Maintaining MOT standards

[John Barrett]

My neighbour booked his car recently in at the local garage but subsequently received a phone call telling him the test was cancelled due to the unannounced arrival of two DoT Inspectors.

On rebooking later, the owner told him that the inspectors had retested two of the vehicles awaiting collection, taking two hours on each one.

"I get just 40 minutes!" said he. "No wonder they find details that may get missed!"

Personally, I wondered if the same inspectors find any perfectly fit vehicles failed by the likes of KwikFit and Halfords searching for unnecessary work...!

 

[chatteris]

odd for 2 to turn up must have had a complaint, there is not a set time for a test some can take less than 40 minutes and some longer, 40 minutes is around the national average

 

[nicholsong]

My neighbour booked his car recently in at the local garage but subsequently received a phone call telling him the test was cancelled due to the unannounced arrival of two DoT Inspectors.

On rebooking later, the owner told him that the inspectors had retested two of the vehicles awaiting collection, taking two hours on each one.

"I get just 40 minutes!" said he. "No wonder they find details that may get missed!"

Personally, I wondered if the same inspectors find any perfectly fit vehicles failed by the likes of KwikFit and Halfords searching for unnecessary work...!

Even if they do find such their MOT authority may not extend to having power to do anything about that and all they can do is report it to Trading Standards and/or the Police as being attempted fraud or theft by obtaining a pecuniary advantage by deception.

Perhaps otherd know what powers the MOT Inspecttors have in those circumstances.

 

[chatteris]

they can suspend testing remove testing licences and take disciplinary measures against individual testers and the testing station, each offence or shortcoming is awarded a various points

 

[ivorantony]

odd for 2 to turn up must have had a complaint, there is not a set time for a test some can take less than 40 minutes and some longer, 40 minutes is around the national average

Unfortunately that’s not correct, if a mot station completes an MOT in less than 40 min it is flagged up with possible repercussions, every tester has his own history of passes and failures and time taken to complete the test,
It’s very easy to loose your license if it doesn’t conform to what DVSA considers normal pass rates and time to complete the test,

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[funflair]

My neighbour booked his car recently in at the local garage but subsequently received a phone call telling him the test was cancelled due to the unannounced arrival of two DoT Inspectors.

On rebooking later, the owner told him that the inspectors had retested two of the vehicles awaiting collection, taking two hours on each one.

"I get just 40 minutes!" said he. "No wonder they find details that may get missed!"

Personally, I wondered if the same inspectors find any perfectly fit vehicles failed by the likes of KwikFit and Halfords searching for unnecessary work...!

I have used our local KwikFit for years and had no problems with them (not the motorhome but 2 cars) also used one in Birmingham for Mil's car and again no issues.

 

[John Barrett]

I have used our local KwikFit for years and had no problems with them (not the motorhome but 2 cars) also used one in Birmingham for Mil's car and again no issues.

You have been fortunate. I took my old 911 to Kwikfit here in Southampton and they failed it on emissions: 50 x the allowable limit! I took it somewhere else and it passed with no faults...

 

[funflair]

You have been fortunate. I took my old 911 to Kwikfit here in Southampton and they failed it on emissions: 50 x the allowable limit! I took it somewhere else and it passed with no faults...

But who was right and who was wrong ?

 

[ivorantony]

Lucky man, but that is not the norm, I’m retired out of the trade now but often had customers that had unnecessary work done when they try to save a few Bob when are going to Kwik Fit,

If Kwik Fit were busy then you would probably be okay but if they were standing around idle theirs every chance they will find work that didn’t need doing to get you your MOT ticket,

 

[chatteris]

Unfortunately that’s not correct, if a mot station completes an MOT in less than 40 min it is flagged up with possible repercussions, every tester has his own history of passes and failures and time taken to complete the test,
It’s very easy to loose your license if it doesn’t conform to what DVSA considers normal pass rates and time to complete the test,

no, tests can legitimately be under 40 minutes for instance no emission test on a ev saves minutes a van has less seatbelts to check than a car, motorhomes dont need headlamp levelling devices checking, and if someone is assisting and moving vehicles in and out test could be less than 35 minutes easily, each tester has a tester rag based on the algorithms on the dvsa site which should be green but can change to red for various reasons

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[John Barrett]

But who was right and who was wrong ?

Have a guess...

