Govt proposals for MoT changes

[sierraman]

29 minutes ago, Conrad D. Conelrad said:

Scrap the whole thing. No more MOT tests. If you're regularly seeing bald tyres in supermarket car parks, it clearly does not work. It is an excuse for crooked garages to invent failures, and inept garages to invent bizarre advisories and fat finger a mileage discrepancy onto the car's permanent history file. 

Of course it’s just the garages out to rip you off... sigh...

[83C]

3 hours ago, sierraman said:

Of course it’s just the garages out to rip you off... sigh...

The problem is there are a minority of garages out there who do that, and I’m sad to say they will try it on more with women. My sister has had several experiences of this, despite her mechanical knowledge being sufficient to do major component changes on her 4x4.  I’ve also had a couple of attempts by a garage to fail cars just to generate work, and a few months ago a large chain place failed a relative’s car for discs and pads despite them all being well within spec with no damage. Conveniently the worn parts had already been disposed of when we asked for them to be retained.

That all said, for every rogue tester there will be a hundred or more awkward customers who don’t understand the test or think they’ve been hard done by when the tester does fail something that is a definite fail, or will quibble about things like perished tyres or other bullshit. 

There is no perfect middle ground - testers need to test fairly and people presenting cars for tests should be better educated on what their cars actually need.

[somewhatfoolish]

Govt by darwinism; all the feckless will kill themselves by crashing into each other with bald tyres and knackered brakes which means there will be enough slack in the one MoT centre which can remain solvent with a two year test gap to test all other cars in the UK.

[EyesWeldedShut]

4 hours ago, Spiny Norman said:

It's scary how many people know absolutely fuck all about even the simplest car maintenance, how to check the oil, coolant, tyres, listen for odd noises etc, 

In the local KwikFit (I know, I know but they are the cheapest around here on branded stuff) and asked the manager why they had a row of pretty new cars up on the ramps. Three monthly check he said. Eh?
Seems the sales reps around here are unable to check diddly so the leasing companies get the cars checked every three months - oil/water/tyres/wipers etc etc.
Amazeballs.

[sierraman]

I haven’t used Kwik Fit for years but National Tyres have always been ok, they don’t approach asking to change the brakes etc. It seems ignorance is a defence in this country if your car isn’t roadworthy or whatever, I don’t know any other country where you can get by just going ‘Oh I didn’t know’. 

[sheffcortinacentre]

Christmas day see a neighbours offspring are in attendance as I'm walking past I notice the drivers front tyre is a bald space saver (07 fiesta) as I'm stood looking out they troop late 20's  with 4 & 6 years old daughters in tow .

Wasap? so I point out tyre to be told by son-in-law be right ,test runs out march I'll just get another  car!

I'm speechless as they drive off,  I speak to neighbour few days later who says I know but what can I do they'd only just started talking to us again first time in a month because we interfere to much!

Remember we share the roads with the people!

[sierraman]

10 hours ago, sheffcortinacentre said:

Christmas day see a neighbours offspring are in attendance as I'm walking past I notice the drivers front tyre is a bald space saver (07 fiesta) as I'm stood looking out they troop late 20's  with 4 & 6 years old daughters in tow .

Wasap? so I point out tyre to be told by son-in-law be right ,test runs out march I'll just get another  car!

I'm speechless as they drive off,  I speak to neighbour few days later who says I know but what can I do they'd only just started talking to us again first time in a month because we interfere to much!

Remember we share the roads with the people!

I think therein lies the problem, there’s no consequence if he gets stopped. 

[Amelia]

I know it's been said, but driving a car that is unsafe is irresponsible and you would be liable for any harm caused - but that's little consolation for the person's family you just hurt/ bereaved. 

So having to pay a person to look over your pride and joy to check you've not missed something potentially dangerous every so often is vital. 

However, that's the view of someone who actually cares - the standard of driving and of the cars I see often tells me that far too many don't actually care at all 😳

[meggersdog]

Did my annual training on Friday . The guy training us mentioned this and urged us to fill out the questionaire. I have two email addresses, one for the authorised examiner and one for the nominated tester. I filled out one Friday night. Told them if the two year mot comes in I will close the business as we have no other income stream.They ask for reasons why you think it is a bad idea. I quoted last months national average figures, tyes, brakes and suspension all figure highly although lights are about 45%. Most of these are easy to check so I said most people don't care about the safety of their vehicle.Advisory items rarely get seen to and are only done when they actually fail. Early on they asked about first MOT going to 4 years . To which I replied that I had failed many first mots on tyres and brakes. Then much further down the questonaire they admit one in ten cars fail their first mot on brakes or tyres . So extending that won't work as what would it be , one in five ?. They go on about light goods vehicles and the fact they do thousands of miles a year. I said it should be like hgv's where they have safety inspections and an mot every year. Safety inspections every 10k miles maybe. The 40 year exemption was mentioned so I said it should stay as the owners of such vehicles were enthusiasts who enjoy looking after and maintaining their cars.

In conclusion I said if the mot was extended then it would need to be more involved, should be allowed to remove items such as wheels and undertrays. If it is more involved then the cost should go up . I suggested double the price now and no discounts. I also suggested more traffic police to do roadside safety checks.Yet again I mentioned people not caring about the safety on their cars. 

 

[bigstraight6]

As already mentioned, when it comes to cars the vast majority are clueless and just don’t care about maintenance and safety so any proposed changes to the annual MOT is a recipe for disaster,  just the simple things like checking fluid levels and tyre pressures weekly eludes the masses, I can’t believe the Government is even considering this as they have more pressing issues to deal with.

[sierraman]

I agree, make it the average hourly rate for a garage. The issue here is these decisions are handled by people who don’t know anything about the test. 

[808 Estate]

Online consultation form if you wish to vent your 2p worth.

https://www.smartsurvey.co.uk/s/D7M1RW/

[Zelandeth]

That's two hours of my life I won't get back - but survey completed.