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Proposed changes to the MOT Test.

mots should be millage related a could do 50,000 miles in a year but then someones hobbie car could only do 100 so why dose it need a new mot!
 
mots should be millage related a could do 50,000 miles in a year but then someones hobbie car could only do 100 so why dose it need a new mot!
Rust to structural components, cracked headlamps/windows, tyre condition and emissions checks are just as needed on low-mileage cars as high, if not more so!
 
Rust to structural components, cracked headlamps/windows, tyre condition and emissions checks are just as needed on low-mileage cars as high, if not more so!
tyres are wear and tear things and headlamps and emissions could go 2 days after the mot lol its a better idea than having them every 2 years as a car that sits in a garage and dose hardly any miles is not going to wear its tyres out of rot away!
 
10,000 -20,000 mile irrespective of age, and if you get had for speeding you get a MOT into the deal. New cars will be a tick box exercise mostly, but still valid, also the MOT testing should be independent of any garage facilities, so no conflict of interests.
 
tyres are wear and tear things and headlamps and emissions could go 2 days after the mot lol its a better idea than having them every 2 years as a car that sits in a garage and dose hardly any miles is not going to wear its tyres out of rot away!
Tyres can perish, develop faults or cracks and pass their expiration date while stationary in a garage and rust is a result of time rather than use.

EDIT: I meant to add that mileage-related inspections simply would not work! At least date-related events can spawn a reminder; No-one but the owner knows what the mileage of the car is, and "mileage-correction" services could take care of impending inspections!

Anything can wear out days after the MOT. I could swap parts on my car in preparation for an inspection and ultimately all items will eventually fail and need replacement. The MOT is simply a snapshot taken annually to check for roadworthy-ness.
 
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10,000 -20,000 mile irrespective of age, and if you get had for speeding you get a MOT into the deal. New cars will be a tick box exercise mostly, but still valid, also the MOT testing should be independent of any garage facilities, so no conflict of interests.
lets hope you never get into power lol mot if cought speeding! plus an independent system would never work over here theres to many cars! it bearly works on trucks as it is at the mo you have to book an hgv test about 3 months before plus all the garages that have spend 30 grand plus being mot station try telling them they carnt do mots any more lol
 
#26 There is no danger of me getting any where near any kind of political power, too bone-idle.

But we have all seen some of the industry built around the MOTs like the auto glass and similar, they are raking it in, from we the motorists. Having seen the state in places like Johannesburg where anything goes and does, the MOT is worth the trouble. But the system has been subverted into racketeering in places. Not all certainly, but some.

Okay if speeding is too harsh to trigger a MOT, then how about when the vehicle changes hands? It will make the sale of a dodgy old hack that has been bodged up to sell less easy. Perhaps a sale MOT which results in a change of ownership. If a vehicle can’t pass a MOT then it has no place on the road. Also it will stop the police having to play catch-up with stolen cars, and new owner gets a better deal. Ultimately I want to know I drive a safe vehicle and that others do to and I don’t think the MOT as it is currently stands does this as well as it could.
 
It will make the sale of a dodgy old hack that has been bodged up to sell less easy. Perhaps a sale MOT which results in a change of ownership. If a vehicle can’t pass a MOT then it has no place on the road.

Have you seen some of the stuff traders get MOT'd to sell...
 
#28 I know, therefore make them independent even state run!!! :eek:

They exist - to the best of my knowledge, you can take your car to get its ticket at any council-run MOT centre. It's where council vehicles get tested, and there's no vested interest to fail you. Check this link out:

Cheap MOTs: Beat repair costs, use council tests...

That takes care of the garage raking-in on unnecessary repairs.
 
Fwiw, any mileage-based perameter is unenforcable and undermines road safety in absolute terms: How were the miles accrued? On the motorway vs city: wear rate vs mileage. My grandad's 1936 Austin 10 'hobby' car did <500 miles p.a. but considering having a 10k mile MOT (let alone 50k) interval is borderline insane. Think cable operated brakes, metal and rubber components getting on 80 years old.

Any new, nmodern car shouldn't fail on anything major in their first 5 years of life. It would be interesting to see how many of the failures at 3 years were minor vs something structural / major.

The stats when I last saw them would include in the figures, failures as minor as a light being out. Considering that a fifth of mot failures are of a similarly minor nature, they don't help in assessing the failure rate of those cars deemed dangerous.

If UK's car testing regimen at present helps to keep us at the top of the EU motoring deaths stats, I don't see a need for change.
 
tyres are wear and tear things and headlamps and emissions could go 2 days after the mot lol its a better idea than having them every 2 years as a car that sits in a garage and dose hardly any miles is not going to wear its tyres out of rot away!

Tyres degrade over time ; rubber can perish and crack even with zero mileage being covered ; UV light also damages the rubber . Windscreen wiper rubbers can split .