 

[chatteris]

But who was right and who was wrong ?

probably test wasnt done properly on petrol engined if it fails the initial basic test there is a another procedure to follow involving running at higher revs and inputting engine code into test rig there is a certain bmw engine that has a whole different set of parameters that are different to the normal ones

 

[bladerunner]

I think they have to log on to a computer and take a set time (?30mins)
I used to take my clean BMW bike locally. The chap would say "well,I won't find much wrong with this", log on. Then go and have a fag and pass the bike after the time was up.

 

[TinaLes]

I booked our MH in for a full service, the large 4 year Fiat one, along with an MOT renewal with our Fiat Professional MH dealership. They always do a good job at a sensible price on a menu type service system, even Cam Belt changes are competitive.
I am however a little angry that having booked the van in for its 4 year service which they did, before the Mot the MOT mechanic came through to tell me it had failed on windscreen wipers, but he could change them for £22 as they have them in stock and it would then pass.
I drove the van down to them in heavy rain, did not notice much smearing, the wipers worked OK for me, but I am obviously not as fussy as an MOT inspector.
The job was completed along with all the paperwork/invoices etc, I was given both copies of a Fail & a Pass MOT certificate, however the MH now has a black mark against its history showing a Fail, albeit just wiper blades, however I am still disappointed by that blemish being recorded, as I pay to have it regularly serviced, with items changed at timely intervals as per Fiat Service standards, inc wiper blades.
My question was why if they did the full service before The MOT were the wiper blades condition not checked and replaced before the MOT tester put it through its paces.
The only answer I can imagine is that The MOT tester needed to keep his balance of Pass/Fail records within margins set by The DVSA so as not to attract any suspicion of his standard of testing and on line records.
LES

 

[Rapido925M]

Approximately 10y ago I received warnings on 3 consecutive MOTs that the orange indicators in my MH wing mirrors were not sufficiently orange. Since then it's passed with no problems but it's still the same bulbs .

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[Clemmo]

I booked our MH in for a full service, the large 4 year Fiat one, along with an MOT renewal with our Fiat Professional MH dealership. They always do a good job at a sensible price on a menu type service system, even Cam Belt changes are competitive.
I am however a little angry that having booked the van in for its 4 year service which they did, before the Mot the MOT mechanic came through to tell me it had failed on windscreen wipers, but he could change them for £22 as they have them in stock and it would then pass.
I drove the van down to them in heavy rain, did not notice much smearing, the wipers worked OK for me, but I am obviously not as fussy as an MOT inspector.
The job was completed along with all the paperwork/invoices etc, I was given both copies of a Fail & a Pass MOT certificate, however the MH now has a black mark against its history showing a Fail, albeit just wiper blades, however I am still disappointed by that blemish being recorded, as I pay to have it regularly serviced, with items changed at timely intervals as per Fiat Service standards, inc wiper blades.
My question was why if they did the full service before The MOT were the wiper blades condition not checked and replaced before the MOT tester put it through its paces.
The only answer I can imagine is that The MOT tester needed to keep his balance of Pass/Fail records within margins set by The DVSA so as not to attract any suspicion of his standard of testing and on line records.
LES

Absolutely correct… they have used your Mot to balance their pass/fail ratio. We did it all the time…wipers or numberplate lamps. We were never managed on what we failed on but we had to hit the weekly fail rate. It’s ridiculous and as you say blemishes your MOT record.

 

[Clemmo]

Approximately 10y ago I received warnings on 3 consecutive MOTs that the orange indicators in my MH wing mirrors were not sufficiently orange. Since then it's passed with no problems but it's still the same bulbs .

When I did MOTs I never looked at previous records so as not to feel “guided”
Many testers take a look and it just puts ideas in their heads

 

[John Barrett]

When I did MOTs I never looked at previous records so as not to feel “guided”
Many testers take a look and it just puts ideas in their heads

That syndrome can be applied to many situations, particularly legal ones!

 

[Augusta08]

That syndrome can be applied to many situations, particularly legal ones!

I always give my air-cooled flat 6 a good warm-up before the MOT. My local station knows the car, and don't leave it ticking over for ages before emission testing.

 

[The Old Man]

From Google;

Unsurprisingly, younger cars will likely go through their MOT checks faster than their older counterparts, and this is backed up by the DVSA, who believes that cars aged between three and five years could get through an MOT in 30 minutes, whereas cars fives years old and beyond will take upwards of 45 minutes.

