In and Out MOT?

justcat

Hi everyone,

I need to get my car MOT'd this month and I had someone at work mention a company called In and Out. They do conveyor style MOTs.

Has anyone heard of/used them before?

Rolandtheroadie

Doesnt fill me with confidence with a name like that TBH. Find a small local independent that can be trusted. Failing that, council run one but you'll still need someone to fix it.

Sandoval

What's a conveyor style MOT?

colino

This sounds like they have bitten the bullet and bought an automatic testing lane. It's not a mechanical MOT, it is just sophisticated enough to let one man do a thorough MOT. Takes less time, allows more MOTs in a day but needs a higher capital input up front.

Strider590

I saw one of these places when I visited Ikea in Wednsebury, it was absolutely packed with people in the waiting room. Nothing but a gimick sales pitch if you ask me.

iNath

They did my MOT in June (Northampton)
Passed with flying colours (no advisories)
All done in 45mins (I've got a Platinum card so it's all paid for upfront)

sassy_one

I was going to use one for my last MOT, decided against when I saw the members of staff that worked there, very very unfriendly!

wendyloub

i nipped in to ask about a service, full service £125 I think I would use them.

benham3160

Ah, ATL's, the way of the future, I was assured when I last dealt with these matters.

Basically, although it sounds like a gimmick the system is being employed by lots of garages up and down our fair isle. VOSA (previously the "Ministry of Transport" - sort of) have allowed stations to opt into OPT (One Person Testing), and ATL's (Automated Test Lanes) to carry out MoT tests, vs. the traditional "two man" tests that have been employed since the beginning of the MOT Test scheme.

To me, OPT is the way of the future, and despite what you cynics may be thinking, I'd MUCH rather be driving a car tested on the modern OPT equipment rather than the old manual methods.

Without boring about the workings of a car, the amount of stress you can place on to the car with the hydraulic OPT kit is far greater than the traditional methods. Now, before you think this is a bad thing, remember the cornering/steering/braking stresses that can applied to the steering/suspension system basically rely on the bodyweight of the tester. For me as a 5' 10' 12 stone guy, with a prybar I can only generate a proprotion of this on the cars workings, however the machines can generate "real world" stresses, which highlight crucial component failures much more clearly.

It's nothing to be scared of, for me it's a winner. The trust does look far more brutal than a manual test though!

There is still a human doing the assessing, the ATL only allows the tester to work faster, more efficently, and not have to "guess" so much at a lot of failures, they can be clearly proven or disproven at the flick of a switch. A human being still passes or fails the car....... Or if you're on recent VOSA mantra "P&A is KING"

Regards,
Andy

sassy_one

benham3160 wrote: »

Ah, ATL's, the way of the future, I was assured when I last dealt with these matters.

Basically, although it sounds like a gimmick the system is being employed by lots of garages up and down our fair isle. VOSA (previously the "Ministry of Transport" - sort of) have allowed stations to opt into OPT (One Person Testing), and ATL's (Automated Test Lanes) to carry out MoT tests, vs. the traditional "two man" tests that have been employed since the beginning of the MOT Test scheme.

To me, OPT is the way of the future, and despite what you cynics may be thinking, I'd MUCH rather be driving a car tested on the modern OPT equipment rather than the old manual methods.

Without boring about the workings of a car, the amount of stress you can place on to the car with the hydraulic OPT kit is far greater than the traditional methods. Now, before you think this is a bad thing, remember the cornering/steering/braking stresses that can applied to the steering/suspension system basically rely on the bodyweight of the tester. For me as a 5' 10' 12 stone guy, with a prybar I can only generate a proprotion of this on the cars workings, however the machines can generate "real world" stresses, which highlight crucial component failures much more clearly.

It's nothing to be scared of, for me it's a winner. The trust does look far more brutal than a manual test though!

There is still a human doing the assessing, the ATL only allows the tester to work faster, more efficently, and not have to "guess" so much at a lot of failures, they can be clearly proven or disproven at the flick of a switch. A human being still passes or fails the car....... Or if you're on recent VOSA mantra "P&A is KING"

Regards,
Andy

Andy, do you believe this is the way forward though, one person MOT testing?

I'm thinking it could cause a huge problems on our roads and put the cost of motoring up still!

What if you have a mate working at one of these one person testing stations, knows you and the wife and kids are only just getting by, you car has a major defect but passes it?! :eek:

Surely, at least the car should be checked over by a manager or someone as such before a 'Pass' being issued??

Scary stuff!

benham3160

sassy-one wrote: »

Andy, do you believe this is the way forward though, one person MOT testing?

I'm thinking it could cause a huge problems on our roads and put the cost of motoring up still!

What if you have a mate working at one of these one person testing stations, knows you and the wife and kids are only just getting by, you car has a major defect but passes it?! :eek:

Surely, at least the car should be checked over by a manager or someone as such before a 'Pass' being issued??

Scary stuff!

I understand the sentiment, however I'm not sure how this affects the outcome of the test.

Testers (or properly "Nominated Testers") work autononomously when they are testing, it is purely the descretion of the NT who is "logged on" to take the test whether the car passes or not, one tester (regardless of experience) can not undermine another tester, and once an MOT Test pass has been issued, it's damn difficult, if not technically impossible to have it withdrawn.

I can tell you exactly what would happen if a non-NT manager tried to tell an NT (who is by definition a skilled time served mechnic, of good standing, and lots of assessment) if a car passes or fails!

Honestly, and I say this with no prejudice, cars are "passed on the sly" whichever method is employed. If there is a one-man or two-man test, ultimately the assistant sits in the car, the tester is underneath it making the decisions.

However, I do not know of any NTs (I know many) who would knowingly allow anybody to drive, (especially a friend) a car with a serious defect. Allowing somebody through for a brake-lamp bulb on the assurance they'll drive straight around the corner and fix it though...... Let's say these things to happen.

Let me know if I've misunderstood your point.

Regards,
Andy