You killed the MOT testers dog/wife etc

[AMC Rebel]

The Crying Pumpkin failed it's MOT spectacularly which led to a barrage of comments on here about how I must've been shagging the tester's wife etc

 

Joking aside, what the hell does anyone do to garner a decent relationship?

 

I use both of the two small garages in my small town. 

 

One of them takes cars to the (bigger) Ford dealer - but the Ford Dealer won't MOT my Disco as they say their ramp isn't rated for the weight.

So this is the crew who did the Mondeo at great expense, the Puma cheaply and have recently MOT'd my Jaaag at reasonable cost.  They also did my sisters 307 HDI turbo for less than 4 figures.

 

The other place has been MOTing my AMC for 7 years - the bloke who runs the place does it as he is about my age and understands stuff like floor mounted dipswitches.

This is the outfit that does the Disco MOT (as their ramp can handle it) and they haven't failed it on anything trivial.

These are the folk that did the Pumpkin.

 

So what am I doing wrong here?

 

 

[Jim Bell]

I have found in my personal experience, that some testers that DEFINATELY DO NOT WANT TO HAVE TO DO THE WORK REQUIRED may fail the fuck out of something so that its out the door and someone elses problem. Welding in particular if its a high traffic one ramp or two ramp shop where 6 or 7 cars can be in and out in a day. The prospect of having one ramp tied up for days, earning nothing but labour might be a contributing factor too.

 

I am in no way suggesting that all testers are arseholes, just speaking from a positon of personal experience mixed with banter at the workshop door.

[sierraman]

Don't follow them round as they do the test arguing every failure point.

 

No seriously if it fails it fails...

 

You are right about not necessarily wanting the work, stuff like emissions where it can't be solved with a can of Cataclean or a new filter. Serious welding as well, a relative had her car fail on the spring hangers on a Corsa, he said he wouldn't even bother welding it he'd just frag it.

[SiC]

What do the areas that it have failed on look like? I mean if those areas are rotten and holed, maybe he was just being ... honest?

[DSdriver]

The garage I use has a dedicated mot ramp separate from repairs workshop.

[Heidel_Kakao]

Go to a council run place that only do tests, that way you can be certain they are not failing it to get the work.

[barefoot]

I haven't taken a car for an MOT in years.

 

I take my cars to a couple of marque specialists who don't do MOT's themselves, but take them around the around the corner to another garage.

Everyone seems to get on with each other fine and there seems to be a degree of trust between the garages, and vehicles fail and advisories are noted, but stuff does seem to get through 'on the nod'.

[sierraman]

They charge full on a retest though I think. Could be wrong. Bit of a fucker if you fail on a bulb.

[dougiefourspeed]

 

 

I take my cars to a couple of marque specialists who don't do MOT's themselves, but take them around the around the corner to another garage.

Everyone seems to get on with each other fine and there seems to be a degree of trust between the garages, and vehicles fail and advisories are noted, but stuff does seem to get through 'on the nod'.

 

This. 

 

If I can't/don't want to do the work myself, I get a friendly local workshop on the case, they take it to an MOT station that they know and have done business with day in, day out for years and all is well. It seems to be the best way. The garage do the work the MOT boys can't/won't do, the tester gets a steady stream of work and tends to be a little less rigid. Everyone wins. 

[NorfolkNWeigh]

I currently use 2 different MOT places, one for stuff I want done properly, one for cars that I know might be a bit dubious. The dubious ones get dropped off with a " Can you sort that out Mo, if it needs more than £100 (or 200,300 etc) don't bother to fix it I'll just scrap the fucker"

Amazingly they're always MOTable within budget, sometimes with a new exhaust , couple of tyres etc but an advise for a bit of corrosion or whatever. Sometimes I put them in with dodgy tyres just to give them something to do( part worn tyre place).

Saying that MrsN, who thinks I'm a dodgy bastard, took her own car in to a Halfords MOT place , where it passed with no advises even though I knew it needed both rear tyres replacing.

[Captain Furious]

I know the guy who does my MOT's, I wouldn't say we were mates but I'd know him to say Hello to.  I don't get or expect any special treatment though, if something is a fail its a fail.  And to be honest, everything I've had a fail on since I've been going there I've been able to look and see "yeah, he is actually right there"

 

I think the whole friendly MOT tester thing is largely a myth, there aren't going to be many in the business of going out of business because they're rumbled by the DVSA giving your old banger a free pass, there will be even less now they know their address will be visible for all to see online.

[mercrocker]

My old stuff goes to a village garage a few miles away.   The same tester there did my Cowley in the 70s and remembers it!    He is not somebody to mess around with but does a cut price pre-60 "voluntary" MOT for members of the local classic car club.    He casts an eye over everything else not covered by the MOT and will, for example, replace a fan belt or fuel union if he thinks its necessary.    Some people don't like this and tell him so whereupon he goes back to being Mr. Grumpy MOT man.   I like the way he operates and we trust each other to the point that he will leave the car with the fuel cashiers and tell me to drop the money up later.    

