M.O.T. friendly rant!

[stealthstylz]

I'm good mates with an MOT tester back at home. He was very thorough on the important bits but would pass stuff that wasn't important. Such examples were when he failed my car for one anti-roll bar droplink "starting to look a little bit worn". It might have lasted another 1000 miles, but he told me about it and replaced it for me while it was up on the ramp. However the same car (1995 N reg) also had a complete straight through exhaust with no cat or silencers at one point. He fiddled the emissions bit so that I didn't have to swap it over (which would have meant me buying a cat and another exhaust system, not cheap!). It's dodgy, but not the same as asking somebody to pass a car with terminal rust etc.

Matt

[daverapid]

:)Thanks guys, some real nice thoughtful replies. I was a bit worried I might have come across as being one of those miserable old MOT power hungry Hitler type people.



"Woderumeen it aint parsed? Go on, I'll bung you a tenner!"

;D

[Fennec]

^^^ Nowt a bit of filler won't fix

[Deleted]

as a mate you are ensuring they are safe on the road....
so you stand your ground... id rather have a fail than someone come see me in hospital to say "where did you get it mot'd.. they missed something"

[Pillock]

My tester has done a couple of 'make sure you fix this when you get home' jobs, BUT they only happen when my mechanic takes the car from storage to the MoT place for me, as the tester knows him personally and knows it'll be fixed before I collect the car. It's just saving the petrol for the retest. And it's only ever been what I'd consider to be minor items - washers, horn, bulbs. Brakes/steering/welding and anything else dangerous is a fail so it can be retested properly.

If I take anything down personally and it fails, I get a fail sheet. I'm happy with that as I fix all the minor stuff myself before it goes.... although he was kind enough to put a bulb in for me last time assuming I'd pay him back, the bloody thing had blown on the way to the test!

The only time I didn't get a fail sheet was on the GTE..... as it was bumped up onto the ramp, the sideskirt fell off with handfulls of rust that used to be a sill. He thoughtfully saved me the test fee by parking it back up and ringing me

[Gompo]

..About the only thing I might expect my mate to let my car off on would be emissions and possibly some of the stupid laws/rules which have no importance with regards to safety.

Those saying that people arent mates if they're asking to be let off have a point, but to be honest if you're their mate you should be making sure that their car is safe/roadworthy. Yes you could be risking your job passing dodgy items, but you could be risking your mates life aswell..

Sorry to get all serious - I hate MOT's (especially the emissions section! - when looking at potential car having a long MOT is a big plus point for me (obviously doesnt mean it's safe..)), but there is a difference to classic/retro 'friendly' garages and those who are dodgy..

Cheers, Greg.

[gtd2000]

I have a bit of an issue with the MOT as I think that in many cases it's just another tax to rip off the motorist (call it a stealth tax if you like).

I've lived in a number of places where the MOT does not exist - and I've never noticed people deliberately driving death traps because of it.

From what I remember the MOT is only verifying that the car was "road-worthy" on the day of the test - there are at least 364 days beyond that point to ge through until the next one.

A good mate would tell a mate to get the problem that is a real safety issue checked out and sorted out ASAP though

Things like a small split in a CV boot or a small perforation in a sill just seem anal to me...

[skinnylew]

Makes interesting reading this, it appears that those who own a retro also know someone who does mots lol.
It is certainly true in my experience though a modern garage wont be as 'sympathetic' as someone who knows what they are looking at.
The advantage i find knowing an mot tester (well he works at an mot garage...) is that they can advise you what it will fail on before hand and fix it at mates rates labour and get parts at trade prices. My ax went in year before last and he fitted a new cv boot for me as it was being tested as the old had split, also played with the engine to make it pass emissions then put it back so it would idle better lol.
I wouldn't ever put something in, find out its failed and expect my mate to overlook that because as said, he has a livelihood to protect and me!

[surprisingskoda]

i feel priveliged to say that I'm very good mates with Dave, and that i've had him as much as totally rebuild an estelle for me which he yet doesn't realise how much that meant to me.

But if he'd skimped on anything and my car was not safe, or if he'd overlooked something because he was a mate, we wouldn't be on good terms anymore! That's an opinion from the other side, where I'd actually be offended if a mate gave me a ropey mot. It would be an insult to my cars potential to be legal and safe, an insult to me to assume i wouldn't mind my car being a bit dodgy, and 'mate i don't value your life all that highly', AND 'mate i'm prepared to ignore the odd law because you're a mate'. you're doing me no favours when i get arrested, or injured, showing a lack of professionalism and also being biased in your job, which i don't like. except for giving me staff discount or trade, that sort of favouritism is allowed

ends. stop.

[PandaSelecta]

My fiorino van just failed its mot on about 20 things (mainly brake pipes and tyres), and i am glad i know this now, rather than get a dodgy mot and my brakes fail sometime in the near future

[bmcnut]

WELL SAID!

