Change to MOT rules.

[Aldebaran]

The Government are considering reducing the required frequency on MOTs on cars from one a year to one every two years. The idea is to save people money during this cost of living crisis. I don't think saving around £50 a year is going to help anyone much, but obviously the real saving would be in repairs or remedial work caught during the MOT inspection.
For me, this simply means more dangerous cars on the road with faults that will go unremedied for a lot longer. During the dark evenings I despaired of the number of cars I saw with, for instance, only one headlight working, or back lights or brake lights not working, and this was only faults that were obvious to the eye. What does anyone else think? I personally think the idea is a recipe for disaster on the roads.

[lamboman]

Not the best of ideas,when I used to live in Queensland you only had to get a road worthy test when selling your car.
The state of some on the roads had be seen to be believed,it would be the same here.

[standardpostage]

In Spain, it is every two years; For cars from 4 year old to 10 year old.
New cars up to 4 year old , no MOT required.
From 10 year old, every year.

So every 2 years should be OK.

[lillythesavage]

Genuine, as in not rip off like Kwik Fit and the like, are struggling since the 6 month extension and this will put a lot of them out of business, basically halving income. You will be forced towards main agents and Kwik fit type places that will find faults that do not exist, it is how they work.

I pay 40 quid, even mot my exempt classics and it is 40 quid well spent, hardly going to make a difference to anyone who can afford to run a car, terrible idea on so many fronts.

A trade hint lol, always use a MOT place that only does MOT tests, they have no need to rip you off or create extra business, anywhere that sells parts or tyres and has a workshop will see you and your car as a target  .  Unless you have a good trusting relationship with them of course.

[southcoastpunter]

its a silly idea - and will only save £55 PER YEAR.  not exactly going to make a big difference and it risks even more crappy, un-roadworthy vehicles being on the road. And as lillythesavage says, will put many smaller garage/MOT places out of business.

[lamboman]

My cars get MOTd at their dealers I'm curious as to how anyone does MOTs only?
There's no money it surely.

[Squire Haggard]

I would welcome the change to every 2 years. I'm retired low mileage now, and once a year MOT is superfluous for me IMO.  As others have pointed out, some places are better than others at finding faults and ripping people off.  I go to my ''trusted'' local garage. Has anyone used their local cooncil MOT centres?

External Link/Members Only

External Link/Members Only

[JamesKW]

My cars get MOTd at their dealers I'm curious as to how anyone does MOTs only?
There's no money it surely.

Its rarely the cost of an MOT only,there is normally a service as well,the very few times I have used dealers its been a £400 bill (also dealers have failed me a couple of times.)

[Adoniron]

Its not going to save anyone much money but will mean more unroadworthy cars are out there. Those cars which do have defects won't get identified and the faults won't be fixed.

[RedKettle]

My cars get MOTd at their dealers I'm curious as to how anyone does MOTs only?
There's no money it surely.

An example of a firm:

External Link/Members Only

[lillythesavage]

My cars get MOTd at their dealers I'm curious as to how anyone does MOTs only?
There's no money it surely.

There is a decent living, 40 quid every 30 minutes, the one I use employs another tester who brings in his own customers from his people, and earns from his too. Two tests going on swapping equipment.

No tools, no hassles, just pass or fail, and with the regulations garages will fail you for a major fault and refuse to release your car, as you cannot legally drive it away, until you pay them to fix it. Independents leave it to your risk.

Like anything else, a minefield for those with no idea, some are more trustworthy than others, been using mine for over 20 years, sometimes 5 times a week, if he finds minor things, he will let me do them there and then, rarely finds major faults, I only take those I know are good, but many do not have that knowledge or wish to learn it.

[mr.bluesky]

Just another excuse to clobber the motorist imo. High fuel prices, piss poor state of roads the motorist are an easy target .

[lamboman]

There is a decent living, 40 quid every 30 minutes,

Takes a bit longer than that plus their premisies and business expenses.

[Nigel57]

I get my classic (MOT exempt) MOT'd every year, it's an opportunity for someone with a better eye, greater experience and better facilities to inspect underneath to give the car a once over.  It gives me a sense of comfort (even if illusory).

[lillythesavage]

Takes a bit longer than that plus their premisies and business expenses.

No, 30 minutes is regulation time apparently, you will not get rich on your own but a decent living depending how many hours you put in and of course regular trade, Same guy done mine for over 20 years, being doing it nearly 40, just mot,s nothing else, it is not hard work.

Garages need a place and place to park broken cars, need to order parts or hunt them down, never ending tools, machines, computers, mot stuff you buy once and look after it. it lasts for years. The hourly rate is no better.

[lillythesavage]

I get my classic (MOT exempt) MOT'd every year, it's an opportunity for someone with a better eye, greater experience and better facilities to inspect underneath to give the car a once over.  It gives me a sense of comfort (even if illusory).

It is not illusory, mot all mine and I change them often, bought another yesterday, when you come to sell it makes all the difference, do not even bother looking if a car has not had a test for 5 years or more, unless like the Manta yesterday, it is a 1 lady owner left in the garage for 10 years 

[Gordon Bennett]

Got my MOT done for £30 at local Kwikfit last week. No probs, not a hint of "upselling"either. Booked online, dropped it off with barely a word exchanged and collected it an hour later.. bloke just gave me keys and certificate with a smile and simply said the words: passed with flying colours.

I'm aware of the bad rep they have but I knew the car was immaculate in every respect so I felt their being very local and decent price structure made using them a no-brainer.

It did seem daft getting this low mileage 3yr old car MOT'd. Reckon they could easily make first one due in year 4 and then bi-annually.

[lillythesavage]

Got my MOT done for £30 at local Kwikfit last week. No probs, not a hint of "upselling"either. Booked online, dropped it off with barely a word exchanged and collected it an hour later.. bloke just gave me keys and certificate with a smile and simply said the words: passed with flying colours.

I'm aware of the bad rep they have but I knew the car was immaculate in every respect so I felt their being very local and decent price structure made using them a no-brainer.

It did seem daft getting this low mileage 3yr old car MOT'd. Reckon they could easily make first one due in year 4 and then bi-annually.

Last summer I collected a car for scrap, a young lady bought it as a first car, took it to them for a major service to be safe, they did the service and charged her, but told her the car had a misfire problem, quoted her loads a money, she bought another.

She told me this story, the car had a new mot when she bought it, I took it to my yard to investigate, first removing the spark plugs which were all new.
One was loose, really loose, and the gap had been closed, re gapped, re fitted, there car was fine.

Kwik Fit will happily rip off any customer they can, anytime they can, I would not use them on principle, certainly not to save a tenner, they are paid to rip off customers and trained to do it, in your case they knew they could not by looking at the car, send your daughter next time, see if she gets lucky.

[lamboman]

No, 30 minutes is regulation time apparently,

I know a couple of indi mechanics they spend at least 45-60 mins on an MOT.

[lamboman]

I get my classic (MOT exempt) MOT'd every year, it's an opportunity for someone with a better eye, greater experience and better facilities to inspect underneath to give the car a once over.  It gives me a sense of comfort (even if illusory).

So do I with one of my cars which does very little mileage and has all sorts of things that can go wrong.
An MOT really does need doing every year.

[lillythesavage]

I know a couple of indi mechanics they spend at least 45-60 mins on an MOT.

Doing what ffs, skiving from getting hands dirty,   

[daviemac]

I know a couple of indi mechanics they spend at least 45-60 mins on an MOT.

A 2 axle HGV MOT test is only about 40 minutes, 3 axle 45 mins and 4 or more axles 55 mins so i don't know what your blokes are doing for an hour on a car.   

[ProjectFun]

Seems a stupid idea,a lot of people are clueless when it comes to cars and they could end up driving around with their kids in a car that's a potential death trap.
I always get my car Mot'd at a Mot only place that has no interest in doing other work as you can't trust some garages.

