Took the car in for its MOT on Saturday to a garage I don't normally use.
The chap had it up on a lift and shone his torch all over, had a delve into the crevices within the wishbones etc and he passed the car wth no advisory notes.
He didn't check the rear seat belts however because child seats were in use even though I offered to remove the seats to the boot.
He didn't do any bounce test for the shock absorbers (do they still do this or is a visual check sufficient?).
He didn't say anything about the stress crack across the front number plate although its not bad enough that it can't be read properly. He didn't check the spare either.
Everything else passed, lights, brakes, emissions, horn, wipers (the tailgate wiper wasn't checked).
He asked me to remove the satnav sucker from the bottom of the windscreen however because he told me he could fail it because its deemed an obstruction.
Watching it all brought home to me just how basic the test seemed and that anyone with a basic knowledge of cars could have done it with minimal training. No doubt someone will put me right on this. It also became obvious why so many vehicles can be 'passed' yet be failures within days, weeks or months of the test because of such seemingly small faults and that they are in no way to be relied upon as proof that one is driving a perfectly legal and safe vehicle.
|
|
Spare wheel tyre condition and rear wash/wipe (bidet?) aren't tested.
|
Bimey has that always been the case then?
I assumed if it was in the car then they'd test it because it could be as bald as a coote and still be bunged on a corner in an emergency.
|
|
|
|
the satnav sucker on the bottom of the windscreen could of been hiding (obstructing) a crack!!
|
|
|
if child seats are in use you don't check the belts. but i used to advise "unable to check as child seats fitted"
If he was to remove the belts from the seats & not put them back correctly the next child in them could be at risk hence the reason.
there is a little bit more to the test than meets the eye & a good MOt tester can spot all sorts of things. there is also a lot of investment in equipment & maintenace.
If it was an ATL lane it may of given you the impression he wasn't doing much but there is much work done with air assisted mover plates
|
|
|
|
can the cops do you for a worn spare? does it have to be fitted to one of the hubs or does it count even if its in the boot?
|
Good question Zoo. I always thought your spare had to be legal because if it was in the car then you could be tempted to use it. If thats still the case, how come it isn't tested?
Talking of spares, when I got home I checked the spare's tyre presure and noticed the tyre can only be used in one direction. It got me thinking about the legalities of putting it on the 'wrong' axle so that the rotation is going the 'wrong way' for the tread pattern.
|
|
so if your car is fitted with one- directional tyres on the wheels then would you carry a normal spare to cover both bases ? or would you carry 2 spares one for each direction should a puncture arise? ( actually arise seems to be the wrong word)
|
Exactly. It made me think the next time I choose tyres I will go for a multi-directional tyre that can go on any axle.
When I last got two new tyres I simply asked the fitter to keep the best old one and put it on the spare wheel and the new ones went on the back. I never gave it a thought that it might be uni-directional and the fitter didn't advise me. I wonder if there would be any real noticeable handling or water dispersal characteristics?
|
|
|
|
Spare wheel tyre condition isn't tested.
However, the vehicle presenter should be informed when it is noticed that there is a defective tyre on a spare wheel.
www.motuk.co.uk/manual_410.htm
Full MOT contents here:-www.motuk.co.uk/manual/contents.htm
|
The spare is a silly one, its not tested on the MOT but if you're carrying an ilegal spare you can be fined for it. The silly bit is you don't have to carry a spare by law. My spare is in my back garden as its punctured.
The skill in MOT testing I imagine is knowing all the rules and what is borderline pass. You also have to inspect all the brake pipes, steering etc without dismantling anything.
A brand new MOT does not always mean the car is road worthy.
Edited by Rattle on 14/12/2009 at 20:09
|
carrying an ilegal spare you can be fined for it.
is that correct?
|
|
I was pretty sure you could be fined for having an ilegal tyre but there is no law saying you have to carry one. I am sure I read that on a few reliable sources.
|
|
|
so a traveller in his 2 ton tipper truck loaded to the gunnels with worn spares would cop for a load of points on his licence ( if he had one) ?
|
No because they are not spares ready to be fitted to the vehicle. My understanding of it was if you have a spare wheel in your car then it has to be road legal. I am sure it was from this site I got this.
It seems I Am wrong
There is no legal obligation to carry a spare tyre and it does not have to comply with the legal requirements while it is stowed away. However, when fitted to the vehicle (for example, following a puncture) it must then comply with the law. A spare tyre is not a testable item in the MOT test, though the examiner may draw your attention to an unserviceable item as a matter of courtesy.
