that was all she cared about.
Some people view cars very differently from us on here!
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Scary isn't it?
There are plenty of people who only get work done when something breaks or for the MoT. Many
of those will say "just do what it needs for an MoT".
My mechanic friend has told me some wonderful stories over the years. "Emergency" calls when the car has stopped or gone into limp mode with the EML on, and it turns out that it has been on for 3 weeks for example. A puncture that "must be [his] fault" because he had worked on the car only a month previously. Engines that have seized with only a pint or two of black treacle in the sump.
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That reminds me of a friend who asked me to have a look at his car because it was 'making a funny noise for a few weeks' so I popped up to his house.
I started the car up, it sounded like a bag of nails. So I shut it off and had a look under the bonnet. Pulled out the dipstick and there was just a sliver of oil on it.
So we went to halfords looked up the right oil went back and filled it up. I always remember his face, he looked at me like I'd performed a miracle, even that straight forward task was completely beyond him. He's not alone.
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The car check type sites can be very useful tools when trying to purchase a used vehicle. I am currently looking for another 4x4 for hauling the dogs around and for sporting purposes. As soon as I spot a potential purchase I plug the reg. number into one of them and just view the previous mots. The failures and advisories tell a clear tale of obviously irregular or non existent servicing and I’m dismissing 90% of everything I’m viewing. It’s quite disheartening actually.
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Call to scrap the MOT Test - henry k