 

Van goes to a transmission specialist who replaced the gearbox on my Granada about fifteen years ago and to whom I always return with general servicing on my more modern stuff.  They don't MOT but do take it to the local station when they do the annual service on it.    Its just behind where I work too, extremely handy.  

 

The Mercs have always gone to a local independent who were all apprenticed during the 190E's heyday.   They really like working on the 80s/90s stuff as it's so "easy" compared to the cars just coming out of warranty that are their bread and butter.   They are MOT testers too so they always get the Merc each year.   Again, I can walk to this place.

 

Paying for an annual service and MOT is to me a reasonably small price to pay for the general care and attention I get from all these guys and they are all equally ready to take a car in at short notice to sort something out that I either can't be bothered or am not able to do.  

 

Basically, it's all about building up trust - these relationships have taken me a good few years to build and I suppose I am fortunate in choosing places which not only can be trusted but actually remain in business.   They all happen to be extremely busy workshops....

[Talbot]

20 years ago, when hand-written MOT's were issued, it was entirely possible to get a decent relationship with an MOT centre and get a few minor items through "on the nod".  I have had that sort of relationship with a few places now, but this is in sharp decline with the advent of both computerised MOT's and the man from the ministry just randomly turning up to inspect, knowing what should be on the ramp, how long it's been there etc.

 

What I find works these days is finding an older MOT centre and then always using it.  Get your face known there, and make sure that if there are re-test items, they are done to a good standard, as that way you get a reputation for doing decent work.  I had this a few years ago with a Citroen CX I took in for MOT... it failed (of course) but when I brought it back with the retest items done, the guy just asked me what I had done to fix it.. explained what repairs I had made, and he just took my word for it and passed it.

 

Also, If an MOT tester fails me on a headlamp aim or sidelamp bulb out and doesn't just wallop a new bulb in or tweak the headlamps... I go elsewhere.  Petty little crap like this is very annoying when it's the ONLY fail item.  If the vehicle has failed for shit brakes, galloping rot and buggered seatbelts, then I could understand it, but failing on ONLY headlamp aim (which I've had before) is only going to irritate me, especially when I'm there with the car and have a toolkit with me so I could have just adjusted it there and then.

 

... which does remind me of the time I had a BX fail on a detatched steering rack boot.  The MOT blokey (who I knew) invited me under the vehicle to have a look.  I happened to have a large/strong enough cable tie with me, so while he went for a pee, I refitted the boot and secured it.  MOT Pass.

[steveo3002]

are you saying it shouldnt have failed on the grot ?   if its full of holes /brakes dont work etc then you have to suck it up , i wouldnt poke up with the £35 headlight adjustment and bollocks some places try on

 

all i can suggest is find a decent chap and stick with him , id rather deal direct than use a garage that uses another garage as they wont know you /the car and lets face it some testers dont appreciate old chod

 

be polite if it fails , ask him to show you the problem and explain the fix , most are happy to tell you whats needed to sort it and anything that needs keeping an eye on 

[spartacus]

The Ford dealer is talking bollocks. The minimum ramp requirement is 3000kg for class 4, the jack requirement is 1.5 tons, neither of which would be exceeded by a Disco.

[Talbot]

are you saying it shouldnt have failed on the grot ?   if its full of holes /brakes dont work etc then you have to suck it up , i wouldnt poke up with the £35 headlight adjustment and bollocks some places try on

No, that's exactly what I mean.  If the car is going to fail on "big" stuff, then if the headlamps are a bit out, then it's just another fail item.

 

If the headlamps being slightly high is the ONLY fail item and everything else is OK, it's a bit petty to fail it on that when the adjusters are just thumbwheels that are easily accessable and can be adjusted in 5 seconds flat.  Especially when I'm stood not 10' away and will quite happily come over and adjust them myself while the MOT blokey is looking into his beam setter.

[AMC Rebel]

are you saying it shouldnt have failed on the grot ?  

 Not at all - but some on here seemed to be saying that.

[DaveDorson]

I've always done as much work as I can on my own stuff, then gotten friendly with mates in the trade who tend to have good relationships with testers, and thrown a few quid their way to have a car put through, on the agreement they can do the work needed should it fail, provided it's nothing catastrophic.

 

This works well, it means I don't get bogged down with repairs I'd not want to do without a ramp, and usually because they do so many cars, they've got a decent relationship with testers, so silly advisory bits usually get a nod, then dealt with post MOT on agreement.

[steveo3002]

 Not at all - but some on here seemed to be saying that.

