Should M O T Rules Be Relaxed?

[ToraToraTora]

https://news.sky.com/story/most-drivers-fear-mot-rules-relaxation-will-risk-lives-suggests-poll-12839598
...personally I think they are fine as they are. If anything they need strengthening.

[youngmafbog]

Then you have the problems with towing to a garage nicebloke - as Barry has pointed out. Towing comes in around £100 - more if its a lift and tow (which it should be if bearings or steering is considered dangerous) or it is an auto.

As for new cars they tend to be serviced regularly, all service centres will point out things more than just the service and as they are mileage or auto detect they are not 3 years apart. Most modern cares also have various sensors on them (although tyre wear is often a problem). BMW, Merc and Jaguar all send us a video of the car being inspected too.

So I'm in the leave it as it is camp.

[barry1010]

Around 7 years ago, maybe more, Halfords had an offer - buy anything in store and get a £10 MOT. I bought a windscreen wiper that I needed and booked the MOT.

I was very surprised when my car sailed through and I've been using them ever since. Never failed the test and it's a 13 year old diesel banger

[bhg481]

barry - I did the same. I think I've had two free MoTs from Halford's over the years and never had a failure. I've even joined Halford's Motoring Club - by paying an annual fee of £39 I get a free Mot (£39.50) plus a £10 voucher to spend in the shop. My battery is due to expire this year, so that's 10% off that with it fitted free. Can't be bad.

[barry1010]

Yes! I'd forgotten the free MOTs I also had from Halfords.

I've been to KwikFit for a free tyre check and been told they were fine, no sale.

[david small]

Surely if your existing MOT certificate has not yet expired, then you still can drive it home. Get the work done at a convenient garage. I always have my car tested a week or two before expiration date.

[davebro]

I don't think I've had a "crooked" MoT on any of my cars. Garages offer cheap/free MoTs cos they might get some work IF it's a fail. The Local Authority test centres always charge the full fee I've found.

Story - my last but one MoT the tester was gonna fail it cos he couldn't find the buckle for the centre rear seatbelt (which I have never used). It had simply slipped down under the seat cushion & I fished it out for him. PASS

[barry1010]

David, even if your current MOT is still valid you absolutely cannot drive it from the MOT if it has a dangerous fault

[barry1010]

The law changed in 2018, this highlights the issue https://dailym.ai/2RneqwL

[vulcan42]

There was a time that the government were considering using the Northern Ireland system, which is eminently more sensible. There are testing stations only, where you book a slot on line or phone, paying a fee. The vehicle is thoroughly tested and if there is a failure you are allowed to continue to drive, (A) if it's to get the car home, (B) if it's to get the car to a garage for the repair or (C) if it's being driven back to the test centre for a recheck. Apparently there have been problems there, mainly covid, which has led to there being a delay in booking. My friends MOT was due in September and the first date he could get was at the end of January. However sense prevailed again and providing you could show you had applied and received an MOT date, the police allowed you to continue driving in the interim.

[Zacs-Master]

Halford's advice is that 'you can only drive your car to be repaired or to a pre-arranged MOT appointment, and only if it is roadworthy'

[jourdain2]

Our local garage offers a free MOT as a raffle prize for the village Christmas Raffle every year.
The MOT stations in France don't do anything else but MOTs.
Local garages are already under threat and struggling. No MOT business would finish them off, so you'd be left with having to go to the big dealerships for repairs.
Personally I trust our local garage & would like the system to stay as it is. They'll nip along and sort out a puncture etc. in and amongst as required.

[barry1010]

Zacs, not if it has been deemed to have a 'dangerous' fault.

"Driving a vehicle that’s failed
You can take your vehicle away if:

your current MOT certificate is still valid
no ‘dangerous’ problems were listed in the MOT
Otherwise, you’ll need to get it repaired before you can drive."
https://www.gov.uk/getting-an-mot/after-the-test#:~:text=Your%20vehicle%20will%20fail%20if,or%20fix%20in%20the%20future.

[barry1010]

Zacs, sorry, I've just reread your post - of course if a fault is 'dangerous' the car is not roadworthy and so cannot be driven

[Zacs-Master]

No worries.

[vulcan42]

In the NI scenario, the MOT centres only test, so the local garages are still doing the repairs, they also do pre MOT checks as well.

[Deskdiary]

I’d like to see them relaxed a bit.

A for instance….

The air bag warning light came on in my previous car. The diagnostic test showed the warning was the NS passenger curtain bag BUT it also showed the airbag was fine. So the main dealer changed the sensor, but the warning light was still showing, and the diagnostic was still showing the airbag was fine.

The main dealer’s solution was to change the airbag….at £1400 with no guarantee of success, which I refused.

Fortunately, a mate of mine is an MOT tester who “put his thumb over the light” when he was doing the MOT. Fast forward a few months and the light went out on its own, and stayed off until I p/x it a year or so later.

If I didn’t have a mate who was an MOT tester this could have cost £1400 for no reason.

[Bazile]

//Stand alone government test stations only in my view.//

What's one of them ?

[bhg481]

Baz - described elsewhere in this thread. Some councils run MoT only places ie, no repairs, so no incentive to find things that "need" doing. They report and you get it fixed elsewhere.

[gingejbee]

Bazile..read previous posts and you'll find out.

[ZebuSanctuary]

// 'more than 300,000 vehicles a year fail their first MOT' //

Do you have figures to show accidents caused by mechanical defects and/or vehicles without an MOT?