premmington
Member
- Messages
- 6,456
- Location
- Norfolk
Which is how it should of been in the UK - on the inception of MOT testing in 1960
Bet you was not expecting that responce from me - based on I own a car repair garage....
- Thread starter dobbslc
- Start date
Which is how it should of been in the UK - on the inception of MOT testing in 1960
Bet you was not expecting that responce from me - based on I own a car repair garage....
the system here is actually very good and should be fair with no over the phone tests ,,, but the system is a bit broken here at the moment , they built a big new test center but have had issues getting it online.
for those who dont know , in Northern Ireland the system is like psv testing elsewhere , you book online and take your car to a government run and staffed test center where your car goes through all the tests and examinations ,, shaker ramps analyse suspension , computerised brake tests and emissions etc , the testers there dont do repairs etc ,, they just test and do the paperwork ,, In theory its great as it does away with the fiddles and wink wink repairs .
but the company who supplied all the ramps went bust , the ramps developed cracks and were un useable , that led to a huge backlog , so they built a new test center and the company supplying the ramps again went wrong ,,, costs went crazy and they now have a test center waiting to be brought online . In the mean time the old centers have new ramps and are slowly catching up again but it can still take months to get a test date. However the police here have given a by ball to cars that are booked in providing they are in roadworthy condition , however it makes taxing a car a pain as you dont have a valid mot test , but again its got a by ball at the moment ,,,, all in all a mess.
I would argue that the uk should in fact be the same as it is here ,, in the interest of the safety of the public .. but its not uncommon for folk here to ferry to scotland to get an mot sorted ,,, and be back the same day with a brand new ticket .
Jelly_Sheffield
Time is an illusion. Lunchtime doubly so.
- Messages
- 1,420
- Location
- Sheffield, UK
In principle sure, in practice hard NO.
Anything centrally administered seems to turn into an unmitigated disaster, and anything at national scale seems to grow in cost exponentially.
So the tale of woe in your story above would translate into blowing billions on a totally inadequate system of test centers...
Then after a public outcry, they would finally give up and subcontract it out to a company like Serco or Capita, who would charge another couple of billion, hire any Tom, Dick or Harry as testers, bash them through a totally inadequate internal training programme, and then pocket the cash.
So, it's not that I don't think you're right, it's that I don't think our thoroughly hollowed out Civil Service has the resources to deliver projects in house anymore, let alone pull off one of that scale successfully.
sad ,, but true
It’s how it is in Spain, the ITV (inspección technicas vehiculos) are not allowed to do repair work. But the pass rate is better if you get a known garage mechanic to take it instead of taking it yourself. Go figure.
Its standalone test centres here in France (Norisko and Autotest are the big players), and they are privately run. The problem is they are also the ones campaigning for more frequent testing (in the name of "safety") and lobbying to expand the requirements to different vehicle classes. And almost all of them charge a retest fee, and they have failure quotas to meet, so its in their interests to fail.
Its also nowhere near as consistent as you'd expect a dedicated centre to be. I've bought cars with the suspension hanging off and spewing more oil than a sinking supertanker with a week old CT here, yet I took a Clio1 in with optional extra factory alloys for a CT myself once, and they refused to pass it because their book of Clio spec's said it only came with steel wheels. The local norisko failed my wife's Clio4 for the headlight height adjuster not being working on its first CT at 3 years old, and it went to a big Renault dealership and they found it'd never been plugged in from the factory, and also told me that it was only a advisory.
They also brake roller tested my 101FC when I told them not to as it potentially damages the centre diff after telling me they wouldn't do so. I came back early to collect and there it was spinning on the 2wd rollers.
So be careful what you wish for.
Its also nowhere near as consistent as you'd expect a dedicated centre to be. I've bought cars with the suspension hanging off and spewing more oil than a sinking supertanker with a week old CT here, yet I took a Clio1 in with optional extra factory alloys for a CT myself once, and they refused to pass it because their book of Clio spec's said it only came with steel wheels. The local norisko failed my wife's Clio4 for the headlight height adjuster not being working on its first CT at 3 years old, and it went to a big Renault dealership and they found it'd never been plugged in from the factory, and also told me that it was only a advisory.
They also brake roller tested my 101FC when I told them not to as it potentially damages the centre diff after telling me they wouldn't do so. I came back early to collect and there it was spinning on the 2wd rollers.
So be careful what you wish for.
Gareth J
Member
- Messages
- 3,810
- Location
- North Cornwall
I'm not sure the garages looking for work thing is such an issue anymore. I prodded my old car through the MOT last week and the receptionist/bookings guy was over the moon it passed (I'd done a few bits prior to the test). He said they were stacked out and hated mot repairs as he could barely squeeze them in.
Not sure if it's a local thing or if, nationally, as more people are keeping cars for longer, there are more maintenance and repairs keeping garages busier than ever.
Not sure if it's a local thing or if, nationally, as more people are keeping cars for longer, there are more maintenance and repairs keeping garages busier than ever.
Bobupndown
What could possibly go wrong?
- Messages
- 1,957
- Location
- Northern Ireland
I certainly keep mine longer. Used to change at 4 years, now my current Freelander 2 is about to turn 12 with 139000 miles on it, last Discovery 2 I kept until 14 years with 163000 miles.
Blobber
Forum Supporter
- Messages
- 3,419
- Location
- lincolnshire
The covid extension for MOTs makes this a busy period for the garages now
Ive always kept cars a long time and I definitely think more people are doing the same, who can afford a 30k liability that they now call a motor vehicle?
premmington
Member
- Messages
- 6,456
- Location
- Norfolk
premmington
Member
- Messages
- 6,456
- Location
- Norfolk
Lot MOT fiddling goes on - dodgy MOT's - in the back streets of the big city!
Local garage that we use for MOTs has just put their labour rate up to £75.
They had a sudden influx of work from their main competition along the road, and turned out they'd put their rate up to £90.
Any idea how the trial of taking a photo of the vehicle is getting on?
Greeves246
Member
- Messages
- 1,527
- Location
- Cheshire uk
Garage I used to use a few years ago now only does MOTs on cars they do the services on, same with puncture repairs.
Wedg1e
They call me Mr. Bodge-angles
- Messages
- 7,832
- Location
- Teesside, England
My company Connect was registered 11 years ago this month... now just shy of 169,000 miles.
Never been near a dealer since the warranty ran out, I've done all the servicing myself.
Although it's notionally a pool vehicle I've driven it for well over 150,000 miles, probably nearer 160k.
