MOT passed for another year

[ndevans]

The Morris passed its MOT, the 40th since the car was bought by my dad in 1986. No issues except an advisory that they couldn't check the rear seat belt anchorages due to the rear seat being folded down.

Anyone else still having their Minor MOT'd annually?

[svenedin]

Yes I have mine MoT'd. I like the fact that somebody qualified inspects the safety critical aspects of the car. The brakes get tested in a way that I cannot do, the car gets put on a four post lift and has a thorough inspection underneath including all of the important anchorages. All of this serves as an inspection, by somebody qualified, of the maintenance work that I have done over that year. It gives me peace of mind although of course like any risk assessment, the MoT is only really valid at the point that the vehicle was tested. Anything could go wrong afterwards. It helps that my MoT testing station is used to inspecting old cars and in fact they like them!

Stephen

[rocco]

What happens if an MOT exempt car fails an MOT? Is it still legal to drive it on the road or would it have to be retested and pass?

[svenedin]

What happens if an MOT exempt car fails an MOT? Is it still legal to drive it on the road or would it have to be retested and pass?

If it fails it is not roadworthy by law and the faults must be corrected. Then it must be retested and pass. An alternative to an MoT for an MoT exempt vehicle is to ask the garage for a safety inspection but not an actual MoT test.

Stephen

[ndevans]

If it failed I would not want to use it on the road anyway, regardless of the legal status of a safety check.
MOT tests are about a lot more than brakes. How often do owners check their seat belt anchorages? I'll bet most do so very rarely, if ever. Mine was nearly failed once for a loose bolt on the lower front seat belt anchorage. He didn't fail it on the condition that I tightened it up, which I did there & then. It was so loose the bolt had almost worked itself fully out. In an accident it would have been all but useless.

[myoldjalopy]

What happens if an MOT exempt car fails an MOT? Is it still legal to drive it on the road or would it have to be retested and pass?

If it fails it is not roadworthy by law and the faults must be corrected. Then it must be retested and pass. An alternative to an MoT for an MoT exempt vehicle is to ask the garage for a safety inspection but not an actual MoT test.

Stephen

Stephen - Is it only an MOT garage that can undertake a 'safety inspection'?
Presumably, any fault found in such a 'safety inspection' can then be rectified without recourse to an MOT as the car would then be deemed roadworthy?

[svenedin]

What happens if an MOT exempt car fails an MOT? Is it still legal to drive it on the road or would it have to be retested and pass?

If it fails it is not roadworthy by law and the faults must be corrected. Then it must be retested and pass. An alternative to an MoT for an MoT exempt vehicle is to ask the garage for a safety inspection but not an actual MoT test.

Stephen

Stephen - Is it only an MOT garage that can undertake a 'safety inspection'?
Presumably, any fault found in such a 'safety inspection' can then be rectified without recourse to an MOT as the car would then be deemed roadworthy?

It's basically an MoT without entering it on the computer as an MoT. Yes, if it was all of the same checks as an actual MoT the garage would need to have the right equipment (like the brake testing machine) and knowledge. So although it wouldn't have to be an MoT testing station for practical purposes it almost certainly would be one. Yes the faults could be rectified without recourse to an MoT but if it was a serious fault then it may be too dangerous to drive the car. Remember a car will fail an MoT for a blown headlight bulb but you might chose to drive to a motor factors (in the daylight) to buy a bulb and fit it there and then. Technically, the car is not roadworthy with a blown headlight bulb regardless of it being day or night.....On the other hand if the inspection found a leaf spring was hanging off because the mounting had rusted away, you would be wise to get the car towed home (or to a garage who can fix it).

Stephen

[alfie austin]

Hello,
I’ve always had an annual MOT on my ‘68 Traveller (18 years of passing, with no advisories) It’s another pair of eyes to check on my on going restoration/repairs/maintenance. Also, the requirements to keep the vehicle roadworthy, how would I prove this if there was an accident ?
However, the garage I’ve been using for several years, has the older MOT tester retiring this year - so I’ll be looking around for somewhere that is used to classic cars….
Kind regards.

[myoldjalopy]

If it fails it is not roadworthy by law and the faults must be corrected. Then it must be retested and pass. An alternative to an MoT for an MoT exempt vehicle is to ask the garage for a safety inspection but not an actual MoT test.

Stephen

Stephen - Is it only an MOT garage that can undertake a 'safety inspection'?
Presumably, any fault found in such a 'safety inspection' can then be rectified without recourse to an MOT as the car would then be deemed roadworthy?