[sub_marine]

Got my MOT done for £30 at local Kwikfit last week.

It did seem daft getting this low mileage 3yr old car MOT'd. Reckon they could easily make first one due in year 4 and then bi-annually.

Never heard of any garage charging the full fee, 90% of people also get any servicing done along with the MOT, so expect most cars to be failing emissions for a year extra before being fixed

You would think new cars would all be perfect, but all new taxis and mini cabs need tested every 6 months, no matter what age, and occasionally brand new cars fail the first test.  One was a brand new Kia MPV, one of the rear calipers was seized, so wonder hw many of those cars ran for 3 years before being picked up on it

[Bogof60]

Wonder how long the KIA sat on the.dock before it was sold as a new car

[Camargue]

My cars get MOTd at their dealers I'm curious as to how anyone does MOTs only?
There's no money it surely.

A lot of local councils run their own test centres and I believe they are required to offer MOTs to the public.

[lillythesavage]

Never heard of any garage charging the full fee, 90% of people also get any servicing done along with the MOT, so expect most cars to be failing emissions for a year extra before being fixed

You would think new cars would all be perfect, but all new taxis and mini cabs need tested every 6 months, no matter what age, and occasionally brand new cars fail the first test.  One was a brand new Kia MPV, one of the rear calipers was seized, so wonder hw many of those cars ran for 3 years before being picked up on it

There are the reasons this is a bad idea, even the very low use cars like GB,s can suffer from problems due to lack of use, new cars are not road tested usually and new parts can fail or be faulty.

If for nothing else, having your tyres checked is no bad thing and a big cause of crashes, how often does anyone look beyond he tread showing ?

Emissions are easy to deal with, just put a cleaning additive in the tank, or the premium fuel which has cleaners, take your car for a good high revving drive before mot, and unless it has faults or is worn out, it will pass. Never take a cold engine to MOT.

[king tarzan]

Personally I think it should stay annual.

[Aldebaran]

Last summer I collected a car for scrap, a young lady bought it as a first car, took it to them for a major service to be safe, they did the service and charged her, but told her the car had a misfire problem, quoted her loads a money, she bought another.

She told me this story, the car had a new mot when she bought it, I took it to my yard to investigate, first removing the spark plugs which were all new.
One was loose, really loose, and the gap had been closed, re gapped, re fitted, there car was fine.

Kwik Fit will happily rip off any customer they can, anytime they can, I would not use them on principle, certainly not to save a tenner, they are paid to rip off customers and trained to do it, in your case they knew they could not by looking at the car, send your daughter next time, see if she gets lucky.

Years back, I worked with a woman who drove an old Ford. It developed a fault with the back suspension, something to do with one of the torsion bars coming loose. She took it to a local Kwikfit one lunchtime and asked me to go with her but follow her in my own car in case her's broke down. She walked into the Kwikfit and I was a minute after her so the mechanic didn't realise we were actually together. He put her car up on the ramps, took a quick glance and quoted her around £150. I then butted in and told her to leave and find somewhere else. She took it to a small repair guy and he fixed it in minutes and charged about £30 if I remember right.

[The_Don]

Yearly MOT can pick up problems that a driver/owner may know about. New cars can go 3 years with out one some older cars are exempt. People may not like paying out a lot, but its better to be 'safe than sorry' and it really up to the owner to make sure it road worthy. Lots of people are getting priced off the road or ripped off. Freedom of driving can be good but costly (for some).

I find a good independent garage and MOT centre can be better than Kwik Fit (IMO), who have tried to up-sell me several times in the past. They once quoted me £700 and wanted me to sign up to a finance/credit deal to pay (hard sell) for some work that didn't need doing. I've drove out with-out signing anything and since then, I've avoided using Kwik Fit. Some people may have had goog luck with them, other not so.

