More on MOT exemption

[Steve P]

I remember way back when in 1985 when i bought my Vitesse,all taxed and Mot`d,Cressex industrial estate in High Wycombe,by the roadside.

Didnt really look over it properly but handed over the £700.

Within a few days of driving it i found the rear shocks were doing nothing,driving round corners made the back end judder across the road,the side rails,outriggers and one rear leg under the boot were knackered,and the amount of filler i eventually found in the doors and body must have weighed half a ton.Carb diaphragms shot to pieces.

Here we are 34 years later and i am still in possession of triggers broom,and i love it.

Steve

[Colin Lindsay]

Does anyone ever complain about these dodgy MOTs? If my Herald had not been MOTd on the mainland I'd have been straight to the relevant test centre to lodge a complaint about the dead front caliper that had obviously not worked in years, and the extreme rust to the chassis and floors. Over here in the Government Test Centres you are warned that your car can be recalled AFTER the test for a more thorough inspection which may take a long time, and this is simply to check that your tester did his own proper job by having another test performed by his supervisor or other checker. A random quality control sort of thing, but we're very highly regulated over here and I think that's why I put more faith in our system than the mainland system of backstreet garages and independent testers.

[poppyman]

You are dead right Colin, the test system over here is a shambles, everything is down to the testers discretion!!  How can they possibly know about all cars that are on the road? ( i know some people think they do) But it is impossible. Since it has been put on-line it has made things better, but i fear that we need to have VOSA test sites so that cowboy garages cant fail things just to get some work. How are the test centres policed in Ireland Colin? Are they private or goernment run?

Tony.

[Badwolf]

Like everything else in the world, who do you trust... what do you trust. You can't even say... you get what you pay for. I have paid a fortune for cr*p and bought really good stuff dirt cheap. Back to the quality of parts debate threads.

[Colin Lindsay]

5 hours ago, poppyman said:

 How are the test centres policed in Ireland Colin? Are they private or goernment run? Tony.

Government run, Tony. You have to book well in advance and it's all conveyor-belt stuff. Drive to your assigned lane in good time, get waved in, then they check lights, horns, emissions, washers / wipers, vehicle ID, seatbelts and mileage; the tester presses a button and he gets into the drivers seat while you slide over, and he drives to the next bit with rollers for brake tests, plus the handbrake test which all comes up on a huge screen and scares the life out of you; after that it's onto lifts for suspension and bushes - the entire car is rocked about - then he does a full wheels-off-the-ground inspection of the underside while you sit in a sin-bin to one side. Finally you get a certificate, or not.... and they don't repair things on site, so you have to book a retest, then get whatever it is you need done somewhere else, even if it's only a light bulb.

[Bordfunker]

My Herald came with an MoT, and you know what state that’s proved to be in!

MoT is as good as the garage that did it unfortunately, and there are some complete shysters out there.

Karl

[Paul H]

Perhaps we need to set up a list of Mot stations that understand our cars and carry out an Mot inspection as it should be done 

Paul 

[Anglefire]

That’s what Fuzz Townsend has tried to do. 

Aren’t many in a town as big as Birmingham. 

[poppyman]

This is a good idea, i would only trust my cars to 2 different garages one of which is an 80mile round trip, but at least i know its done right and i am not ripped off.

Tony.

[Paul H]

I can recommend a mot station in Suffolk , any more in this county 

Paul 

[Steve P]

14 hours ago, Paul H said:

Perhaps we need to set up a list of Mot stations that understand our cars and carry out an Mot inspection as it should be done 

Paul 

My local old style garage is on the site of an old coach house,still has old fashioned (decommissioned) petrol pumps outside.Run by a chap called Derek who did his apprenticeship at a Jaguar dealer 50 years ago.he even has a Triumph Stag under a cover that a customer left for resto 20 years ago.He doesn`t even know if the chap is still alive or not.

Always fair with the Mot`s as he worked on all these cars all his life.

Steve

[Badwolf]

One for the CoM

Maybe group of classic car clubs should band together and get a list of mot stations that have given proven good service. Only the clubs would know who the bad ones were, so no 'name and shame'. It could be published on-line as recommendations or in club mags. MOT stations could then aspire to be listed in the 'Classic Car MOT Blue Book'. Just like restaurants in a Michelin Guide. I know this idea will raise flak from some quarters so I'll get my tin helmet!!

[thescrapman]

My local MOT guy is certainly Triumph Friendly, probably all BL friendly as he served his apprenticeship in the London cal Austin Rover dealership.

I am impressed by the NI system, though I would want a "Classic Lane"

🙂

[johny]

On 11/05/2019 at 13:10, poppyman said:

You are dead right Colin, the test system over here is a shambles, everything is down to the testers discretion!!  How can they possibly know about all cars that are on the road? ( i know some people think they do) But it is impossible. Since it has been put on-line it has made things better, but i fear that we need to have VOSA test sites so that cowboy garages cant fail things just to get some work. How are the test centres policed in Ireland Colin? Are they private or goernment run?

