Who's got the oldest car that's never failed an MoT?
Discussion
My friend has a 93 poverty spec Astra which her father gave her 3 1/2 years ago. She asked me to get it MOT'd two weeks ago, This was the third one since she got it. Since owning it she has never had it serviced, has only checked/topped up oil and water when going on a long run, has only replaced tyres. She has covered about 70,000 miles in that time.
Before taking it to the MOT station I asked if she had checked wipers, washers and lights... She said no!
I took it to the MOT station, they too half an hour and came out grinning! Fearing the worst I asked how much it was going to cost. "Thousands!" was the reply... The bloody thing didn't even get an advisory!
There were other people with much newer cars facing 3to4 hundred pound bills to get through! Unreal!
Before taking it to the MOT station I asked if she had checked wipers, washers and lights... She said no!
I took it to the MOT station, they too half an hour and came out grinning! Fearing the worst I asked how much it was going to cost. "Thousands!" was the reply... The bloody thing didn't even get an advisory!
There were other people with much newer cars facing 3to4 hundred pound bills to get through! Unreal!
My 2001 Ford Focus 2.0 ESP has so far passed every MOT, though with a couple of very minor caveats.
First fail was on one rear number plate bulb. Yes I had checked all the lights before going. Didn't realise the Focus has 2 rear plate bulbs hiding up there. I was only looking at the plate lit up at dusk. Doh! one of them was blown. No problem, was automatically changed by the tester and a £1 added to the invoice for the bulb.
Next one was a headlamp slightly out of alignment. Tester automatically fixed it for free. Don't know what caused that, but ho-hum!
The best thing is the emissions have always been pretty much Zero HC, CO, Lambda always comes back at 1.00.
My previous car, a Mk 3 Fiesta was a constant nightmare come MOT time. It would ALWAYS be right on the limits on the emissions. Basically it was a flip of the coin if it passed or not. I would drive it up and down the motorway for an hour before test to make sure the cat was hot and everything. No need to piss about like that with the Focus.
With the Fester, I changed HO2S, Cat, CFi, TPS, you name it. Nothing would get it right. Feckin' s
te pushrod HCS bd.
I think the fact my Focus has been so reliable is why I have held onto it so long!
First fail was on one rear number plate bulb. Yes I had checked all the lights before going. Didn't realise the Focus has 2 rear plate bulbs hiding up there. I was only looking at the plate lit up at dusk. Doh! one of them was blown. No problem, was automatically changed by the tester and a £1 added to the invoice for the bulb.
Next one was a headlamp slightly out of alignment. Tester automatically fixed it for free. Don't know what caused that, but ho-hum!
The best thing is the emissions have always been pretty much Zero HC, CO, Lambda always comes back at 1.00.
My previous car, a Mk 3 Fiesta was a constant nightmare come MOT time. It would ALWAYS be right on the limits on the emissions. Basically it was a flip of the coin if it passed or not. I would drive it up and down the motorway for an hour before test to make sure the cat was hot and everything. No need to piss about like that with the Focus.
With the Fester, I changed HO2S, Cat, CFi, TPS, you name it. Nothing would get it right. Feckin' s
te pushrod HCS bd.I think the fact my Focus has been so reliable is why I have held onto it so long!
kambites said:
dibbers006 said:
Perhaps I am being awkward but why would you let your car get in such a condition as to fail?
The normal thing is emissions - very few people have the facilities to make sure they don't have a problem with a lambda sensor or cat. dibbers006 said:
Perhaps I am being awkward but why would you let your car get in such a condition as to fail?
Indeed, what would be the point of taking it for an MOT if it couldn't pass - I have never had a vehicle fail, I would get it to pass standard, or better, before ever presenting it for the test.catso said:
dibbers006 said:
Perhaps I am being awkward but why would you let your car get in such a condition as to fail?
Indeed, what would be the point of taking it for an MOT if it couldn't pass - I have never had a vehicle fail, I would get it to pass standard, or better, before ever presenting it for the test.Surely this ONLY means anything if you always put your car in without having it serviced or pre-MOT checked before hand?
No car should fail an MOT if it's pre-inspected - You could have a car from the dawn of time and have it totally rebuilt every year and it wouldn't fail the MOT...
M.
No car should fail an MOT if it's pre-inspected - You could have a car from the dawn of time and have it totally rebuilt every year and it wouldn't fail the MOT...
M.
1971 Triumph 2000 Mk2, Never failed yet but this year I had an adviser.............. tail pipe may need replacing next year and possibly 2 of the original Michelin ZX tyres.( slight sidewall cracking but still got loads of tread left.) 30,000 only from new still in pristine condition.
Patrick595 said:
1971 Triumph 2000 Mk2, Never failed yet but this year I had an adviser.............. tail pipe may need replacing next year
That's an excellent result after nearly 40 years!Patrick595 said:
and possibly 2 of the original Michelin ZX tyres. 30,000 only from new still in pristine condition.
30,000 on a set of tyres with tread still remaining sounds astounding. I believe Michelin tyres from that era were known as "Slippery Xs" - no doubt due to a remarkably hard-wearing tread without much grip!Gassing Station | General Gassing | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff