MOT tomorrow

[Welly]

If someone carnt afford to replace a sensor they shouid scrap the car and walk..

An owners club for Chavaliers? bejesus most of them can only be one number plate bulb away from the scrapyard in any case

Re: the re-test I understood that only the item which failed has to be checked?

[lozz]

I think mot testers have the rights to
Retest. Fully.

It happened to me once years ago mind
I took a diesel car back for retest after it failed on brake imbalance
While it was on the rollers it started coaling.

Ended up having to book it back in for a full retest,

[highlander]

Re: the re-test I understood that only the item which failed has to be checked?

If that's true, then it's bloody stupid, in my opinion.

What if there's an intermittant fault that would fail an MOT that doesn't show up on the first test, but does show up on the retest? What if it's not something like ABS, but something even more critical like airbags? What if something fails between the first test and the retest?

As far as I'm concerned the MOT is a safety inspection. They're testing to ensure the car isn't going to kill you or cause serious injuries. They test for things like "the door can't be opened" and "the seatbelts won't release". If the seatbelts only release sometimes, and you get in an accident, the person wearing that seatbelt could be trapped in a burning car.

The test is fairly comprehensive because it needs to be. The retest should be equally comprehensive.

[Welly]

What the government say:

MOT Retest Procedures and Fees...
If your vehicle fails it's MOT test and is left at the station it was originally tested in to be repaired, then no additional fee is charged for a retest. This is known as a Partial Re-Examination or Partial Retest.
Free Retest Items

If the failed vehicle is taken away but then brought back to the same test station and retested before the end of the next working day on one or more of the following items only then no fee is charged for a retest:

Partial Re-Examination Items - (No Additional Fee)
Bonnet Horn Sharp Edges
Bootlid Lamps Steering Wheel
Brake Pedal Antislip Loading Door Tailboard
Direction Indicators Mirrors Tailgate
Doors Rear Reflectors VIN
Dropsides Registration Plates Windscreen and Glass
Fuel Filler Cap Seat Belts Wipers and Washers
Hazard Warning Seats Wheels and Tyres

If Your Vehicle Fails Due to Other Items:

If the vehicle is left at the MOT testing station for repair and is retested before the end of 10 working days following the day of failure, then only a partial retest is needed for which no fee is charged.

If the vehicle is removed from the testing station for repair and returned for retest within 10 working days following the day of failure, then only a partial retest is needed and a partial retest fee is charged.

In any other case a full retest is required and the full MOT test fee will be charged.

Only one free partial retest is permissable per full examination.

And the main one:

A partial retest is where only the items that you vehicle failed on during the full MOT test are examined.

If your vehicle fails on the partial re-test then the vehicle will have to have a full MOT test when you bring it back again and the full fee will be charged.

[jasper5]

Did you know that the test for shock absorber wear, eg, bouncing on the corner of the car to check for resistance, has been removed from the test?

Shock absorbers are only checked for leaks now....safety?.....Curious standards

Another point about mot tests....the test only applies on the day of the test, anything could break/fail the day after the test and nobody would know, except the driver of course, but even then??????????????

[highlander]

Yeah, I know the MOT is basically a "snapshot" test, and isn't actually an indication of road-worthiness as such.

It's definitely worthwhile doing though. It's a bugger if they fail you on bulbs (etc) but you can see why most MOT fail conditions exist. It's not like they're failing the car on paintwork scratches or rattly interior trim, it's on things that would make accidents more likely and less survivable.

[Captain Jack]

It's not like they're failing the car on paintwork scratches or rattly interior trim

And if they did, French car companies would go out of business very quickly.

[Welly]

Another quirk of the MOT test (as I found out myself) is that the Reversing Lights do not form part of the test nor does the rear wash wipe

I'd paid good money to repair my reverse lights BEFORE the test still, as I also found out, in Car Parks it was extremely risky moving about with no reverse lights which made me think they were paramount to passing the test

[Sonia406]

Another quirk of the MOT test (as I found out myself) is that the Reversing Lights do not form part of the test nor does the rear wash wipe

I'd paid good money to repair my reverse lights BEFORE the test still, as I also found out, in Car Parks it was extremely risky moving about with no reverse lights which made me think they were paramount to passing the test

Interesting...

My mate with the mk 4 Golf has no reversing lights. Nor does a neighbour actually.

[DaiRees]

Another point about mot tests....the test only applies on the day of the test, anything could break/fail the day after the test and nobody would know, except the driver of course, but even then??????????????

That's interesting, my old tester always used to put the mileage on the cert as a couple of hundred miles less than it actually was, I always assumed he did this so that he could claim that anything he missed had happened in the interim... "Look mun, they've done 243 miles in the 2 mins between leaving my garage and the wheels falling off!!" Properly dodgy practice though!

Probably should tell you that but he's long time retired and I'm mentioning no names!

[steve_earwig]

My mate with the mk 4 Golf has no reversing lights. Nor does a neighbour actually.

I don't have any reversing lights either, although both my cars do

[scotty73]

Another quirk of the MOT test (as I found out myself) is that the Reversing Lights do not form part of the test nor does the rear wash wipe

I'd paid good money to repair my reverse lights BEFORE the test still, as I also found out, in Car Parks it was extremely risky moving about with no reverse lights which made me think they were paramount to passing the test

Scary sh*t driving around knowing your reverse lights are out it's like people don't see you coming until you shine a light on them, my old Citroen past an MOT without working reverse lights but i soon changed the sensor afterwards.

Made no fecking difference people still don't seem to see me.

[scotty73]

My mate with the mk 4 Golf has no reversing lights. Nor does a neighbour actually.

I don't have any reversing lights either, although both my cars do

I need rear foglights... It's only been since i came out of hospital.

[Welly]

Scary sh*t driving around knowing your reverse lights are out

It was a massive PITA and I was getting some very angry looks from other drivers when they saw me reversing around like a old fool, s'why I was so surprised at it not being in the MOT.

Oh, and I have synchromesh in reverse so the car reverses silently

[steve_earwig]

You mean it doesn't go CrUnCh!! when you shove it in reverse without letting the car stop first (Toyoyo stylee) or it has helical gears, rather than straight cut ones, so it doesn't sound like a cement mixer in reverse?