Tony.

The principal function of MOT is to reduce accidents that are caused/worsened by the condition of the vehicle. The number of accidents in this category is minimal so it's the drivers and roads that need the attention but of course that's too difficult/expensive/unpopular. I've used the testing system in Spain which looks very similar to Ireland and driven miles to the nearest gov station and then waited literally hours in a queue. The price is also fixed as there's no competition so be careful what you wish for (and I believe is already on its way)....

[poppyman]

I see what you mean Johny..... I would hope they would run on time? I have taken minibus's for their PSV test before which are ministry controled and they have been very good with minimal wait's. I just hate cowboy garages not the mot test system....... Maybe it needs policing more?

Tony.

[johny]

Depends how many stations they build but Spains a big country so the distance to the nearest one can be quite a way. They do have a prebook system now but over a month in advance as the on the spot demand is high and so of course you have to wait while any prebookers go through. The good?thing is that up to 10 years old it's 2 years and possibly a lot of miles between tests. I think Europe wants this system in the U.K. and of course guess who'll pay for all these new stations.....

[ShaunW]

Re the specialist test centre approach: The market is so small you'd end up with test centers being in the larger conurbations. That's not ideal for people like me who'd have to drive a potentially failing car 100+ miles. And a trailer back if it fails and the same again after a fix. No way. I wouldn't bother. 

Has anyone suggested that the club could maintain a simple register of places we consider worthy? That can't be too hard? If someone does a cracking job, just tell the club and they can stick them on the list. Garages self promoting with false testimonials could be an issue but lists don't remove the need for common sense when you visit and they can easily be taken off.

[ShaunW]

On 14/05/2019 at 12:32, johny said:

 I think Europe wants this system in the U.K. and of course guess who'll pay for all these new stations.....

It's almost too late to save the great European alliance but when people say 'Europe wants to'  they often don't realise that we as equal members hold a veto. We do/did on everything. That means 'we want to'  as we've supported it through the people we've elected to be there. Each country rightly and property pays for their own implementation. 

It too late for debate but that's the reality. Europe wasn't a seperate entity, we were Europe. 

[68vitesse]

10 hours ago, ShaunW said:

It's almost too late to save the great European alliance but when people say 'Europe wants to'  they often don't realise that we as equal members hold a veto. We do/did on everything. That means 'we want to'  as we've supported it through the people we've elected to be there. Each country rightly and property pays for their own implementation. 

It too late for debate but that's the reality. Europe wasn't a seperate entity, we were Europe. 

If the politicians did what the majority voted for we would be out of the EU by now.

Results of a survey of people in EU countries showed a big majority thought the EU would collapse inside a generation.

Regards

Paul

[dougbgt6]

38 minutes ago, 68vitesse said:

Results of a survey of people in EU countries showed a big majority thought the EU would collapse inside a generation.

A bold claim! What survey? Who conducted it? What countries? How many people? What was the majority? 

Doug

[68vitesse]

3 minutes ago, dougbgt6 said:

A bold claim! What survey? Who conducted it? What countries? How many people? What was the majority? 

Doug

In the Daily Mail Saturday so has to be thoroughly researched and accurate.

https://www.ecfr.eu/amp-article/despite_record_support_eu_voters_fear_collapse_of_political_framework

Regards

Paul

 

[NonMember]

1 hour ago, 68vitesse said:

In the Daily Mail Saturday so has to be thoroughly researched and accurate.

I do hope that was sarcastic!

[68vitesse]

1 hour ago, NonMember said:

I do hope that was sarcastic!

Me "sarcastic" never.

Regards

Paul

[Colin Lindsay]

4 hours ago, 68vitesse said:

Results of a survey of people in EU countries showed a big majority thought the EU would collapse inside a generation.

"If the EU were to collapse, people worry most about being able to trade freely (38%), travel freely (37%), live and work freely (35%), work together on security and defence (28%), and belong to a bloc to counter superpowers like the US and China (25%)."

I remember television polls at the time of the Brexit vote, and people interviewed in the street wanted to stay in the EU so they could go on Stag parties to Prague, buy cheap beer in France, and travel around Europe in gap years, working in pubs and clubs to pay their way. I reckon that covers the first three parts as quoted above, and we can leave the rest to warmongers like the UK. Once they've married off all their friends, killed their livers, and run out of money and have to go home to their parents, the EU will collapse all by itself.

Must remember to remove my tongue from my cheek; I think there's an EU directive on how to do it properly.

[Anglefire]

I would love an adult conversation on Brexit, but if it happens at all it should be a separate thread and not on this type of thread with it’s own contentious issue!