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[westhamman]

I am led to believe that testers are advised to do mot before service, my van went for mot service etc, it's a automatically failed as engine management light on. The garage knew as it was all part of the the job it was booked in for, annoying but hey ho.

 

[L' Hobo]

odd for 2 to turn up must have had a complaint, there is not a set time for a test some can take less than 40 minutes and some longer, 40 minutes is around the national average

Why is it odd for 2 Inspectors to turn up?
It needs 2 people to carry out a MOT especially if there is a dispute on something between the MOT Station Operator and the Inspector.

 

[L' Hobo]

I booked our MH in for a full service, the large 4 year Fiat one, along with an MOT renewal with our Fiat Professional MH dealership. They always do a good job at a sensible price on a menu type service system, even Cam Belt changes are competitive.
I am however a little angry that having booked the van in for its 4 year service which they did, before the Mot the MOT mechanic came through to tell me it had failed on windscreen wipers, but he could change them for £22 as they have them in stock and it would then pass.
I drove the van down to them in heavy rain, did not notice much smearing, the wipers worked OK for me, but I am obviously not as fussy as an MOT inspector.
The job was completed along with all the paperwork/invoices etc, I was given both copies of a Fail & a Pass MOT certificate, however the MH now has a black mark against its history showing a Fail, albeit just wiper blades, however I am still disappointed by that blemish being recorded, as I pay to have it regularly serviced, with items changed at timely intervals as per Fiat Service standards, inc wiper blades.
My question was why if they did the full service before The MOT were the wiper blades condition not checked and replaced before the MOT tester put it through its paces.
The only answer I can imagine is that The MOT tester needed to keep his balance of Pass/Fail records within margins set by The DVSA so as not to attract any suspicion of his standard of testing and on line records.
LES

Did you not ask the Workshop Foreman?
I certainly would have!

 

[chatteris]

Why is it odd for 2 Inspectors to turn up?
It needs 2 people to carry out a MOT especially if there is a dispute on something between the MOT Station Operator and the Inspector.

Only 1 person needed to conduct mot on an atl bay, and most visits from dvsa are only I inspector to do normal visits so it can't have been a normal routine visit must have been issues they were investigating

 

[L' Hobo]

Only 1 person needed to conduct mot on an atl bay, and most visits from dvsa are only I inspector to do normal visits so it can't have been a normal routine visit must have been issues they were investigating

That's true but are they common, I never seen a atl used? + With the shortage of Inspectors, are any of these inspections routine?

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[chatteris]

That's true but are they common, I never seen a atl used? + With the shortage of Inspectors, are any of these inspections routine?

Yes atl Bay is normal these days more cost effective, dvsa do routine visits to check records and inspect premises and equipment every 3 years or so more often if they think its needed

 

[L' Hobo]

Yes atl Bay is normal these days more cost effective, dvsa do routine visits to check records and inspect premises and equipment every 3 years or so more often if they think its needed

So, for a small independent garage, is £40,000+ Inc vat.+ 3yr testing (which seems to be the price asked for a Class 7 equipment) more affective than the Boss slipping out of his office for 10mins every test (100min per day) to wiggle the steering and put his foot on the brakes.

Really!

 

[TinaLes]

Did you not ask the Workshop Foreman?
I certainly would have!

Didnt see much point, as The MOT test had already been carried out, with a fail logged on the DVSA system, too late to change anything. I will obviously mention this episode next time they MOT the van.
LES

 

[L' Hobo]

Didnt see much point, as The MOT test had already been carried out, with a fail logged on the DVSA system, too late to change anything. I will obviously mention this episode next time they MOT the van.
LES

You can appeal within 14 days. There is a form on the .GovUK website.

 

[Googlebot]

Didnt see much point, as The MOT test had already been carried out, with a fail logged on the DVSA system, too late to change anything. I will obviously mention this episode next time they MOT the van.
LES

Mine failed last year on the orange colour of the indicators. It then immediately passed and they didn’t change anything.

I suspect that they failed it, then noticed it failed on that the previous year and I changed them. So just passed it. It’s also now stuck on the record as a fail.

This year they phoned to say it had passed no problem, then rang to say when they put the figures in the computer, it had failed on handbrake effectiveness???

I got it home and adjusted the handbrake and it then passed.

They also disconnected my dash cam which I was annoyed about.

I won’t be going back again, it is difficult to find places to take the size though.

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