That is from the AA.
Oh well taking out my flat spare saves MPG anyway!
Edited by Rattle on 14/12/2009 at 20:24
|
Oh well taking out my flat spare saves MPG anyway!
hope your well heeled for shoe leather then , just in case the inevitable happens?
|
|
Will get it sorted but atm I Am only doing very local journeys so if it does happen I can easily get a local tyte bloke out to replace it. If I did motorways etc I would have a good spare at all times.
|
Oooh Matron!
You'd better watch those 'tyte' blokes you refer to.
|
|
The local one is not too bad, a bit more expensive than internet tyres but you expect that. Cost me £45 for a Cooper tyre when I last had to call him out (due to a nail in a ditchfinder GTE).
|
The only thing tested about spare wheels at an MOT is for underslung ones and they should be secure.
It is surprising how much an MOT inspector can pick up wandering underneath with a torch and crowbar.
|
Hehe, both my Fiestas scared the living hell out of me when the under tray failed. By the time my Fiestas were sold on/scrapped the spare lived in the boot! My current car has a much better system the spare sits under a proper tray in the boot, the only problem is there are holes under it for some reason (factory designed) but they didn't fit gaskets so rust is forming round them :(. Its nothing serious if they had fitted 20p rubber gormets no rust would have formed there.
|
|
crowbar? a crowbar , that is not allowed or used
|
|
Haha on my old Fiesta the inspector used a plastic hammer kind of thing which probably weighed as much as a pair of NHS glasses. By the time he had finished the floor was full of rust on flakes of paint. At that point I learnt a lesson, never buy a 13 year old Fiesta again! That said my dads is completly solid so a lot must depend on how they came out of the factory and where it lived.
Edited by Rattle on 14/12/2009 at 21:46
|
It's about 6 years since I carried out a test but there are one or two anomilies.
You'll fail on a cracked number plate ( 'cos the revenue cameras might not read it !) Nothing about safety on this one !
You won't fail on missing wheel nuts if you have plastic trims 'cos I can't take them off.
Rust in the boot ? Fill it with shopping and luggage, I'm not allowed to unload it so if rust can't be seen from outside the car....then it isn't there .
Spare wheel ? Likewise. hidden by shopping...no....Can't take it out to check the other side of the tyre anyway. If it's outside, the same...can't check the top of the tyre, only security, as said.
Rear washwipe not in test.
Ted
|
crowbar? a crowbar that is not allowed or used
A crowbar is not just allowed - It's mandatory test bay equipment!
|
crowbar? a crowbar that is not allowed or used
Whenever I've watched an MOT the tester always uses a crowbar. He lets the suspension hang, then tries levering the ball joints, then again with the suspension compressed. I've watched him lever trailing arms, wishbones and radius rods to test the bushes, and also the steering rack clamps.
Also they let a wheel hang just above the ground and lever it to test suspension and wheel bearings.
But I don't now see them doing a bounce test - perhaps they can judge shock absorbers as they drop onto the brake rollers?
Edited by Cliff Pope on 15/12/2009 at 09:04
|
Sniff
Take a wee visit to Ni, Our Government run & staffed MOT centres are fully equipped, computer testing of shocks, individually, brakes, both sides compared, fail if outside tolerance, the lot
then they do their best to pull her asundry with pneumatic power, each wheel in turn.
My local station at Coleraine has also goy guy picky about the cleanlieness.
a local indy runs to Ballymena instead
|
|
|
|
|
|
Here's what MOT testers do. www.motuk.co.uk/manual/contents.htm
Edited by L'escargot on 15/12/2009 at 09:44
|
|
my motman is very thorough pushing each corner of every car down ,in fact he did a car a few years back a hyundai i think and he fell on the floor as the bumper pulled out of its self tapper fixings,how we all laughed at him
|
|
You can have a rusty boot floor (even with holes) as long as it is NOT structural and has no sharp edges.
Edited by jc2 on 15/12/2009 at 11:09
|
A crowbar would be a bit big,what the MOT man uses is a prybar.
There are some anomilies,I had a car with the corners of the tailgate rusted away,no problem passing the MOT.Shortly after I was stopped by the BIB and given a ticket for the rusted corners,had to rectify and get the ticket stamped at the MOT testers.
|
|
|
|
