MoT - Fact and fiction

[messerschmitt owner]

Is the euro III / IV class not written or printed on the tax disc?

private HGV, so no

[messerschmitt owner]

nah Blitzie boy!

 

the problem is protruding sharp edges - ie rusty metal that may cut or tear - all that you describe are OK - but perhaps not on a Ford Mondeo!

[messerschmitt owner]

Messer, the reason I thought it MIGHT be a fail is the EU's sillyarsed "cow catcher" regs for new cars. You know, the ones that sweat whether or not a front fascia and bumper is "human friendly" for front impacts with pedestrians. As if.... Pure solid silly. If not the fronts, why not the rears? Oh, that's right, next up is a requirement for CCTV camera displays on the dash showing the rear back-up area. (Not kidding, it's under proposal. Sigh.)

Norm

 

you actually had lots of that 'safety' rubbish before we did - have you ever seen the cowcatcher arrangements on US-spec Messerschmitts from the 1950s, or the hideous US bumpers from cars of the 70s - bleargh

[scaryoldcortina]

Only sharp or protruding objects caused by damage or corrosion will fail you a MoT. You could make your grille out of bayonets (all facing pointy end out) if you like, and still get a test.

 

You could also take your chrome "prancing horse" mascot and bolt it to the front of your pedestrian-impact friendly modern, and I can't stop you.

[Station]

Question: So essentially, even if painted and zero rust, a flare job, or set of mirrors, or cast metal model script, or external door handles, or Caddy fins, or anything which a blubbery buttocks or soft set of lats could impale or scrape themselves on is a potential fail? Whether you modified the car or it comes factory-fitted that way? Who dreams up the unlikely scenario that people toss themselves onto static cars, or even if moving, how many times a day does a "sharp edge" on a car rip open flesh of a pedestrian? This is really a legit problem, worthy of MOT frowns and furrowed brows? Or is it a system looking for illusory problems to "solve"?

 

The SVA for a Seven style car is even better. A fuel filler cap has to be flush with the surrounding body work, incase a pedestrian injures himself on it. So the petrol cap is on the back of the car, so the car would have to be reversing, and the pedestrian would probably end up under the car (or just step over it), and no petrol cap has any sharp edges which can cause anything more than a bruise. Ridiculous! Even bare metal nuts had to have plastic caps over them.

[warren t claim]

Today I took my car in for a retest, It's current MOT doesn't expire until April but when I got my new certificate I only got 12 months instead of the expected 13. Why???

[Albert Ross]

Why? Because you can only add UP TO one calendar month.

[warren t claim]

Why? Because you can only add UP TO one calendar month.

 

So if I had presented it next month I would of got the extra?

[Albert Ross]

Basically, as long as there is LESS than 1 month remaining, it will add the time on. February can be a sticky one, as can the October/November 31/30 day issue.

[CreepingJesus]

This is assuming that the inner arch isn't holed and doesn't fall into a prescribed area (like within 30cm of a top shock mount, for example)...

 

Ta for the advice. Given the compact dimensions of the Meg, I'll need to check that the rusty lip doesn't fall into the 30cm rule.

[CreepingJesus]

On doing a bit more checking, I might be in trouble, there.

What's the rule on the petrol filler cap area? It's bubbling up on the lower edge of the tunnel that the flap covers. It looks like an absolute bastard to fix

[Barry Cade]

Confession time here... I was a tester for Kwik-Fit for a while, moved back down from the Highlands and needed a job kwik. I was a tester long before this, but KF wouldn't let me test until I'd been on the KF MOT training course. What's coming next isn't what you think... The 5 day course , which was longer and far more in depth than VOSA's course, was superb, and the trainer was an ex Ralliart technician who really knew his stuff, and had travelled worldwide with the Mitsubishi rally team.

 

Had to go all the way down to Newcastle under Lyme for the week, all expenses paid. Their brake courses are also excellent,and you are taught to measure EVERYTHING, and note down all your measurements on the brake sheet, which are compared to manufacturers specs, and opinions are added at the bottom, I believe the correct way. We used to get mystery shoppers in often, as well as regular VOSA checks and test calls etc..

 

So somewhere between there and the branch it all falls apart- probably because KF offer bonuses dependent on performance, sales and targets. One week Pirelli's are the best tyre avaliable, because the fitter gets a quid a tyre bonus, the next its Conti's and so on. Shocks are pushed regularly, and the margin on brakes is huge. You had percentage targets for VBT- valve,balance and tracking, and the ear bashing the manager got at closing time from the area manager was sometimes extreme to say the least if these weren't met...

 

Any garage is only as good as its staff..

 

I was lucky in that the centre I worked in had a very honest and knowlegable manager, who is the captain of the ship and is responsible for what goes on. I did hear a lot of stories from the other branches..

[worldofceri]

My Volvo has a small hole in the exhaust. It's been like that for a while now and isn't getting bigger; it doesn't sound loud even when you rev it. Will it fail?

 

best way to sort this:

 

you need:

 

1 tin of beans

2 large jubilee clips (stainless steel)

1 tube gun gum

 

Step 1

Eat the beans

 

[etc...]

 

Thanks for the advice. I was tempted to try something similar but the hole was on the edge of a bend.

 

So instead, after I polished off the beans, I went down to my local indie exhaust suppliers, handed over my credit card and laid a few choice farts around their waiting area, in exchange for which I was furnished with a pleasingly shiny new system with an even more boyraceresque phat tailpipe than the original one.

