Current MOT retest regs

The message from "Coyoteboy" contains these words:

I've had retests twice under the new system - my Audi failed on front brake flexis, the wife's Clio on drop-link rubbers. Both fixed by me, both retested free by the garage within a week.

After having to go through the same thing recently, I found the initial cost and the retest fee varied wildly depending where I took it.

The best I found for me was the local council ran MOT station. It was the cheapest test (29 sheets) and a free retest within two weeks. They were through but fair, which is obviously the best of both worlds.

Hmmm, is my independant centre now trying to pull the wool over my eyes then? They said it was now legally either 10 days grace at the garage doing the test or a complete retest if taken away and more than 24 hours.

If you take your car for an MOT and it fails on one of a limited range or things, it can be re-done within one working day, and only the item in question needs looking at. If it fails on something else (e.g. welding), then the whole flippin' thing has to be done again. It's nothing to do with whether the car leaves the MOT garage, it's down to what it fails on. I have recent experience of this (ow!). It also seems that some garages *are* doing free re-tests withing a certain time, but it's up to them whether they waive the second test fee. AFAIK they have to "buy slots" from VOSA, and (effectively) sell them on to the customer. There's a list of the minor articles mentioned above on the "fail" sheet, or probably on-line, too.

Here you are:

That site confirms my thoughts - if you fail on something like a brake part and you cant get them withing 1 working day (hard on my car, being rare and everythiong on it being a 2 day special delivery from the dealer) i have to pay for a full retest. This is rediculously unfair, as if it stayed at the garage with the exact same fault and they do the repair they get 10 days. It makes no sense.

My van recently fail the MOT on rear breaks, Welding & emissions.

I took it back a few days later after changing a break cylinder & welding the old thing up and it passed.

I didn't have to pay any other fees, so guess it was a free retest.

sQuick..

what you are entitled to is all on the back of your vt30. being on the other side as a tester, full re-tests are a pain in the arse, as you have to do the whole bloody thing over again, including brake test & emissions, they are introducing a different way but this isn't until august. the whole test procedure & re-test procedure hasn't changed from the old way ( non-computerised) but what has happened is "big brother" is watching us !!!! hence the reason to follow everything implicitly by the book, some garages do offer a free re-test but to be honest for most garages this isn't financially pheasable these days, as for every free full re-test we do , we lose a paying customer.

what i think they are trying to do is get the general public to get thier cars repaired by garages rather then repaired by themselves as the amount of accidents relating from diy repairs are rising, this is also leading garages having to be licenced, like you have corgi registered gas fitters.

Coyoteboy ( snipped-for-privacy@hotmail.com) gurgled happily, sounding much like they were saying :

So maintain your car *properly*, and stop regarding the MOT as a high- point. Go over it before you take it in, and it won't fail in the first place.

Especially on BRAKES, ffs...

well said Adrian, if more people spent a few minutes a day just checking lights ect and having a proper service the amount of failiures would drop, some cars you dont see from one year to the next, till its mot time, new cars are capable of doing 1000,s of miles before thier first mot test.

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

I was following somebody in traffic earlier, traffic slowed, but I didn't notice - had to brake a bit harder than I'd have liked. Eh? Am I losing it?

Next time traffic slows, I think... No, I'm not losing it - her brake lights definitely didn't come on... Late 90s Astra, high level light fitted.

Pull up to traffic lights. Definitely braking, definitely no lights.

Jump out, run up to window (open) "Excuse me, but did you know you have no brake lights _at all_? Not one of the three is working." "Oh! Right! Umm, thanks, umm, sorry, umm..."

Lights change, she drives off.

Wonder if she'll bother doing anything about them?

The message from "reg" contains these words:

Are they? Considering how few people fix their own cars these days that surprises me.

ive seen some right real bodges & dangerous as well.

registered gas fitters.

Any official reference (URL's) to support these to statements?

The message from "reg" contains these words:

So've I, but I don't think it's anything new.

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

It isn't.

All the same old mechanical bodges that have always gone on are still going on - but people don't have to do the bodywork ones any more, because cars don't rot.

As others have said here, it varies wildly now. The MOT-only station that I use used to give free retests, now it's half-fee within 14 days.

It does at least provide a bigger incentive for people to check their cars before taking them for a test - after all, a lot of people have abused the free retest idea to use the first test to diagnose what needs doing!

The trouble is, there's no way of distinguishing the bodgers from those of us that do a proper job. I *know* that my welding work is far superior to that done by most garages. I refuse to bodge anything, unless as a get-me-home emergency measure.

I know that at least if I repair a car it's done properly. I can't always say that of a garage.

She'll probably get them all replaced after a White Van Man runs into the back of her and smashes the lot.