I took that car to an independent garage, popped it on a lift and 2 different mechanics confirmed, that £700 of work wasn't need. They both looked at each other and me, then sorted the noise issue very quickly I asked them, what do I owe you. A pack of fags (10 pack back then) and coffee is all they asked for, so for less than £10 problem sorted. We had a chat, a drink and a laugh about the whole thing. Since then the owner of that garage, expanded another business and he closed that garage. Seen that mechanic a few times in a local park and he remembered me and had a chat, good guy (IMO) but he left the UK, some time ago.

It may be worth travelling a bit if you can find a mechanic, I've had engine and gear box swaps, a good 30 to 45 min + drive away due to good mechanics. When I've go local places with in, 5 min that could do the work.   

[lillythesavage]

Yearly MOT can pick up problems that a driver/owner may know about. New cars can go 3 years with out one some older cars are exempt. People may not like paying out a lot, but its better to be 'safe than sorry' and it really up to the owner to make sure it road worthy. Lots of people are getting priced off the road or ripped off. Freedom of driving can be good but costly (for some).

I find a good independent garage and MOT centre can be better than Kwik Fit (IMO), who have tried to up-sell me several times in the past. They once quoted me £700 and wanted me to sign up to a finance/credit deal to pay (hard sell) for some work that didn't need doing. I've drove out with-out signing anything and since then, I've avoided using Kwik Fit. Some people may have had goog luck with them, other not so.

I took that car to an independent garage, popped it on a lift and 2 different mechanics confirmed, that £700 of work wasn't need. They both looked at each other and me, then sorted the noise issue very quickly I asked them, what do I owe you. A pack of fags (10 pack back then) and coffee is all they asked for, so for less than £10 problem sorted. We had a chat, a drink and a laugh about the whole thing. Since then the owner of that garage, expanded another business and he closed that garage. Seen that mechanic a few times in a local park and he remembered me and had a chat, good guy (IMO) but he left the UK, some time ago.

It may be worth travelling a bit if you can find a mechanic, I've had engine and gear box swaps, a good 30 to 45 min + drive away due to good mechanics. When I've go local places with in, 5 min that could do the work.

Third story of rip off Kwik Fit  , How many have just paid up not knowing?

[The_Don]

Third story of rip off Kwik Fit  , How many have just paid up not knowing?

Part of their marketing pu$h (opps training) to branch $taff. I've seen it in a few places (not just Kwik stitch  opps  Kwik Fit)

A 'golden (sales) tongue', can fall on deaf ears to those that can spot or know the waffle, from a sales pitch. Some see through it and other may hear it, then Kwik Fit are laughing all the way with £££££££££ rolling in. 

[tintin100]

National Tyres was terrible at this, they use to do tyres and MOT for me but now have stopped using them. They told me all my brakes will need replacing soon but they lasted another 30k miles before the front ones needed replacing and another 10k miles after that  before the back needed replacing. Also stated my lower wishbone arms  bushes was split and was an MOT failure but wasn't split and passed, that was the last straw and I have heard Kwik Fit is just as bad.

[lillythesavage]

National Tyres was terrible at this, they use to do tyres and MOT for me but now have stopped using them. They told me all my brakes will need replacing soon but they lasted another 30k miles before the front ones needed replacing and another 10k miles after that  before the back needed replacing. Also stated my lower wishbone arms  bushes was split and was an MOT failure but wasn't split and passed, that was the last straw and I have heard Kwik Fit is just as bad.

They are all the same, which is why I said at the start seek out a Mot only place, they have absolutely no need to rip you off, will sell you a bottle of cleaning additive if you just fail emissions and tell you to go and thrash it and come back, and most will change bulbs free of charge, providing they are easy to get to.

Yes the additives do work, Forte are one of the best.

Never go to these rip off places, they are trained and paid commission to rip you off. The 30 quid mot offer is just to get you there.

[dynatron]

I personally would welcome the change owing to my circumstances-part retired driver only doing around 3-4k per year so for me its nonsense having to pay out for the yearly mot but i would say depends on circumstances obviously

[lamboman]

Never go to these rip off places, they are trained and paid commission to rip you off. The 30 quid mot offer is just to get you there.

