MOT: getting a free re-test

My car failed its MOT last week (see thread on Micra: repair or offload). It is booked in for another test this week.

Question: Should the car fail again, what is the time limit in which I am allowed to fix the car then get a follow-up test incurring no extra charge?

Question: Should the car fail Test2, is it reasonable for the tester to verbally give me specific reasons for failure and suggest the exact work required. For example, at the last test fail on brake imbalance, the tester said: " I won't know the exact cause or how much work is involved to fix it until I strip down the brakes."

MOT is =A340 a go. I'm a bit worried about having to keep going back! Fortunately, I have 2 weeks until the MOT expires.

Bruce

Reply to
bruce_phipps
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Its down to the gararge that do your mots, best to ask them..

Reply to
aussie bongo

The garage I use gives 2 weeks to fix the car and a free re-test. It's down to the individual garage.

Si

Reply to
Mungo "two sheds" Toadfoot

(bruce snipped-for-privacy@my-deja.com) gurgled happily, sounding much like they were saying :

There's a set minimum :-

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Anything above that - "Bring it back in a couple of weeks, and we'll retest it free" - is a commercial decision that's at the test centre's discretion.

He must tell you why it's failed. He doesn't have to tell you what you need to do to repair it.

It's utterly normal to not know what's going on inside brake drums until they're stripped down. Not many mechanics possess x-ray vision.

So fix it *properly* before you take it in. You have the fail sheet with the list of things it failed on. The MOT is a bare minimum standard, not a target.

Reply to
Adrian

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< If I understand that correctly, anything more than dodgy wipers or the like will require a full re-test, including emissions etc. So that would probably cost me =A340. I'll find out on Thursday.

Bruce

Reply to
bruce_phipps

(bruce snipped-for-privacy@my-deja.com) gurgled happily, sounding much like they were saying :

Did you understand the sentence that followed it, too?

It's down to the test centre as to what they offer you, above and beyond that. We don't know the test centre. Ask them. But, yes, you did understand it correctly. They don't have to offer you a free re-test.

Think about it from their point of view - Why should they? They have to spend another 3/4 hour going back over the whole car, purely because you originally brought a shed in that wasn't in a fit state to be on the road.

Reply to
Adrian

The message from bruce snipped-for-privacy@my-deja.com contains these words:

No. He is obliged to tell you what it's failed upon, but not how to fix it.

Reply to
Guy King

Unless the garage in question is doing the work needed themselves, it's down to them if they offer a free re-test at all - and for how long after. So best to ask them first.

Yes - each and every point the car fails on should be documented - unless the overall condition was so poor it was deemed unsafe to do a full test. However, you may or may not get advice on how to fix the fault.

Reply to
Dave Plowman (News)

spend another 3/4 hour going back over the whole car<

just check the failure points then wave it through?

originally brought a shed in that wasn't in a fit state to be on the road.<

The car is not a danger to drive. If it was it would say so on the MOT fail sheet! Are you suggesting I should get my car checked over by a mechanic prior to sending in for its MOT? Impractical for a =A3500 motor.

Bruce

Reply to
bruce_phipps

If the *only* failures were due to items on the list (one or more) then a retest is *not* required.

If you fail on *other than* items in the list you need a retest.

Officially a retest *has* to be a full retest. There are 'undercover' inspectors....

A tester near where I live was recently suspended for not doing it right.

He seems to have an axe to grind here.. ignore him.

You know if there is anything 'obvious', and you should have fixed it anyway. Otherwise the MOT is the cheapest way to check it fully for the test in the first place!

Reply to
PC Paul

(bruce snipped-for-privacy@my-deja.com) gurgled happily, sounding much like they were saying :

Read the whole clause :- "Other than one or more of the items listed below" - in other words, if the retest is because of a fail on something not on the list.

It's not that difficult.

Yes, they MUST. The test procedures clearly state that. There are only certain things that can be retested on an individual basis.

Turn it around. If your car was in a fit state to drive, it'd pass the MOT. The MOT is a bare *minimum* standard, not a target.

Are you one of those people who regards the MOT as a pain in the arse, and treats it as a guide as to whether your car needs "servicing"?

From your original post about your MOT -

#>> 95N Micra 80k miles. #>> Had a front shunt last year, I replaced the appropriate panels and #>> kept on driving. It chugs along OK, brakes and steering seem OK. #>>

#>> It has just failed its MOT and requires quite a lot of work: #>> #>> 1) Nearside rear brake pipe corroded

What if it bursts?

#>> 2) Offside rear brake pipe corroded

What if it bursts?

#>> 3) Front to rear brake pipe corroded

What if it bursts?

#>> 4) Brakes imbalanced

What if you have to brake hard on a wet road? You'll be round in a spin before you know what's happened.

#>> 5) Front chassis box section damaged -- requires welding.

And if that spin finishes in you hitting a tree, you think that that is going to do its job properly in preventing your car folding up around you?

