MOT tests

[watervole]

This journal has been far too whinging of late, so I shall post something different.

Here's one of my favourite tips from http://moneysavingexpert.com/

Next time you take your car for an MOT, use a council-run test centre. They are only allowed to do tests, they don't do repairs. Their pass rate is a lot higher than the average garage. Now, I wonder why that is...

Comments

[alex-holden.livejournal.com]

The recently introduced centralised MOT database means that garages are no longer able to offer a free retest if the car leaves the premises. That means that if it fails and you take it home to repair it yourself or take it to another garage to have the repairs done, you will need to pay the test fee again when you take it back to the test centre.

I've been to garages before where they've failed me on stuff that either wasn't faulty at all or was quite debatable. Brake faults are probably the most commonly invented problem because most people are reluctant to question anything where the safety of the brakes is concerned. I had one garage where they said some rubber brake hoses were badly perished (they were a few years old and a bit dirty but otherwise fine), but I ended up spending an afternoon replacing them anyway because if I had taken it to a different garage I would have had to pay for the retest. When I took it back for the retest, he didn't even bother to look at the new hoses I'd put on.

I'm lucky now in that I've managed to find a cheap trustworthy garage in my area which also does MOTs. I'm confident that the mechanic who owns the garage only does work if it's really necessary, and he's reluctant to do work if he's not certain it will cure the problem (many garages, when stumped by a fault, will just replace expensive bits at random).

Coincidentally, my Volvo had its MOT just last week. It failed on four points, one of which I already knew about, and pointed out to him when I took it in (nothing major or unexpected - it is a bit of an old banger after all). One of the points I hadn't known about - uneven rear brake effort - made quite a noticeable difference after it had been fixed. I could have done the work myself, but it would have taken me a few hours, and the retest fee + one replacement part would have cost significantly more than I paid him to fix it for me. He also aggravated an existing problem (erratic throttle sensor) when he tweaked the idle speed so that it would pass the emissions test (it had been running too fast). He said he could try replacing it for me, but it's an expensive part if you buy it new from Volvo, and he couldn't guarantee it would cure the problem. I took it home, bought a replacement throttle/injector unit for £20 from a scrap yard yesterday morning, fitted it in the afternoon, and it now runs better than it ever did :)