 

Job dun.

[CIH]

assuming they comply with other regs ie; colour is the position of my S12's corner lights suitable as a side repeater ?

 

http://i102.photobucket.com/albums/m101 ... ial_03.jpg

 

I'd like to do away with them all and just hve the corner units as indicator and side repeater. It's an '89 BTW

[Barry Cade]

"Vehicles first used on or after 1 April 1986 must be fitted with one side repeater indicator on each side. Instead of a separate lamp, the side repeater might be part of the front direction indicator if it includes a wraparound lens.

 

Lamps incorporating a side repeater are marked either with an ‘E’ mark in a circle or an ‘e’ mark in a rectangle above which is a number 5.

 

However, some vehicles are fitted with a wraparound lens with no European approval markings. These can be tested by standing approximately 1000mm to the side of the vehicle’s rear bumper with the indicator on. If amber light can be seen coming through the front lens (not a reflection) this is acceptable."

 

Clear as mud.

[CIH]

"Vehicles first used on or after 1 April 1986 must be fitted with one side repeater indicator on each side. Instead of a separate lamp, the side repeater might be part of the front direction indicator if it includes a wraparound lens.

 

Lamps incorporating a side repeater are marked either with an ‘E’ mark in a circle or an ‘e’ mark in a rectangle above which is a number 5.

 

However, some vehicles are fitted with a wraparound lens with no European approval markings. These can be tested by standing approximately 1000mm to the side of the vehicle’s rear bumper with the indicator on. If amber light can be seen coming through the front lens (not a reflection) this is acceptable."

 

Clear as mud.

 

Actually that sounds like it may work. Is there a similar requirement for sidelights to be visible from the rear quarter ?

As it stands my Silvia has side repaters and indicators, sidelights either end of the grille and the flip-ups do "side" too. I'd like to trim all that down to just the flip ups and have the corners as indicator and repeater - if that makes sense ?

[Barry Cade]

I reckon you should be OK. Did all Silvia's come with side repeaters? I've found some earlier Jap cars came with "lumps" in their front indicators,which made them visible from the side.

[KruJoe]

I'm surprised that given all the Internet complaints about Kwik-Fit that it never seems to have transpired into a slot on Watchdog.

I'm 86.4% sure that they did make a headline story on Watchdog about Kwik Fit(up), maybe autumn last year... and I think I posted a link to it somewhere on here. Can't find it though, nor on the BBC site Did I really dream all that?

[KruJoe]

Found it now!

(Why does searching sites and forums never work for me? Google is my friend.)

 

BBC:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/watchdog/201 ... .html#more

 

In reply:

http://www.kwik-fit.com/watchdog.asp

[KruJoe]

Bump for a real thread - it's a great one to have on the front page.

 

Fresh MOTish question:

 

Today my pa was on the way to a pre-booked MOT with the old camper the other side of Keighley. It was its first run out after the winter. On the way through town he parked up and dropped off at the dentist's the false teeth he'd recently broken. He came out to see this slapped on (and clamped of course):

 

 

He had no phone with him (wouldn't know how to use one anyway) so had to go back in the dentist's to call doovlah with his credit card. £260 later, they sent the man back to release him.

 

 

So it look like he can claim £160 "surety" back now he has a new tax disk, but he's still a one-er down.

 

Is it the case that you are forbidden to stop (along a legitimate route) between home and the test station?

 

If so, could he successfully claim that he had a minor technical hitch (eg fueling problem / broken throttle cable) and had to pull in to go for help?

 

Any chance at all for him seeing his £100 again?

 

Thanks in advance!

[dollywobbler]

Pretty sure there's no escape there. It's like Recovery vehicles. Some are MOT exempt as long as they are used solely for recovery purposes. I bet if you nipped into the shops on the way to/from a job you could fall foul of things.

[Rod/b]

That's my understanding of it, straight to the test, do not pass Go. Same with the recovery trucks - can't be used for anything other than going directly to a job and recovering the vehicle, and returning to base.

[KruJoe]

So would this not work?

...could he successfully claim that he had a minor technical hitch (eg fueling problem / broken throttle cable) and had to pull in and go for help?

[Lankytim]

I think involuntary bodily actions absolve you from pretty much anything, motoring law wise, so if he said he pulled over because he'd shit himself (or in some way became ill) they would have had no grounds to clamp him.

[Albert Ross]

Aha! It's a camper van.... It should have a Porta Potty! Take it in, complete with turd.... Watch them argue with that!

[Rod/b]

Surely the clamper should have heard the grunting and gurning associated with an "urgent poo"?

[Rhythm Thief]

My Ami has rear doors but no external rear door handles. The doors open, but only from the inside. There's no back seat and no rear side windows. Is this an MOT fail?

[nigel bickle]

Local PCSO tried to nick me for an untaxed car about 2 yrs back. I was taxing at the Post Office having just passed MOT. Thankfully I had the disc in my sticky mitt -which he insisted on checking.

He then stated that the return from the MOT, (in a still untaxed car) -MUST be uninterrupted . He reckoned I had to drive past the Post Office (on direct route) -park off road, walk back to tax.

 

Jobsworth.

[scaryoldcortina]

My Ami has rear doors but no external rear door handles. The doors open, but only from the inside. There's no back seat and no rear side windows. Is this an MOT fail?

 

Fine for this year, fail under the OMG 2012 NEW MOT changes next time....

[Rod/b]

Tell the tester that they're not doors, but "Aperture Blanking Plates"