It's basically an MoT without entering it on the computer as an MoT. Yes, if it was all of the same checks as an actual MoT the garage would need to have the right equipment (like the brake testing machine) and knowledge. So although it wouldn't have to be an MoT testing station for practical purposes it almost certainly would be one. Yes the faults could be rectified without recourse to an MoT but if it was a serious fault then it may be too dangerous to drive the car. Remember a car will fail an MoT for a blown headlight bulb but you might chose to drive to a motor factors (in the daylight) to buy a bulb and fit it there and then. Technically, the car is not roadworthy with a blown headlight bulb regardless of it being day or night.....On the other hand if the inspection found a leaf spring was hanging off because the mounting had rusted away, you would be wise to get the car towed home (or to a garage who can fix it).

Stephen

Thank you, that agrees with what I thought....

[myoldjalopy]

Hello,
I’ve always had an annual MOT on my ‘68 Traveller (18 years of passing, with no advisories) It’s another pair of eyes to check on my on going restoration/repairs/maintenance. Also, the requirements to keep the vehicle roadworthy, how would I prove this if there was an accident ?
However, the garage I’ve been using for several years, has the older MOT tester retiring this year - so I’ll be looking around for timesomewhere that is used to classic cars….
Kind regards.

A current MOT does not automatically mean the car is roadworthy - as pointed out earlier in this thread, something could happen even the day after the test to make it 'unroadworthy'. Something a simple as a blown bulb, for example. An MOT certificate just means the car was roadworthy at the time of examination, but anything could happen subsequently which might make the car a potential MOT failure.

[rocco]

If it gives people peace of mind to get an MOT tester to check their car over for them, that seems a sensible thing to do. Especially if you have an accident because you can show that you were diligent enough to outsource the safety inspection to someone else even without being compelled to do so.

In Germany, a tester will use a whacking great crow bar on suspension joints to check them. I am convinced they use more pressure than needed, damage parts on purpose and there is very little one can do about it.

Then again, there is no test exemption over here. I don't have to pay the tax but I still need a TÜV very two years and that's fair enough really.

[ndevans]

I do it mainly because although I consider myself mechanically competent, I'm not conceited enough to think I can't overlook something.

[rocco]

Even the best mechanics can overlook something. If I had a list of MOT check points I think I'd be quite capable of going through them myself.

[geoberni]

In Germany, a tester will use a whacking great crow bar on suspension joints to check them. I am convinced they use more pressure than needed, damage parts on purpose and there is very little one can do about it.

Then again, there is no test exemption over here. I don't have to pay the tax but I still need a TÜV very two years and that's fair enough really.

Yes, the German test has always been more stringent, even back in the late 70s.
I can remember having a British Forces Germany test on cars and that was a bit of a compromise between the MOT and TÜV.

There were few requirements for Lighting in the MOT back then, but in '77 in Germany I had a brand new Vauxhall Viva GLS, which had the same 4 headlamp arrangement as the Vauxhall Magnum. Basically the car was Magnum body and trim but with the regular 1256cc Viva mechanicals.

I fitted it with Fog Lights, but for the BFG test I had to wire them so they didn't operate with the Full Beam.

Just like this one, except mine was light blue.

Viva.JPG (72.9 KiB) Viewed 943 times

There was a rule over there that if I remember it correctly, you could have more than 4 'main' lamps, but only 4 could be on at the same time.

In the UK back then, it was not unusual to see 'Boy Racer' types, on the road with enough front lamps to be out Rallying...

[les]

IMG_2901.jpeg (432.54 KiB) Viewed 934 times

[rocco]

Sweet looking Viva that, my Dad used to have one in green but with square headlamps if I remember correctly.

You'll be surprised at the ridiculous regulations the Germans have for their TÜV, even today. If you want to change anything on a car or motorbike, you have to have it approved and for that you pay large. Want to improve braking effort with grooved, drilled or larger discs? You can do it but they charge you for the privilege! The bureaucracy is off the scale here.

The one that annoys me the most is that I have to have matching tyres on my motorbikes. So when the rear tyre wears more quickly than the front, as is usually the case, you have to find the exact same tyre model to replace it with - even if you prefer a harder tyre in summer. It's loblocks.

[Bill_qaz]

Even the best mechanics can overlook something. If I had a list of MOT check points I think I'd be quite capable of going through them myself.

For UK the mot test items are available on government website
https://www.gov.uk/guidance/mot-inspect ... l-vehicles