MOT shook my car

[Chas4545]

Is it usual for MOT stations to have the ability to shake the car? Mine was  on the lift and I saw it shake quite violently while the guy checked underneath. definately machine shaken.

 

Bulbs various now need replacing.

 

Is shaking the car now part of the MOT?

[babydriver]

All part of the shocks absorber test if done at Kwik fitz-National-ATS-Charley Browns-Halfrauds etc....................................robbin twonks

[oldcars]

I would violently shake the MOT tester, see what breaks and put the rest as an advisory

[mrbenn]

I once took my Morris Minor to an mot at Kwik Fit (I know) and there was some shaking going on! In fairness, I wouldn't normally sit watching the action unfold so don't know if its normal...

[michael1703]

It's an ATL (automatic test lane) it has "shaker plates" this shakes the wheels to replace the shake n brake boy that would normally sit in it.

 

Contentious way of testing but legal and vosa/DVSA approved

 

This method can make some wear look worse than it is and on certain cars it doesn't show up the wear that having an assistant would (Bmws I think)

[hairnet]

yes cos while on ramp its jacked up so he can check steering and brake pipes etc

 

have been in cars cos get roped in at local place - you get shaken while sat in the car

[colino]

Was this a one person MOT lane?  Pricey bits of kit, but no doubt every MOT place will have them in a few years, and although it looks aggressive, the shaking isn't any worse than your car suffers driving down a bumpy road.

[Bobthebeard]

It's an ATL (automatic test lane)

Really? Not heard of that before. Whatever next?

Car gets shaken, prodded by robot toffee hammers? The rust/scale that falls off is automatically weighed? Synthesised voice saying "rotten as a pear mate/yer will need sum shocks/needs tyres" depending on what the outlet actually provides? That is progress*

[dollywobbler]

They've been sneaking into garages for a good few years now. 

[michael1703]

I think the first ATL's came out in 2007, seen more from 2010 onwards.

 

They cost more but in a big garage with lots of wages to pay, it means a fitter doesn't keep getting called away to assist.

 

The other expensive bit with ATL' s is the ground under the ramp has to be a lot stronger, so an ATL will cost you quite a few grand in ground works as you have to use c3 grade concrete and re bars to take the forces

[Bobthebeard]

Well I never! Learn something every day etc..

My local MOT place still uses the "Stuartgetyerfuckinarseoverere" system. No C3 concrete or rebars needed. Much cheaper I imagine!

[babydriver]

Oh, I seem to be totally wrong, its just once I had an exhaust bit fitted and as they were lowering the car from above head level they stopped it 5 times or so suddenly with a jerk and they took great pleasure in telling me I needed a full set of shockers for the mot cos the car bounced.

NO FOOKIN SHIT SHIRLOCK.....................You'll bounce if you do that to my car again.

[babydriver]

BobtheBeard must use the same guys as me..................can't beet the personal touch.

[steve_earwig]

Well I never! Learn something every day etc..

My local MOT place still uses the "Stuartgetyerfuckinarseoverere" system. No C3 concrete or rebars needed. Much cheaper I imagine!

Concrete never gets sick or needs a day off to go to it's cement mixer's funeral.

 

Dunno about ATL's but they've had those "move around all over the place and try and rip a wheel off" plates here for years. Oh, and they test the brake fluid (Oi, what the 'eck you sticking in my brake fluid? What else has it been dipped in?!)

[Inspector Morose]

Shaker plates in VOSA (or whatever they're called this week) heavy vehicle test stations for years. You think the car ones are violent?

And don't get me started on the sight of a double decker being thrown out of the brake rollers because it can't get out on its own!

[dollywobbler]

Oh, I seem to be totally wrong, its just once I had an exhaust bit fitted and as they were lowering the car from above head level they stopped it 5 times or so suddenly with a jerk and they took great pleasure in telling me I needed a full set of shockers for the mot cos the car bounced.

NO FOOKIN SHIT SHIRLOCK.....................You'll bounce if you do that to my car again.

 

They'd have a fit if they were testing my 2CV then...

[Bobthebeard]

Concrete never gets sick or needs a day off to go to it's cement mixers funeral !

Only a matter of time I suspect.... Won't be long before the 'are you made of concrete? Have you suffered by existing?' claims start to kick in.

[Junkman]

Of course the OMGMOT has to shake cars.

Imagine you are driving through an earthquake or a nuclear blast and your windscreen washers don't work!

The lives of many a nun or kitten would be at stake!

[babydriver]

not funny but.............................

 

 

Wipers and indicators ok here

[oldcars]

not funny but.............................

 

 

Wipers and indicators ok here

You wonder what goes through folks minds, why would you run back and shut the car door? Scary to watch.

[Junkman]

So at the next MOT my car is driven into a swimming pool?

[saucedoctor]

Only if the ghost of Keith Moon has done his VoSA course.

[Sigmund Fraud]

There's nothing new about those contraptions, they've been used in the continent for many years !

 

You may think they're shaking the car to bits, but I reckon they're far less likely to cause damage than a drive along most Hampshire four-digit B-roads...

[NorfolkNWeigh]

It's an ATL (automatic test lane) it has "shaker plates" this shakes the wheels to replace the shake n brake boy that would normally sit in it.

Contentious way of testing but legal and vosa/DVSA approved

This method can make some wear look worse than it is and on certain cars it doesn't show up the wear that having an assistant would (Bmws I think)

Chrysler 300 tension struts can rattle their tits off on the road and not even get an advise after one man shaker MOT. I knew something was wrong on mine and couldn't find what it was,so thought; I'll let the MOT man diagnose it when he fails it . Sailed through, no advises.

A week later when I finally sussed it and changed them , the bushes had actually disintegrated and fallen out at one end.

[saucedoctor]

The first time my car was on one, I thought it was gonna fall off. I must have looked suitably concerned, as one of the staff said "Ner worry boy, she'll nowat  fall aff"

[Rusty Pelican]

I might be wrong but arnt these shaker jobbies the norm in N. Ireland 

[saucedoctor]

I might be wrong but arnt these shaker jobbies the norm in N. Ireland 

 

Yep. All the test centres were mechanised/computerised at around the same time. It took longer than expected, and there was a backlog of cars needing tests. therefore, exemption certificates were issued. IIRC my C280 went 16 months between tests.

[cobblers]

Any amount of shaking on a one man test machine or jerking a car when it's coming down on a ramp absolutely pales in comparison to what it'll get on even a reasonable road, and it certainly won't rattle bulbs so much that they blow all of a sudden. I've been sat in cars while they were up there and it's really not that much of a wobble.

 

These systems are used all over Europe and while they might look a bit violent to the uninitiated, it's absolutely fuck all stress on the motor. 

[saucedoctor]

As above. It makes a fair bit of noise, so I guess that makes it seem harsher than it really is.

[cort16]

You wouldn't be complaining if any money had fell out.