The ask an MOT tester thread
Discussion
Athlon said:
Baldchap said:
Athlon said:
Baldchap said:
I'm currently putting together a collection of sheds for a banger rally, after which they'll all be scrapped. If I tape over corroded wings so they aren't sharp, is this acceptable, or do I need to source some replacements?
If the 'repair' is solid and outside 30cm of any prescribed area and no sharp bits are present then there should be no problem. Nothing in the rules says what a panel should be made from..
Me too!Athlon said:
Fast fits were failing a large amount of brakes back in the day so the rules were softened, the wording for failing a disc now means you could only actually fail one if it is breaking up, I have advised discs with totally rotten inner faces that are solid.
Pads are 1.5mm but there is no way to measure them really so we use best judgement, my DVSA guy advised me that if the pads are scraping the disc they can fail!
Corrosion is as always, any bad metal that weakens the vehicle within 30cm of the brakes is a fail, how you decide this is tricky as the same applies to suspension, seat belts etc so you usually end up with multiple fails for the same problem.
I guess it all depends on each one, if you had a 1mm2 bit corrosion you could still say 'discs corroded' and I suppose that would be correct but at the same time, it's not particularly accurate. I guess I can see why they changed the rules. Pads are 1.5mm but there is no way to measure them really so we use best judgement, my DVSA guy advised me that if the pads are scraping the disc they can fail!
Corrosion is as always, any bad metal that weakens the vehicle within 30cm of the brakes is a fail, how you decide this is tricky as the same applies to suspension, seat belts etc so you usually end up with multiple fails for the same problem.
STO said:
Do you advise on an under tray being fitted even if standard fitment?
When the advisory first became available I did but I must admit I don’t much now unless I suspect they are covering corrosion to brake or fuel pipes. It’s what my DVSA guy called a CMA advisory, covering my arse!
Little Pete said:
STO said:
Do you advise on an under tray being fitted even if standard fitment?
When the advisory first became available I did but I must admit I don’t much now unless I suspect they are covering corrosion to brake or fuel pipes. It’s what my DVSA guy called a CMA advisory, covering my arse!
RazerSauber said:
Have you ever had a customer be so rude or ignorant you've turned advisories into fails?
Are there any particular vehicles you don't like testing?
I did fail-correctly-a retest once because the guy was being a complete arse. Normally I would look at the vehicle and point out what if anything was still not right before I logged the test. This meant his free retest had been used and he had to pay for another test. He took it somewhere else. Are there any particular vehicles you don't like testing?
Older large vans, tippers and horse boxes. You always feel there is something you’ve missed, especially on the rare occasions they pass!
The one vehicle that we draw straws for is an early Transit, York engine, and solid axle that has been converted to a later Di engine and front suspension. There are plates welded everywhere. It’s a sight to behold. The first time we did it I asked my VE to have a look at it because I couldn’t believe it had been tested correctly the year before. Once he got over the shock, he said there was no reason to fail it and to advise anything we were unsure about. I hate it with a passion.
Edited by Little Pete on Saturday 31st August 11:11
Edited by Little Pete on Saturday 31st August 11:12
Edited by Little Pete on Saturday 31st August 11:14
Its Just Adz said:
No questions but my dad has a garage and been an MOT tester all my life, so I know how thankless a task it is.
Keep on having fun!
I hate to pick up on this but are you expecting an MOT tester to get thanks for a yearly legally enforced task? Keep on having fun!
Interesting thread OP
I have to admit I am quite lucky to have various friends who can carry out MOT's for me.
While they may be "friendly" they also know me long enough to know that nothing gets left , overlooking a DPF delete type thing if it's needed then it gets done so if for example I were to have a tyre worn down it would get changed so no need to write it down on the sheet (an example, I keep an eye on the obvious things like tyres , brakes , lights etc)
Good thread just passed my mot course/test got imi coming out in 2 weeks time to do a on site mot check then wait for dvsa to examine me and sign me of. So hopefully by October I should be on the system to do mot.
Tbh never really thought about doing the test but changed jobs in late June and within 2 months they asked me if I wanted to do it I would be stupid of me not to do it fully paid by the company. Also get a pay rise too which is good.
One thing that my lecture in the course said for us techs the hardest part is coming out of a service level standard and dropping to the mot test level which is basically one level from car being scrapped also the manual was written by someone that clearly has never seen a car and it contradicts itself in loads of places too.
Tbh never really thought about doing the test but changed jobs in late June and within 2 months they asked me if I wanted to do it I would be stupid of me not to do it fully paid by the company. Also get a pay rise too which is good.
One thing that my lecture in the course said for us techs the hardest part is coming out of a service level standard and dropping to the mot test level which is basically one level from car being scrapped also the manual was written by someone that clearly has never seen a car and it contradicts itself in loads of places too.
Little Pete said:
STO said:
Do you advise on an under tray being fitted even if standard fitment?
When the advisory first became available I did but I must admit I don’t much now unless I suspect they are covering corrosion to brake or fuel pipes. It’s what my DVSA guy called a CMA advisory, covering my arse!
RazerSauber said:
Have you ever had a customer be so rude or ignorant you've turned advisories into fails?
Are there any particular vehicles you don't like testing?
No, it's part of the job, you have to test the car not the owner, I have been wound up more than once by folk telling me how to test from the viewing area, same with those who decide they are going to look underneath without being invited over, they get told to walk away fairly firmly. Are there any particular vehicles you don't like testing?
Transits I dislike, Land rovers/Range Rovers as the former are always filthy and the latter because there are so many unique processes with the suspension and park brake, takes ages.
Monkeylegend said:
Can you MOT your own cars or is this seen as a conflict of interest?
You can for now, I do and I am very strict with it because it needs to be right, sometimes we test each others cars just to mix it up, rumour they will stop it soon though, daft as we all know other testers so it's a much of a muchness reallyMonkeylegend said:
Can you MOT your own cars or is this seen as a conflict of interest?
There is no problem with testing your own cars, DVSA expect us to test all cars to the same standard. There will be some who will pass a fail on their own cars but those testers would probably do that on other cars too. Gassing Station | General Gassing | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff