MOT testing (1 Viewer)

Popeye

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The government are proposing to change the MOT test frequency to first test at 4 years followed up by testing every 2 years known as 4-2-2. Currently it is 3-1-1.

Motorhomes, with their average low mileage are less of a problem than white van mans' high mileage,

Many customers believe that the annual test is a crude way of knowing that their vehicle is safe to use on the road for another year.

I'm concerned that a vehicle with high average mileage could cover as much as 120,000 miles before it's first test, from a safety perspective this surely is dangerous.

What are your thoughts?
 
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Glyn and Debbie

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mot tests

Good morning all, mot tests every 2 years, what a great idea for motorhomers but why don't they take it a step further and make it every 20000 miles or 2 years which ever comes first, that way white van man is covered as well.
 

Gorsecover59

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MOT`S...............what are they.

Suggest you move to Jersey................we dont have MOT`s........or road tax !!!!!!!!!

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Glyn and Debbie

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jersey here i come

that sounds even better, think I will leave the wife at home working and I will move there:ROFLMAO::ROFLMAO:
 

normanandsue

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Good morning all, mot tests every 2 years, what a great idea for motorhomers but why don't they take it a step further and make it every 20000 miles or 2 years which ever comes first, that way white van man is covered as well.

Thanks Glynn or Debbie you have got me thinking!
At first glance this seems a reasonable idea but as with all good ideas the problem is one of enforcement; how do you verify a vehicle's mileage without calling it in?
It would require a voluntary disclosure of a vehicles mileage and vehicles doing a large mileage would be able to have the milometers clocked.

I can also see with the better quality of vehicles on the road these days the need for annual testing of most vehicles is not necessary, but as a vehicle ages the annual MOT becomes a less reliable test of a vehicle's roadworthiness. Consequently I believe despite the cost annual testing is the only reliable way to ensure a minimum standard of road worthiness.

A final thought - we would expect if MOT was done every two years the cost would be the same as one annual one - the synic in me says the cost of the MOT will double if it is required to be done every two years. I would rather have two tests and pay for each annually than have one test and pay double.

Interested in other people's views.
 
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Geo

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First of all let me dispel any concerns about self interests
Yes a two year test will affect income and it will force some testers to close shop
However this problem will only be short lived and will only slightly impact on our particular business
Be careful what you wish for:winky:
The two year test if introduced will come with a host of other new regulations, we will in effect be adopting the EU methods of testing
A system is in place to test strictly to Manf specifications, this could lead for instance in any additions such as bike rack's,camera systems and other bolt on's being a test fail item as there not specified, upprated suspension could be a fail item and so on
If you saw some of the horrors we see every day, even with an annual test you would not be voting for a two year test, your vehicle may be 100% but you share the roads with those that are far from fit for use
Plod is the main enforcer of road worthiness for private vehicles but all he can see are lights, tyres and in your face corrosion/defects, the hidden dangers are for us MoT testers to try and locate and force by virtue of requiring a test certificate rectification of said defects
The MoT is only a 1 Hr snapshot of the vehicles condition once a year
The remaining 8,759 hrs its up to you the driver to maintain it
Many many many Dont:Eeek:
Geo

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bryandh

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Morning all. We live in Spain (Malaga) and MH is due for 1st MOT (in Spain known as ITV) in December. Tests are carried out annually for all vehicles OVER 10 YEARS OF AGE, until then it is done every 2 years. In some ways the Spanish system is better than in the UK in that the ITV centres are run on Government licence and Inspection Centres are there for one purpose only.... to do tests. They have no repair facilities and simply pass or fail vehicles so removing the "customer anxiety" which exists in the UK...did I get a fair test or is the inspecting garage looking for work ? This of course is a sweeping generalisation and is no reflection on the high standards in UK....but rogues exist everywhere.
However, the test is done on a "drive through" system (BY APPOINTMENT), whereby the vehicle owner drives through various test points and simply obeys the inspectors instructions "brake slow, brake hard, turn steering wheel etc" and the whole test is completed in around 10 minutes covering all the usual points inside car, outside and underneath, so the question must be asked..."How reliable is the test?" Cost, about €35 plus tax.
The system seems to work very well and is control by the Ministry of Transport who send out advisory notices when a vehicle is due for testing so avoidance of testing is difficult, particularly as all vehicles must display on windscreen a numbered pass label. This is a control method which could be adopted into the UK system to monitor the "dodgers".
Anyway, enough from me except to say that there is good and bad in all such inspection schemes/system wherever you live.
Have a good one.

Regards Bryan

Edited to add; in the whole of Malaga City there are only TWO testing centres, such is the degree of control...one east of the centre the other west.
 
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Jaws

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Bring on the two year system but bring with it the German TUV certification system..

You wanna add or alter your vehicle ? parts must be TUV approved and you MUST carry all the certificates with you. ( No hardship for most of us )

Makes for a safer environment all round to my mind.
 

Geo

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The two posts above are prime examples why we should stay as we are

How many vehicles have lost documents service books etc so no TUV compliance cert for your air suspension and it fails revert back to standard if make is unknown or duplicat cert can not be got ----over kill
10 min Spanish test, Id be struck off if i churned em out in 10 mins ---speaks for itself
If it aint broke
Dont fix it

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Popeye

Popeye

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Many customers especially fathers of daughters about to go off to Uni are totally reliant on the MOT as some reassurance that their daughter will be safe and he'll be able to check again in a year, two years without any expertise looking at it is a disaster waiting to happen.

Many people don't even check their tyres for wear, simply rely on the Geo's of this world to do it for them.

How does that work if it is 2 years in between checks? It's a ridiculous proposition.
 

chrisgreen

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problem is people only bother to replace item on their car when its due for mot,so thing's like the lower wishbone arms on a ford ka would get overlooked for 2 years,brake disc's and pads need regular looking at,top and bottom ball joint need looking at,trackrod end's need checking yearly,tyre's need checking on the inside wall regular,leave the mot as it is,or change it to six monthly for high mileage motors:thumb:
a modern motor car is good for 100.000 miles no proplem but in 4 years a rep could put 400.000 miles on a motor before it needs an mot,god help us:Doh:
 

Jaws

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If it is such an issue, why has Germany one of the best vehicle reliability records in the EU ?

And to be fair Geo, if you loose paperwork at the moment we all know it is not that big a deal.. you tell someone it has to be kept in a vehicle at all times and will be checked if you are stopped and it would be a different matter.. To start with even I could not loose a folder full of certificates in my van !

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Peter JohnsCross MH

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Easy answer, NO.

12 months is a good time period, wife's car does low mileage and yet twice dangerous faults have been found which were not at all noticeable when being driven.

We do not do our own MOT's, we send them out although workshop is equiped to do them, prefer to have a totally independent test done.

Peter
 

chatter

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Our working vehicles have 2 Mot tests a year from brand new (none of this its good for 3 years malarky) and its a more stringent test than an ordinary mot, and personally i think its a good idea because so many drivers do not do maintenance on their vehicles and only get stuff done if it breaks or fails its mot.
A low mileage vehicle can have faults even more so than an abused high mileage one, our climate is bad for metal things that stand around a lot, corrosion is a killer in more ways than one

Sorry Geo i would be for giving you more testing work not less
 

Jaws

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.. Granny state... brain washing.. complete lack of knowledge of your own vehicle.. inability or unwilling to take own responsibility.. unless MOT prices fall many lower paid families will be finding it harder and harder to keep a car on the road ( but seems as if the poorer end of society are rarely considered ), muddling up different issues ( inc bringing in commercial vehicles which cover massive mileages compared to the average private car )

Argue all you like folks.. that is what I think and as it is likely to get a bit sticky because I seem to be diametrically opposed to most of the thinking
I will keep reading as I may well be convinced other wise, but will now bail out of this debate....

I thank ewe all ::bigsmile:

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vwalan

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considering there are 36 classes for heavy goods vehicles including play buses exempt from mot and plating +some more for under 3,500kg vehicles whats the problem. i havent moted a unit for 11 yrs. . i do have other vehicles that need moting unfortunately .mot is not worth the paper its written on. the vehicle must be road worthy . mot doesnt make it road worthy. says on the certificate.
 

Geo

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Jaws
Your argument is flawed because you credit every one with your mechanical knowledge and common sense:RollEyes:
Todays example
Two front tyres worn to cords. hand brake totally inoperative due to snapped cable, and rear wheel cylinder leaking, less than minimum fluid left in Master cylinder:RollEyes:
This was a 4 year old car with one baby seat and one toddlerseat in the rear:RollEyes:
Customer comment
"The brakes have not felt right for about 2 months":Eeek:
Tyres were advised at last years MoT:Doh:
Service history None!!
Yes its all hype is it -----------not?
Despite your best efforts you will be sharing the roads with cars like this and worse
Re the lower paid comments
Income has very little to do vehicle maintenance, some folk are savvy most are not
Geo
 

darklord

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Two points, one, is that a test which has really strict attitudes to "bolt ons" will cause nightmares for everyone, especially testers. When you see the amount of wriggling and interpretation stretching on A frames, apply that to all the other things we use....what a nigtmare.
Two, is that with HGV test's, if a truck fails, it instigates a "traffic light" system with VOSA, which makes that vehicle more likely to be stopped on the road. Not feasable for cars, but their attitude is......."If you cant provide a vehicle in a fit condition for test on ONE day of the year, what the heel condition is it the rest of the year"? Myself, i prefer the other rumour that used to fly around, test;s every six months, I,m still waiting for therm to introduce trailer testing as in most of europe.

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Popeye

Popeye

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MOT may not keep it Road Worthy, but if it fails, it keeps non road worthy, dangerous vehicles off the road.

My cousin lost her two year old son when they were both hit as pedestrians by a vehicle driving with bald tyres. The vehicle was less than 3 years old (just) and the guy hadn't checked his tyres as it had done only 26,000 miles and was due it's first MOT.

How many more idiot killers like this would we see if it were four years and then every two.
 

vwalan

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tyres ae easy to get round .borrow some from a mate. take them off later.
i dont .
i always make sure i have 1mm of tread.
 
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Popeye

Popeye

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[HI]tyres ae easy to get round[/HI] .borrow some from a mate. take them off later.
i dont .
i always make sure i have 1mm of tread.

Why do you see it as a "get round", are you not at all safety conscious, not for yourself maybe but for other road users and pedestrians?

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pappajohn

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when the test was introduced in 1960 it only applied to vehicles over 10 years old and many cars were still using drag link steering and drum brakes, front suspension was often by double wishbone and torsion bar/coil spring or possibly even kinpins....free play and manufacturing tolerances left a lot to be desired.

steel and paint used in their manufacture wasn't as advanced as today's metals and rot/metal fatique was normal.

no such thing as emission testing, so as long as it didn't smoke excessively it was OK.

needless to say, many of these cars were down right dangerous on the run-up to the annual MOT...if they lasted that long.

today's vehicles are made with superior materials to finer running tolerances, brakes and steering methods and components are far superior to days of old.

in other words, today's cars are more robust, better built using better materials and reliable, both in use and maintenance. service intervals have become annual instead of every 1000/1500 miles or so.

a 10,000ml de-coke is unheard of and unnecessary.

grease nipples are largely a thing of the past...everything is now 'sealed for life' and requires no maintenance, no maintenance means it cant be overlooked at service time.

if a modern vehicle fails on a component and it is replaced, how many will fail the following year on the SAME component......not many ?

so, all the above points to a 2 yearly test being adequate, due solely to the advances in construction, longevity and materials.


my opinion only :thumb:
 

vwalan

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new who said new. i like good old secondhand ones have you got some.
no i put a full set on mine the other year. and the trailer. have to keep it up to standard cant go off at anytime if its not right. try to keep it like new. you have seen it i try to keep it way above mot standard.
popeye shame you dont know me . i keep mine immaculate. possibly have the cleanest truck in the desert. no expense spared on mine .or my m,bikes.
i was just joking . but it is done by many. . i,m sure most know me better. no probs though .keep smiling.

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pappajohn

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new who said new. i like good old secondhand ones have you got some.
no i put a full set on mine the other year. and the trailer. have to keep it up to standard cant go off at anytime if its not right. try to keep it like new. you have seen it i try to keep it way above mot standard.
Just joking Alan, i know you mean at or above MOT minimum. :thumb:
 

WynandJean

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I have to say that I agree that heavy usage is not the only issue. Low mileage vehicles standing for long periods are likely to develop problems that higher mileage vehicles may not.
Wyn
 

darklord

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Papajohn,s comments are right, but modern times have their own problems. A large number of cars these days are on personal lease contracts. A large number of the cars bought as aresult of the "scrappage" scheme, were leased, most of the deals done for youngsters are leases, and certainly a lot of the higher priced cars are owned by a leasing company.
In the case of Landrover, a vehicle costing £40,000, will have a third paid as a deposit, a third on finance, and the remainder as a "balloon". The "balloon" is not payable until after three years, this can be done as a cash payment, further finance, or you can just hand the car back. Most people trade in their existing for a new model.
The leases, all take care of servicing/repairs/damage etc, no MOT's are due, so how many people do you think, do any checking at all on their motor? Not many,...this is why i err toward a 6 month MOT, due immediatly, no honeymoon period.
HGV's, by law, have to have a 6 weekly inspection, normally by a third party....I see first hand, how many drivers rely on that as a safety check.

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