MOT and re-test question

because its online they know when you start the test and when you finish it thats why you need a 45 min time slot in the day- if you walk away with a ticket after only say 10 mins im sure VOSA will check up on the garage and have reason to suspect that a proper test has not been done, since its more than a day from your fail date

No - I think MOT stations now get charged by VOSA for each test/retest carried out, so charging for a retest is unavoidable. Unless the vehicle stays at their premises and fails on certain things, which are generally black and white things with no middle ground like blown bulbs and such like (though the list isn't quite that simple), in which case a full retest isn't required. This isn't a con to have them do the work AFAIK, it's purely that they can be certain that nothing's happened to the vehicle since the test that would affect anything relating to the test.

The message from "AstraVanMan" contains these words:

I had a free retest just before Christmas at a computerised MOT station.

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

There's a very short list of fail items which qualitify for a free retest.

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

It's more a case of the computer won't let them finish the test within 45 mins - so if they "rush one through", they'll have a backlog for the rest of the day...

The message from Adrian contains these words:

This was brake flexies.

In message , Adrian writes

Exactly. I had the Focus fail on n/s handbrake force low. It was a seized pivot on the operating arm and I replaced the shoes on the rear axle as an easy fix. The guy wanted to do a free re-test but he couldn't because of the computer system. He didn't want to charge the full fee just for testing the handbrake.

The only way was to say that the repair was carried out by himself at the testing centre but he said that VOSA had been known to check if such a "repair at test centre" was accompanied by an invoice for the work done so in the end he charged a tenner for "adjusting the brakes", raised an invoice for the work and wrote out my ticket.

He showed me the regulations and he was not trying it on. He would have been justified in charging me the full re-test fee so I was happy with a tenner.

Me too. Car failed on a fuse for the number plate lamps. I said they could retest it whenever they wanted. They wanted to to it outside of the 24hr period so I said "ok but won't you then need to do a full retest?" to which the reply was "well it's hardly going to fail on anything else is it" I'm sure they only retested the lamps then issued the computerised certificate.

I had heard that this "computerised" test rules were properly implemented after 1st January.

So did I. I was told that a full retest was necessary 24h after the initial test. They gave me a 7 day grace for a blown high-level rear stoplight.

Mine failed on rear handbrake efficiency I took it back 7 days later, free retest they had me take the car back early before they opened the garage don't know why only the brakes tested.

The message from "Lin Chung" contains these words:

This was a week later.

ISTR that the free retest was only if (a) it only failed on something like a blown bulb or (b) you left it at the same garage for repairs, in which case there wouldn't be much point in them retesting it as they did the rectification work themselves.

A colleague at work got through the MoT last week with a blown brake light bulb and a dodgy tyre. The guy just told him to get them fixed (which he did). Hmmm.

I had two free retests in early December, for a faulty Lamda sensor. Initial MOT fail, Lamda sensor. Retest with new sensor fitted which was faulty. Fail again. Sensor replaced. Pass. Mike.