 

if they did a fair test then all good

 

its when you take a decent well maintained car in and they want to take ££££ of you for half a turn on a headlight adjuster or fitting a easy to do bulb that alarm bells need to ring and you go elsewhere

 

im fairly matey with the guys that do mine but they wouldnt pass a rotten car 

[Lacquer Peel]

My friend's Hilux passed an MOT test with a fist sized hole in the chassis this year. I don't think the tester even looked at it.

[AlabamaShrimp]

I used the same place for ages and get on with the blokes there pretty well. They were good with my old stuff and you knew you weren't getting messed about but then they got taken over by a Scottish chain, changed the MOT guy.

 

Now they are told to be picky and they refuse work only wanting to do quick fixes (mainly tyre changes) and no welding at all.

 

So I've changed to a garage across town. Guy there is in his 50s and next door is an equally as old bloke that only does welding.

When he tested the Frontera there was no drama about emissions like the last few years or sulking that the bumper supports have rusted through (yeah the middles have but there's no strength in them anyway).

The Fiesta ST went there as well passed with a failed bulb, same one that's always going, and he replaced it for free. Everything from now on is going there as he's the kind you say "fix that" and he does.

[bramz7]

I had a car fail an mot for an exhaust leak. The exhaust leak was actually a missing air filter.

 

Didn't go there again.

[Talbot]

My friend's Hilux passed an MOT test with a fist sized hole in the chassis this year. I don't think the tester even looked at it.

Chances of the man from the ministry turning up unannounced at any MOT centre near you are fairly remote though...

[AMC Rebel]

The Ford dealer is talking bollocks. The minimum ramp requirement is 3000kg for class 4, the jack requirement is 1.5 tons, neither of which would be exceeded by a Disco.

 I thought it was odd - but no skin off my nose.

[DodgeRover]

The range rover is still a fail from what I can see but it's not a straight to frag fail by any means.

 

Some places just don't like rusty cars and can't deal with them...

 

Edit I had the fail/ pass while i fiddled with fuses and fitted the spare when I moved down South

[Captain Furious]

None of us really have cars fail on bulbs though, because we're all enthusiasts who perform rudimentary checks such as these weekly, right?    Guys...?

 

I did have my Mondeo fail on headlight aim not long after I got it - I got charged because it has self-levelling and had to be 're-calibrated' at Fords....Got a lot less people flashing me afterwards though.

[mercrocker]

None of us really have cars fail on bulbs though, because we're all enthusiasts who perform rudimentary checks such as these weekly, right?    Guys...?

 

I did have my Mondeo fail on headlight aim not long after I got it - I got charged because it has self-levelling and had to be 're-calibrated' at Fords....Got a lot less people flashing me afterwards though.

 

I had some welding done on my old Oxford (the previous year's advisory had turned into a yellow chalk job) and booked a re-test for the following morning.   Drove straight from the welders to the garage forecourt where I could leave him overnight for the 0830 re-test.    As I drove up to the dwarf wall around the pumps the offside sealed beam suddenly "pinged" into darkness.   No wonder I fell out with that car......

[alf892]

Vehicle has to be tested as presented......tester is not allowed to break off test for repairs.

 

So strictly speaking if bulb changed it should fail then pass.....or PRS if HGV (not sure if still relevant because I'm over 50 and therefore old apparently!)

[Rave]

My father in law recently sold his Megane (the one I offered on here a few months ago) to a friend of my wife's who has just passed her test. I went with her to the garage for an MOT on Wednesday just so she could be sure they weren't going to pull any fast ones. The car failed on two bulbs at the back, and a knackered CV joint boot (it was completely loose at the hub end, and the grease had gone everywhere).

 

Anyway I bought the two bulbs off them for 3 quid and bunged them in myself, and we agreed a price of 50 quid for them to put a new boot on, which seemed entirely reasonable. We paid on the spot for the MOT and agreed that we'd pay the £50 for the work when I collected the car the next day. I turned up the next day, paid, and drove off with a clean MOT pass sheet in my hand. I've just been and had a look at the MOT history site, and they have registered it as a fail on the CV boot, but not the bulbs. They only charged us for one MOT though obviously. I'm not sure why they bothered registering the fail unless it was to make themselves look good in case of any audits from the ministry? But equally I can't see why I (or the car's owner) could object either. Sorry if I'm being dim...

[lisbon_road]

It takes years to build a good relationship.

 

Once they see that you maintain a car well, and will actually fix the advisories, they start to trust you.

 

They'll also see stuff like work you've done recently that shows that you do stuff, not just wait for them to tell you.

 

And taking cars to them with no faults, certainly obvious ones, really helps.

 

I know it is obvious, but treating them with a bit of courtesy and respect helps.  I know my MOT tester so well that I actually make the tea, and it is surprising how many people come in, park their car across the yard and almost throw the keys at them.