cav551:
Ask one of the testers at your local garage. Some of the defects Vosa expect to be passed or ‘passed and advised’ are ridiculous. The same vehicle checked 10 minutes later by themselves would be declared unfit.
Tyres are a good example. The MOT rules and police rules are different. So you could get a pass, then get stopped by the police on the way home and get 3points/£100 fine.
In what way are they different?
The MOT specifies a minimum tread depth. This is across 3/4 of the tread width, not the tyre width. The only other proviso being there is no chord showing. AFAIK the police rules are minimum tread depth across 3/4 of the tyre width and crucially that the remainder must have visible tread showimg.
Then your knowledge is incorrect. The requirement for visible tread over the whole width was removed several years ago - for both MoT test and police prosecution.
Police use Road Vehicles (Construction & Use) Regulations, which clearly use the words “breadth of the tread”. The website you mention paraphrases most of the legislation - it has to in order to make it readable to anyone who is not a lawyer. Police operate to the same rules as an MoT tester - indeed if you were to get stopped in a car for a defective tyre you would likely get a “Defect Rectification Notice” which would allow you to avoid prosecution or fixed penalty by fixing the problem and taking the car to an MoT tester to get the form stamped.
But as I said, your “…crucially that the remainder must have visible tread showing” is simply incorrect as far as car MoT testing (or police prosecution) is concerned. That requirement only applies to large goods vehicles, buses and motorcycles. For all vehicles requiring a minimum 1.6mm tread depth over 3/4 of the tread width (i.e. cars and vans) there is is no requirement for “visible tread” over the remainder.
If you got stopped for a defective tyre would you not more likely get a fixed penalty notice? I’ve never seen a defect rectification notice for a tyre. Truth is that a lot police don’t understand the rules they are enforcing when it comes to vehicles.
I’m not worried about external stuff like Tyres, which are easy to replace if defective, or better still on “advisories” that they are close to the limit during the last MOT pass.
I am suspicious of “no advisory” MOT certificates for that reason. As a professional driver, I am eager to be legal but don’t want to fall foul of someone else’s falling-short standards at the same time.
If I pay for an MOT test I want the bloody test done thoroughly, without being told that the fail is for all kinds of reasons I wasn’t expecting and that it’s all internal, and that I can’t even take the car somewhere else to get the work done, because it cannot be moved “it is so unroadworthy” when it passed a test somewhere else, and quite frankly hasn’t had long enough to “go wrong to that extent” in the meantime.
Gone are the days of the bent ones eh ` a tenner or a twenty usually fixed it for me. there are a few garages ( formula 1 ) that advertise and are very quick and thorough, for £29 its a snip…with no add ons…passed ok with a couple of warnings of future work…theyre all looking for work so thats why there are so many offers at the mo…choose wisely though.
Just got my car MOTed, and I won’t be using my old garage ever again after they found stuff that wasn’t wrong with it.
In previous years, I’ve just been a mug and coughed up whatever the bill was.
I’ll be taking the advice of my peers on here in future, and using an MOT only station in future, that have no interest in finding faults that they cannot put right themselves. Eg. Cheap faults that nothing “faux faults” wise that would otherwise get me to scrap a perfectly good banger otherwise.
An old banger with decent breakdown cover on it - is a reliable combination to run. Keeping it legal and safe is what the MOT is supposed to be about - not some fancy form of make up work for mechanics, or stealth tax for the government.
I use the same garage that I have used fo 15 years. Its the same garage that used to fix our HGVs at my old gaff, and I trust them 100%, I take my car, the missus’ car, my sisters, bro in law, MIL’s, and a mates too. They service the car and MOT it, and we all get the piece of mind of a job well done.
They ring ME up a month before and say “is LS60RMY still on the road? Bring it in on such and such a date(normally about a month/3weeks before its due) after you’ve finished work and collect a banger as a courtesy…” Drop and swap the next day all done.
They are first class, and a good, trustworthy, garage is on the must have list along with Sky Sports, and beer in the fridge!
Winseer:
Just got my car MOTed, and I won’t be using my old garage ever again after they found stuff that wasn’t wrong with it.
In previous years, I’ve just been a mug and coughed up whatever the bill was.
I’ll be taking the advice of my peers on here in future, and using an MOT only station in future, that have no interest in finding faults that they cannot put right themselves. Eg. Cheap faults that nothing “faux faults” wise that would otherwise get me to scrap a perfectly good banger otherwise.
An old banger with decent breakdown cover on it - is a reliable combination to run. Keeping it legal and safe is what the MOT is supposed to be about - not some fancy form of make up work for mechanics, or stealth tax for the government.
Got told my water pump had failed, and the back brakes bar had gone.
I’d had the back brakes fixed 11 months earlier at the same garage.
Before I could point that out for a freebie fix though (I believe that work was covered by a 12 month warrantry) - I was told the MOT had been abandoned, and that I should scrap the car forthwith if I could care to come down and collect it. Not too seriously unroadworthy that I couldn’t drive it away then?!
This was around 5pm last Friday, and I was suspicious of the following:
They may just be saying stuff to get the car off their yard for the long weekend.
They thought I’d buy it hook like and sinker, and scrap the car on their sayso, as I have a reputation for running a lot of old bangers into the ground over the years.
The clincher was that "The water pump was broke, £380 to fix it, and you don’t know that the car might yet fail on emissions - No charge for the aborted MOT, come and collect your car by the close of business today (friday) "
Upon driving home, the car was running normally, no water ■■■■■■■ out, temp needle in the middle on a run, and when I unscrewed the cap next morning - found the water right up to the top!
“Broken Water Pump” - My arse!
Struggled to get another MOT locally (I wanted it to be within walking distance so I could leave the car there all day, thus facilitating repairs if necessary)
Got a booking the Wednesday morning this week first thing, MOT done that same afternoon, passed with advisories on worn back ball couplings (!)
Emissions barely half the legal limits.
The engine was running like a sewing machine anyways, but that came as a great relief.
I paid £40 for the MOT. Got advised to stick to 5W30 synthetic oil in future.
If I switch cars now - I have to not only pay the same month twice for road tax, but possibly miss a “just about to happen” type fault in the replacement car that’ll be a money pit. I want to try and get more than one year out of my cars I buy with 10 months+ MOT on them then!
