MoT Extended Due To Covid? Beware!!

[squonk]

The MoT on my Mercedes CLK was due back in July but because of Covid it was automatically extended to January next year. The car isn't used much but as winter is approaching and MoT testing is back to normal I thought I'd get it MoT'd now to be sure there would be no issues over the winter. On 19th October I put it in for its MoT and it failed (just a couple of brake pipes). As I currently have a hernia I didn't feel much like doing this (the tank needs dropping to get to them) so booked it in at the garage that MoT'd it to have the work done.

The garage I use I know well. When he MoT's a car and it fails he leaves the test 'open' so it doesn't record the failure. Hence any MoT remaining still shows and it won't show up as no MoT on an ANPR camera - usefull if you need to use the car to get the parts to repair it. I think this is also so that he can carry out a free re-test.

The car sat in my drive unused until Wednesday this week when it was due to have the work done. I decided that I would use the car to take my daughter to work and drop it in at the garage on the way home. Before I left for some reason I did a quick check on the cars MoT status via the online MoT history checker. To my surprise it showed up as MoT Expired, with the expirey date being the date that the test it had failed was carried out. There was no mention of it being an MoT failure until the history was opened.

So it appears that if your car has had the MoT automatically extended due to Covid, as soon as you submit the car for another MoT the extension is cancelled and the car shows as MoT expired (unless of course it passes).

So just a warning, don't assume that you have the time outstanding on the previous MoT still being valid as it probably won't be once an MoT station accesses the cars MoT file.

[oilit]

interesting - thanks for the headsup but makes perfect (if not annoying) sense.

They are basically saying if it has been to a test centre and it hasn't passed - then it's not roadworthy....

[timbo1956]

It's interesting when you say he "leaves the MOT open" so it doesn't record a fail. You can't actually do that or the DVSA would be on him pretty quickly plus he wouldn't be able to MOT anything else until your car is logged off.
When a car fails it's MOT it would invalidate any time you have left on the old one anyway.

[timbo1956]

Oct 30, 2020 13:21:50 GMT oilit said:

interesting - thanks for the headsup but makes perfect (if not annoying) sense.

They are basically saying if it has been to a test centre and it hasn't passed - then it's not roadworthy....

I think dodgy brake pipes would be considered not roadworthy anyway

[squonk]

Technically I think it has always been like that. My understanding is (and I stand to be corrected by any MoT tester on here) if the test is 'closed' then the status would update to show a failure (not just expired). But if left 'open' it would retain the previous expiry date. It appears that as soon as the test is opened on the system it cancells the Covid extension hence the Expired status.

[Rich]

Oct 30, 2020 13:33:15 GMT squonk said:

Technically I think it has always been like that. My understanding is (and I stand to be corrected by any MoT tester on here) if the test is 'closed' then the status would update to show a failure (not just expired). But if left 'open' it would retain the previous expiry date. It appears that as soon as the test is opened on the system it cancells the Covid extension hence the Expired status.

You can’t leave a test ‘open’, you can either abort it, fail or pass it, or just not log it on in the first place but you can’t leave it ‘unfinished’ or ‘open’. As said, the tester wouldn’t be able to do any more tests and DVSA would have a headfit.

[squonk]

Oct 30, 2020 13:30:05 GMT timbo1956 said:

It's interesting when you say he "leaves the MOT open" so it doesn't record a fail. You can't actually do that or the DVSA would be on him pretty quickly plus he wouldn't be able to MOT anything else until your car is logged off.
When a car fails it's MOT it would invalidate any time you have left on the old one anyway.

I'm not so sure about that as when my Laguna failed I decided to scrap it. However, the old MoT appeared to remain valid until it expired. How do companies that have multiple MoT bays and test several cars at once do it if only one car can be MoT'd at a time? What happens if a car is left at the MoT station for repair so is not subjected to a re-test fee? How can the system determine that the car has not left the premesis if it is logged back in as a re-test?

I'm not arguing about the rights and wrongs about using a car that has failed its MoT. I had no intention to use the car until the MoT was passed - however, where my daughter works is only a mile or so from the MoT station I use so I thought I'd drop her off before taking the car in. I'm just warning people as to the way the Covid extension appears to be working.