Similarly , rubber pipes , hoses , seals & bushes can degrade . Exhaust systems can corrode away from one year to the next , brake fluid can absorb water , brake discs can corrode , pads can stick , calipers can sieze . Road springs can break - even on 'new' cars .

In short - all sorts of things can go wrong , even when a car stands still .

The test needs to be based on a time interval - too much can go wrong in a year .
 
Jeeeez, you guys place a lot of faith in MOT tests.

IMO they are a farce. Look at all the moddified chav mobiles driving around with blinding XENON HID lights fitted. This is clearly an illegal practice, and I hear most of these cars sail through the MOT with said headlights.

Honestly, a dangerous cut and shut would go through an MOT no problems as long as it had good tyres and no oil leaks.

The 4-2-2-1 system is the most intelligent thing I have heard for a long time. Make it less frequent, but a tougher test.
 
Every two years is in my opinion not often enough. The current annual regime works quite well and should be extended forward to year one as opposed to year three. It serves as a reminder to us all to get our cars checked over at least once a year which surely cannot be a bad thing.

Mic
yes it works well for most, but why i have to pay the £50 every year because these people don't check thier cars is unfair, but the main issue i have is the smoke test for diesels, i think it is wrong and lots of the mot places can use it to fail cars and get the car owner to pay for a service, i once took an old merc of mine to one mot place's and he failed it on the smoke test, so i turned the accelerator down so he could only rev to 3200 rpm (well about the 2500 to 3000 rpm limit for an mot) and bugger me it passed... anyway never went back again
 
yes it works well for most, but why i have to pay the £50 every year because these people don't check thier cars is unfair, but the main issue i have is the smoke test for diesels, i think it is wrong and lots of the mot places can use it to fail cars and get the car owner to pay for a service, i once took an old merc of mine to one mot place's and he failed it on the smoke test, so i turned the accelerator down so he could only rev to 3200 rpm (well about the 2500 to 3000 rpm limit for an mot) and bugger me it passed... anyway never went back again

If your car failed a smoke test it has serious smoke emission problems and needs sorting.

All my cars pass on the first rev of the fast Pass and come in at less than 1/3rd of the permissible allowance.

The £50 fee is well deserved if it gets unserviced, smoky old bangers off the road.
If someone reports you to the VOSA smoke hotline, the £50 will seem like a dream.
 
I live in France and the test here is every 2 years, on cars that are 4 years old, or more. The test is quite stringent, I have just had to put two tyres on my 2007 W203 C220 cdi. and have to do something about the headlamps, they are bi-exnon which it seems, can be adjusted to make them legal
 
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If someone reports you to the VOSA smoke hotline, the £50 will seem like a dream.

I thought you were joking, but now intend to carry this number. The number of cars (in particular old vans) in London that seem to run on oil is ridiculous, and not so pleasant to drive behind.

I can only wonder how they pass the test, there muct be dodgy MOT places about.
 
"Hate the bloody smoke test", i stopped going to one place near me, because the young lad testing it put his foot to the floor, it still passed, but i said if that was 2500 to 3000 rpm mate, i'm a monkey's uncle... just a thought

If yours is a diesel, then you have unfairly chastised the young lad for doing his job correctly. To test a compression ignition engine emission output, you must take the engine up right up to the maximum.Up to 6 times.

Just wait until some of the proposed amendments come into the MOT.

Airbag lights
management lights
Traction control lights
Headlamp washers
towbar electrics

And lots more...

And coming from a tester of nearly 15 years (ME) - a 2 year test is madness.... the 3 years from new is bad enough. BUT I do agree that testing should be carried out by a seperate body, and not by garages themselves.
 
Tiff , what are the proposals re towbar electrics ?

When I fitted my towbar , I put on both sockets , but only bothered to wire up the 12N socket as , for now , I only use the car to tow a trailer . If I get a caravan , then I will wire up the second socket . Am I going to be obliged to do this now , regardless of whether I need the 12S socket ?
 
If your car failed a smoke test it has serious smoke emission problems and needs sorting.

All my cars pass on the first rev of the fast Pass and come in at less than 1/3rd of the permissible allowance.

The £50 fee is well deserved if it gets unserviced, smoky old bangers off the road.
If someone reports you to the VOSA smoke hotline, the £50 will seem like a dream.
you did'nt read what i said..:wallbash: it failed because the guy revved it to the limit, not the 2500 to 3000rpm which Vosa say you should do, this garage was doing like most of them do and was trying to fail the car, so he could get a service out of the owner, it back fired this time because i knew the law and can do all my own work on cars, it proves my case when all i did was go home, turn the accelerator screw down so he could not rev it over 3200rpm and it passed, also telling him i had serviced the car added, as he new by then he was not going to get a penny out of me.. i report this garage to Vosa bTW...:rock:
 

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