If you can't do it properly, then yes.

It's more likely to be needed for a £500 motor. There's no such thing as a cheap car.

And if you think your bodged write-off of a Micra's worth £500, you're in cloud cuckoo land.

Reply to
Adrian

PC Paul ( snipped-for-privacy@home.com) gurgled happily, sounding much like they were saying :

Good.

Reply to
Adrian

IF the garage do the work, two weeks. If you get the work done elsewhere, they can charge a full retest fee even the same day HOWEVER most don;t.

No. His job is to inspect it.

Try looking after your car better. I haven't had one fail an MOT for the last four or five years and they've all been budget bangers.

Reply to
Conor

Are you taking it back to the same place? If so, why would it fail, assuming you've done the neccessary work?

Time limit varies entirely according to the MOT garage. They don't *have* to do a retest for free at all - many do, but that's their decision. If the car *only* failed on items in a finite list (on the back of the failure sheet), then they only need to re-test those specific items, even if it leaves their property and comes back another day. These things tend to be very black and white things like blown bulbs, tyres etc - where they're either obviously fine or not, and not things like rust where there's a lot of middle ground. If it fails on anything else, and leaves their premises before getting re-tested, then a full re-test must be carried out. It's entirely up to them whether they charge for this or not, but it's something I'd be finding out *before* taking it to them, not after I've paid my £40 and had the thing tested!!

I think the theory with failures due to stuff like rust is that if they (or arrange for someone to) do the repairs on-site, then they can guarantee that nothing else happened to the car that would affect it's ability to pass an MOT, so the fact that they've done the work satisfies them that the car's up to MOT standards and they'll issue a certificate. I think.

They can give you specific reasons for failure, such as brake imbalance, as they have a properly calibrated (in theory) machine that tells them the braking forces at each wheel (and for the handbrake separately). Unfortunately, the average MOT tester (to my knowledge) is lacking in any psychic ability, and won't know the exact work required on a lot of things (such as brake imbalance) until he's properly inspected it and stripped it down. It could be that brake pads have worn more on one side than the other, but if that's the case, there'll be a reason for that, so you'll be well advised to get new pads on both sides, but not before the imbalance situation is sorted out, as they'll just end up that way again.

The most common fix would be to take the calipers off and clean down (with light emery paper) and properly regrease the sliders. But if that doesn't cure it then the piston could be slightly seized, which'll mean removing it, removing any areas of rust (again by very light abrasion), putting new seals in (you can get a caliper repair kit), doing both sides (if done correctly this will basically make the calipers like new again), and bleeding the system.

But doing the sliders is a simple enough thing to do, and a lot less time consuming than properly rebuilding the whole caliper, so worth doing that, taking it down an empty road, and firmly braking, to see if it pulls to one side at all. If it feels ok, then take it back down. It might be worth having a friendly word with an MOT centre when they're quiet (first thing in the morning might be an idea) and just ask them to quickly put the car on the rollers to check for any brake imbalance to see if you've properly sorted it. If not, then you know that the chances are you'll want to rebuild the calipers. If it's all fine, then problem solved. Bingo!

It'll also be worth checking for any grease on the brake discs, or any contamination in the pads, which would obviously affect braking ability - could be as simple as that.

Reply to
AstraVanMan

In reality though, they'll use their discretion and more often than not just test the failed items anyway, or skim over items they remembered to be ok.

Reply to
AstraVanMan

AstraVanMan ( snipped-for-privacy@Whataloadofforeskinbollocks.co.uk) gurgled happily, sounding much like they were saying :

Except with the new computerised MOT they've got to wait the 45mins after "starting the test" before they can print off the certificate anyway, so...

Reply to
Adrian

Agreed. Having undercover inspectors is the only real way to tell whether they're doing things properly. The only real proof that a full retest has taken place, short of the tester carrying around a camcorder and narrating a 'video diary' of the test, is to provide emissions and brake test printouts from the retest. These could quite easily be done in about 2-3 minutes, still leaving the rest of the test to be skipped.

Reply to
AstraVanMan

I wish they used the same system in schools - or at least unannounced inspections. As it stands now they have weeks and weeks notice in which they blow the years budget on repainting etc. trying to make the place look nicer..

Unannounced inspections would be much fairer and less stressful for the staff too.

Well, unless they aren't up to the job...

Reply to
PC Paul

Couldn't agree more. The whole point of any inspection is to see how something's being run. There's no point in warning people because they're going to do their very best to cover up any wrongdoings, and give a very obviously false picture of how things really are. Completely defeats the object.

Reply to
AstraVanMan

The message from "PC Paul" contains these words:

I used to hate "Check tests" when I was a driving instructor. Having another person sitting in the back of the car[1] wasn't nice at all for the learner. Obviously the examiners take this into account and I always came out of it fine, but it wasn't nice at all.

[1] Or in once case two - the area bod watching the examiner watching me watching the learner watching the road.
Reply to
Guy King

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