[norm75]

It has been the case since they updated the mot test rules last year (or the year before) that if a car is presented for an mot before the current certificate runs out if it fails on a major or dangerous defect the mot is expired, and the last test it had over rules the previous (but still current) test certificate.

If a car still has a few months mot on it (you can present a car for an mot with a month remaining and the new mot will be valid for 13 months) then it may be advisable to ask the garage for a pre mot inspection, that way you will know what he would fail it on but it won't affect your current mot.

[timbo1956]

Oct 30, 2020 13:41:23 GMT squonk said:

Oct 30, 2020 13:30:05 GMT timbo1956 said:

It's interesting when you say he "leaves the MOT open" so it doesn't record a fail. You can't actually do that or the DVSA would be on him pretty quickly plus he wouldn't be able to MOT anything else until your car is logged off.
When a car fails it's MOT it would invalidate any time you have left on the old one anyway.

I'm not so sure about that as when my Laguna failed I decided to scrap it. However, the old MoT appeared to remain valid until it expired. How do companies that have multiple MoT bays and test several cars at once do it if only one car can be MoT'd at a time? What happens if a car is left at the MoT station for repair so is not subjected to a re-test fee? How can the system determine that the car has not left the premesis if it is logged back in as a re-test?

I'm not arguing about the rights and wrongs about using a car that has failed its MoT. I had no intention to use the car until the MoT was passed - however, where my daughter works is only a mile or so from the MoT station I use so I thought I'd drop her off before taking the car in. I'm just warning people as to the way the Covid extension appears to be working.

I can't argue about pre covid times and the MOT still being valid as tbh I've never really checked but yes it always used to be that way at least up to a few years ago although the MOT system changes quite often and sometimes without warning, I'm an MOT tester and I sometimes have trouble keeping up with it. 
As for stations with multiple bays, that has nothing to do with an individual tester and how long he tests for. The thing with the computerised system is that the DVSA know exactly what you're doing and how long you're doing it for and and if you start going over an hour for a test on a regular basis they'll be phoning up or paying a visit just the same if you do them too quickly. Once a car is logged on you can't test anything else until you log it off so there is no leaving it open. They wouldn't know whether a car has been removed from the test centre apart from checking the mileage on each test and retest or if they are sitting round the corner watching the centre which is quite common.

[ianw]

Oct 30, 2020 13:30:05 GMT timbo1956 said:

It's interesting when you say he "leaves the MOT open" so it doesn't record a fail. You can't actually do that or the DVSA would be on him pretty quickly plus he wouldn't be able to MOT anything else until your car is logged off.
When a car fails it's MOT it would invalidate any time you have left on the old one anyway.

This is my understanding, with it being an online system, once the car fails it has failed, nothing to due with the COVID extension. 

Same thing happened with my V50, MOT'd it two months early due as it was going in for a service and it failed, once it has failed that was that and it wasn't on an extension MOT either.

[welshpug]

logins for the mot is per tester not garage, as for the "free retest if you leave it there" , that is at the discretion of the garage, and a bit of a money maker, any tester I've used has been a standard free retest within 2 weeks, as they only test what failed unless something especially obvious is spotted.

[e30ben]

^^^ this is also what I believed to be true...

[squonk]

Ok, I'll just keep quiet next time. Didn't want to start a full blown argument as so often seems to happen on here now.

[exuptoy]

The 13 month mot is still valid if it passes at the 11 month point of the previous test. If it fails with a month to go it’s a fail from that point. No extension.

[b3nson]

Oct 30, 2020 23:07:53 GMT squonk said:

Ok, I'll just keep quiet next time. Didn't want to start a full blown argument as so often seems to happen on here now.

If you think this thread is an argument then definitely don’t log onto Pistonheads!!

[edessex]

MoT testers can't leave a test open, BUT in this case he's probably aborted it.

The original point is still the same though. It would appear that once an MoT extended vehicle is logged in, the extension is removed. Regardless of pass, fail or abort.

[wu11ie]

The extension was only applied as garages were closed because of COVID so people couldn't physically get a test done, therefor if you can present your car for a test then normal rules apply.