I could go out and get a dodgy mot from about 6 different sources, but i never have and never will. i wouldnt even do it if i knew 110% that the car was going to pass, i just don't see the point, id rather know that the car is safe to drive than take any chances.

[scaryoldcortina]

TBH, I don't consider MoT pass standard to be good enough. If it s my car, or my familys, or one of my customers, anyway. The point about minimum standards and on the day of test etc is very valid. I have quickly ressurrected ancient heaps to mot standard (for plate rape purposes. not by me, but I do what I'm paid to) but none of them were fit to sell on and were scrapped. A full mot doesnt mean that the car is new again, it means its meeting the minimum standard for roadworthiness. and its a pretty low bar.

[mercmad]

The Queensland equivalent of the MOT is very strict ,except we haven't got emmisons testing. NO aftermarket mods AT ALL, without an engineers approval...sucks like you would never believe! Even tyres must be approved and a little metal plate fixed to the car to show this. If you are stopped by a cop ( who is never trained in auto engineering) he can order the car off the road until approval is obtained. Luckily a car in Queensland is only inspected each time it changes hands.Some casrs may get one iinspection in it's life such as a 1932 Chev I know of.One inspection in 1978 and none before or since...ha ha

[DutyFreeSaviour]

Good on yer Dave, no-one in their right mind would appreciate a 'mate' letting them loose in a potential death trap....... you only have to see the usual remarks - It just went through it's MoT and it's a pile of sh*te etc... - how can it be knackered, I bought it with a full ticket ......
the list is endless!

I've bought cars fully ticketed before and in the optimism of youth ( long gone! ) I took it at face value. The horrors I've dealt with subsequently because of that stupifies me.

You're definitely right to stand up and tell 'em to get knotted if necessary, I wouldn't expect a true friend to do anything else if my motor was an accident waiting to happen ( other than because of my driving! )

[gtd2000]

mercmad said:

The Queensland equivalent of the MOT is very strict ,except we haven't got emmisons testing. NO aftermarket mods AT ALL, without an engineers approval...sucks like you would never believe! Even tyres must be approved and a little metal plate fixed to the car to show this. If you are stopped by a cop ( who is never trained in auto engineering) he can order the car off the road until approval is obtained. Luckily a car in Queensland is only inspected each time it changes hands.Some casrs may get one iinspection in it's life such as a 1932 Chev I know of.One inspection in 1978 and none before or since...ha ha

Are you telling me that the "last of the V8's" - the Interceptor was not road legal!!!!

Strewth Bruce!!!

[gtd2000]

bmcnut said:

WELL SAID!

I could go out and get a dodgy mot from about 6 different sources, but I never have and never will. I wouldnt even do it if I knew 110% that the car was going to pass, I just don't see the point, id rather know that the car is safe to drive than take any chances.

Some of the items that can fail a car are not really that dodgy overall - especially when you look at the methods to "overcome" the problem and pass the car.

Take brake pipes - before the MOT there is some evidence of corrosion on the pipes - take it in for the test and it fails - are the pipes going to cause the brake system to fail? ...Probably not in reality.

So you know the pipes are corroded so you rub them down and grease them up - car goes in for MOT and passes...

CV boot is split - this will let dirt and water etc in and cause premature wear of the joint - will this cause the car to self destruct or be a danger to others before it starts clicking - probably not - but you'll still fail the MOT - maybe somebody can educate me on this?

I know I'd rather drive around in a car in a safe condition at all times - but at the same time I would normally go to a test centre which is recommended as "lenient" compared to a garage that's just looking for work to be done to the car and failing the car as a result.

[daverapid]

:)Thanks for the nice comments guys, especially Surprising Skoda.

:oI've had several brake pipes burst during MOT tests.

A split driveshaft or rack gaiter can be dangerous if a stone or suchlike were to get inside and jam up the joint or rack.

[dollywobbler]

Felt very pleased with my pass yesterday Dave. I brought the car to you not because I thought you'd pass any dodgy items, but because I know you've got an understanding of older cars (and their sodding foibles! New fuse box on order!). You had a gentle word about some items I hadn't even considered, for which I'm very grateful.

[surprisingskoda]

dollywobbler said:

Felt very pleased with my pass yesterday Dave. I brought the car to you not because I thought you'd pass any dodgy items, but because I know you've got an understanding of older cars (and their sodding foibles! New fuse box on order!). You had a gentle word about some items I hadn't even considered, for which I'm very grateful.

Dave? gentle?

[daverapid]

surprisingskoda said:

dollywobbler said:

Felt very pleased with my pass yesterday Dave. I brought the car to you not because I thought you'd pass any dodgy items, but because I know you've got an understanding of older cars (and their sodding foibles! New fuse box on order!). You had a gentle word about some items I hadn't even considered, for which I'm very grateful.

Dave? gentle?

:DI gently held him by the throat!