MoT woes

I was under the impression that if you take the V5 with you, they will accept that as confirmation of what it is and proceed with the test. I was expecting trouble with mine as it's a relatively low-volume build, but I didn't have any trouble.

Mike.

I had a similar problem when trying to MOT my Westfield. All I had to do was take the V5 to the garage and they used the chassis number as it's printed on the V5.

My MOT tester couldn't find my PI on the VOSA computer on its first MOT after I received the new style V5. He phoned me and asked me to tell him the VIN exactly as it was printed on the V5 and that fixed his problem.

Take the V5 to your MOT tester.

Jim

They had the chassis number from the car, but I didn't have the V5 with me so I've got to go back on Tuesday with it. It was too far to go back for it today. They need to know the date of registration which is completely irrelevant to the roadworthiness of the car.

Couldn't you have asked them to MOT it using the VIN Number? That usually works

Beware - there is a minimum length for the VIN number. My MOT had to pad mine out with leading zeroes to get it accepted.

In news: snipped-for-privacy@bt.com, Malcolm wittered on forthwith;

Tis all rubbish this new MOT thingy. My local "friendly" MOT tester thinks it's great though, he gets to spend twice as much time sitting in his little office while he's waiting for the allotted time for MOT's to elapse..

I am an MOT tester and I can tell you that the tester you took your car to does not know how to usethe system properly. The crazy thing is you dont have to match the vehicle correctly to the DVLA database, you only need the Registration, Full Vin (which you can take from the car) and the fuel type to register the vehicle for an MOT test. You dont even always need the full Vin, just the last 6 digits is usually sufficient to correctly identify the vehicle. You can then manually enter the vehicle make and model , colour etc and create a new record on the DVLA database. You do need to know the exact date of first registration, but this is recorded on the V5 document. You do not need to take the V5 to the test station, but lazy testers prefer you to because it means they dont have to go hunting for a vin number on the vehicle, even though they are obliged to do so as part of the MOT test.

Ben

No there isn't. If your tester looks at the screen properly he/she will find there is a way of getting it to accept even a 4 figure VIN (or VI number now I'm in full pedant mode). I know because we had the same trouble with my LeaF. After a cup of coffee he noticed the bit that said 'Is the VIN shorter than 17 digits?' or words to that effect. Enter 'Yes' and you're Bob's nephew.

Ron Robinson

: They need to know the date of registration which : is completely irrelevant to the roadworthiness of the car.

Except that some aspects of (legal) roadworthiness do depend on date of registration. Seat belts, emissions and so on.

Ian

you do not say what car you have... the information required for MOT is the axle weights of the car for break testing and the emition regulations for it's engine which depends on the engines date. ( I had to take my Davrian to the public weigh bridge to get it weighed before it could be MOT'd )

Jonathan.

That's worrying. I've already been refused insurance from five companies and recovery from three because they "couldn't find it" - despite being properly registered.

Not had an MOT since I bought my JBA Falcon yet, hope it's smoother than yours.

Richard Porter ( snipped-for-privacy@address.uk.invalid) gurgled happily, sounding much like they were saying :

Your tester's a f****it, and should know how to enter the details on the computer. You might need to do a bit of research - I don't think there's anything too onerous.

What's the car, btw? Sounds interesting...

They knew the approximate date from the registration (1980). The only emissions requirement is "no visible smoke". It has seat belts, rear fog lights, hazard flashers, reflective plates, etc. whether required or not. Actually in some cases the legal requirements depend on the age of the engine and not the registration of the car.

That wasn't quite all because they did need the date of first registration, but surely that can be obtained from the DVLA computer?

It's a Mini Marcos, so no emissions requirement other than no smoke. The axle weights were mentioned with the Jem but they just treated it as a Mini. In fact I've never seen them alter anything when doing the brake test in the past - they just press the buttons to operate the rollers.

It's a Mini Marcos Mk.IV which I built in 1979-80 using a Mini Cooper 'S' donor. So it's a cheap and cheerful kit car, but the marque does have a bit of history!

Which is precisely why I have to go back with the V5. I knew the month but not the exact date.

Richard Porter ( snipped-for-privacy@address.uk.invalid) gurgled happily, sounding much like they were saying :

Private plate...?

That *used* to be the pre-74 limit. There's now a car-type-specific limit, AIUI.

The weight is also required for brake efficiency calculations.

Flash ( snipped-for-privacy@digdilem.org) gurgled happily, sounding much like they were saying :

I've got a 4x4 2cv insured...