Mot Tests

[woofas]

Mots were introduced in 1960 to get many of the old bangers off the road (I know as I owned a few in my time!).
Why are 3 year old cars subjected to these tests. Modern cars have improved dramatically and outlast those produced in the 50's. I would be interested to know the failure rates for "young" cars - anyone know?
Or is this just another way for the Government to make money?

[Redhelen72]

I don't see it as a way to make money as they are talking about reducing normal MOT's for older cars to 2 years

[lankeela]

Very few vehicle owners would be capable of knowing whether their vehicles meet current safety standards - I certainly feel assured after passing an MOT that mine is roadworthy even if only for that day.

[barry1010]

Still too many drivers not checking their tyres and illegally modifying their cars.
The government is considering making MOTs two yearly and of course cars over 40 years old don't have to have MOT tests at all. I don't see it as a money generating scheme for the government

[barry1010]

I have just read that approximately 40% of cars fail the first MOT https://www.insurancechoice.co.uk/blog/2020/04/which-cars-are-most-likely-to-fail-their-first-mot#:~:text=The%20data%20from%20KnowYourCar%20tells,to%20clean%20the%20windscreen%20properly.

[woofas]

Barry
Sorry but you are misquoting - that report simply states that 40% of cars fail their first submission (regardless of age) - not the first submission at 3 years old which was my query.
OK it is not the Government making the money but it still seems wrong to me.

[ToraToraTora]

Well the government don't get the money, the testers do. 3 years is plenty of time for a car to become unroadworthy.

[Maydup]

I would have missed a worn tyre in the past if it hadn’t been for my MOT. I think it’s quite possible that a high miler could do the same in 3 years.

[barry1010]

woofas, the first submission is at three years old, except for the very few that weren't registered on purchase because they were used purely off-road.

[choux]

woofas, I see no misquote in barry's post. I found his post informative. You have asked a question I suspect none here can answer.

[bhg481]

You will get the odd first submission from cars being imported after "living" abroad, so older than 3 years. You will also get people like me who submitted their car before 3 years so that any faults could be put right under warranty (warranty was 3 years or 60,000 miles).

[woofas]

Sorry everyone - especially Barry!!
I misread the article. I find it amazing that the failure rate is so high. Do these drivers never think to regularly check their vehicles over?

[piggynose]

10.55 obviously not!!!

[piggynose]

Without trying to insult the fairer sex, how many women do you know ever check their cars over?

[Maydup]

Or men come on Piggynose. Middle class gents who drop the car into the garage for a service or the car wash for a full valet have no more clue that the women you refer to.

[Old_Geezer]

They have to start testing sometime. Why not 3 yrs ?
I've known cars develop faults before then.

[bhg481]

By the time my car had its first MoT I had replaced 6 tyres, the wiper blades and all the brake pads.

[jno]

I once got an MOT with a warning that a couple of tyres would shortly need replacing. I never got around to it and the next year it sailed through without any warnings at all. The tyre pixies must have mended them one night while I was asleep.

[Electrochem]

There are a lot of things that can affect the safety of a vehicle within three years. Tyres and coil springs to name just two. It is imperative that vehicles on the road are in a roadworthy condition.

[Hymie]

A number of Australian territories have given up on the requirement to have vehicles regularly tested for roadworthiness, and have seen no increase in road traffic accidents caused by un-roadworthy vehicles. Which begs the question – what is the point of such tests?

[vulcan42]

The Government is considering changing the first MOT to four years.

https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/changes-to-the-date-of-the-first-mot-test-and-research-into-other-mot-enhancements/changes-to-the-date-of-the-first-mot-test-and-research-into-other-mot-enhancements#:~:text=The%20MOT%20test%20was%20first%20introduced%20in%201960.,the%20safety%20of%20their%20vehicles.