Discussion
After a year off the road with copious amounts of under body work having been done - it's time to see if the old beast is up to passing its MOT in the morning. Despite getting the geearbox re-furbed I still don't have a working speedo which points to a dodgy cable or gague...apart from that it's finger crossed!!!
Choose your MOT centre carefully. Not all MOT centres are the same. Go to one that understands classic cars and has a passion for them. These are not your every day cars, for everyday use. Go to one that's friendly and takes the time to explains things. I have bad experiences with MOT centres in the past. Just like any other trade there are honest and dishonest. If they are honest and your car fails then that's fair enough. You don't want a dangerous car on the road and at the end of the day faults can soon be rectified. Finally, think positive. Drive into the MOT centre and hold your head up high. Speak without hesitation. Show them you are a man in the know. Good luck.
Tony. TCB.
Tony. TCB.
Lean Machine said:
Choose your MOT centre carefully. Not all MOT centres are the same. Go to one that understands classic cars and has a passion for them. These are not your every day cars, for everyday use. Go to one that's friendly and takes the time to explains things. I have bad experiences with MOT centres in the past. Just like any other trade there are honest and dishonest. If they are honest and your car fails then that's fair enough. You don't want a dangerous car on the road and at the end of the day faults can soon be rectified. Finally, think positive. Drive into the MOT centre and hold your head up high. Speak without hesitation. Show them you are a man in the know. Good luck.
Tony. TCB.
When someone hovers around while I'm testing I start to get very anal and picky as you never know who the person might be. You're not supposed to talk to the tester while he's doing the test so you're best leaving well alone. By all means watch but don't try and communicate with the tester unless asked.Tony. TCB.
Edited by jagracer on Thursday 5th January 18:23
jagracer said:
hen someone hovers around while I'm testing I start to get very anal and picky as you never know who the person might be. You're not supposed to talk to the tester while he's doing the test so you're best leaving well alone. By all means watch but don't try and communicate with the tester unless asked.
I'd be a bit miffed if my tester didn't invite me under his 4-poster to make sure the car is how I want it to be. I sometimes point things out to him 
Be a shame when the old duffer retires really, I'll probably get some stuffy baastard...
New Zealand has a WOF (Warrant Of Fitness) every six months. It's not as stiff as the UK MOT used to be (I've been away a while..) and luckily there are lots of older vehicles on the road. There's no emission checks, and rear end checks are quite light.
I have a local garage who specialise in hot rods and American muscle cars, so they were very happy to do the job, although I had to tell them where some bits came from, and explain how the headlight switch needs a good 'snap' to make it work...
I have a local garage who specialise in hot rods and American muscle cars, so they were very happy to do the job, although I had to tell them where some bits came from, and explain how the headlight switch needs a good 'snap' to make it work...
Lean Machine said:
Excuse my ignorance, but you know who the person might be. It's most likely to be the owner of the car you're testing. Who else would it be? the FBI?
Tony. TCB.
An undercover MOT inspector, they book cars in under false names for testing and only reveal their identity after the test is complete.Tony. TCB.
The only clue the tester would have is if a previous tester has written on the underside of the car in tyre crayon that it is a Ministry car.....I know of a garage where a tester lost his licence for doing that.
With the computerised MOT's now the Ministry can sit outside a testing station and check which tester is carrying out a test at that moment.....sounds like the FBI
Bodders
Bodmin said:
The only clue the tester would have is if a previous tester has written on the underside of the car in tyre crayon that it is a Ministry car.....I know of a garage where a tester lost his licence for doing that.
Bodders
I know an MOT testing station that cheated me out of my money and I took them to court with the help of the 'Trading Standards'. We won the case and they gave me back all my money and expenses, yet the MOT station still didn't loose their licence. They did get a hefty fine though. The reason why they didn't loose their licence as I understand it, is because the 'MOT Standards Agency' is only interested in MOT stations issuing an MOT when they shouldn't and not the other way round. The court fine was for deceiving the customer for claiming to carry out a repair when in actual fact they didn't.Bodders
Tony. TCB.
Lean Machine said:
I know an MOT testing station that cheated me out of my money and I took them to court with the help of the 'Trading Standards'. We won the case and they gave me back all my money and expenses, yet the MOT station still didn't loose their licence. They did get a hefty fine though. The reason why they didn't loose their licence as I understand it, is because the 'MOT Standards Agency' is only interested in MOT stations issuing an MOT when they shouldn't and not the other way round. The court fine was for deceiving the customer for claiming to carry out a repair when in actual fact they didn't.
Tony. TCB.
Cheating you out of work is nothing to do with the MOT unless they failed it on a fault that didn't exist.Tony. TCB.
Lean Machine said:
jagracer said:
failed it on a fault that didn't exist.
That is exactly what happened and hence why I was surprised they didn't loose their licence.Tony TCB.
As far as I can remember, as this happened quite a few years ago now, VOSA didn't inspect the car but on the advice of the 'Trading Standards' I had a reputable garage carry out an independent inspection and give a written report. This report indicated that the job the garage had claimed to have done, in order to issue a pass certificate had not been carried out and that the existing component on the vehicle was not faulty. That is why the MOT garage had to pay back all my expenses of the inspection etc. when they lost the case. It is not the sort of thing you expect from an MOT garage and I probably wouldn't have pursued the case had it not been for the arrogant reaction of the garage owner. A simple apology would probably have saved him a lot of money and embarrassment.
Tony TCB.
Tony TCB.
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