They know their market too many people think a local indi down a trading estate is going to rip them off when it's normally quite the reverse.

[Watts.E.Dunn]

The annual MOT a PITA as it is is still a good thing. Nusiance having the car off the road but it is at least an annual safety check.

Never have been to any of the big places, two bloody good indies round here and have never been ripped off. Used to do all my own servicing and repairs but a tad to old and lazy now!..

[The_Don]

Used to do all my own servicing and repairs but a tad to old and lazy now!..

Yes, its good to learn and try, I currently do, the basics (IMO). But at the same time, their only so much one can do with limited knowledge, equipment (tools) and time. After that it may be wise (or enervated), to pay for work to be sorted (if done correctly)   

[spiralnotebook]

Another National Tyros shaming, I went in for some tyres and 10 mins after going up on the ramp the tyre fitter comes into reception and says ‘your brake pads need changing and your discs are shagged out’ . I says so the pads have lost 7mm in the 3/4 mile from when I just checked them and by the way what is the service thickness limit of Nissan ***** discs? A week later the first time hitting 70+ I discovered they hadn’t balanced the wheels. Never returned to the dishonest arseholes. Another time Kwik Krap tried exactly the same ploy. After years of company cars I had to re learn the rules of the game.
Not strictly an MOT subject but I once had a crankshaft oil seal go and phoned around a number of garages including dealers and reputable indies, all basically said err hang on ermmm yes will need the belt changing at the same time ermmm yes so £400. On a recommendation tried one last indie who said ahh yes one of those, hang on yes 40 mins work plus seal £80 mate. And he did a cracking job. BY THE WAY  the car had a timing chain not belt, but the other garages knew better so may have been interesting to see how they got on fitting a belt onto chain sprockets 

[anyfucker]

indie MOT long established for me, they've passed my car with a minor fault that i promised to get fixed straight away
Kwik fit completely screwed up an exhaust so i'd only use them for a new tyre and i watch what they do.
I'd retain annual MOT inspections

[donnybob]

During the pandemic I was listening to Jeremy Vine and they were talking about MOTs , one listener rang in to say he had driven 13 miles since his last MOT, that was 7 miles driving home a year ago then 6 miles back to take it for this years.

[lamboman]

During the pandemic I was listening to Jeremy Vine and they were talking about MOTs , one listener rang in to say he had driven 13 miles since his last MOT, that was 7 miles driving home a year ago then 6 miles back to take it for this years.

Perhaps the idiot doesn't really need a car.

[The_Don]

Perhaps the idiot doesn't really need a car.

Cars that sit for that long, can be problematic for a number of reasons. In the long run (or lack of), some damage may already be done to parts.  Just paying out for it sitting there, seems wasteful, when another person could make use of it (IMO). Maybe a case of more money then sense, who knows as we don't truly the full story behind it   

[lamboman]

Cars that sit for that long, can be problematic for a number of reasons. In the long run (or lack of), some damage may already be done to parts.  Just paying out for it sitting there, seems wasteful, when another person could make use of it (IMO). Maybe a case of more money then sense, who knows as we don't truly the full story behind it 

You should still use a car at least once a week imo.
I've a car that doesn't get used for 6 months a year but it still gets started.warmed up and the run through the gears when not on the road.
And it gets a run out every week the other 6 months if it's not wet.

[threechilliman]

You should still use a car at least once a week imo.
I've a car that doesn't get used for 6 months a year but it still gets started.warmed up and the run through the gears when not on the road.
And it gets a run out every week the other 6 months if it's not wet.

Yup. Give mine a run out once a week if weather permits.

[nwluvit]

They tried to do this 3 years ago, but lobbying stopped it in its tracks. Personally i would prefer to stick with the current system. If you get your car maintained by a reliable garage it should sail through M.o.t for first 6 to 7 years. After that anything can go wrong.