MOTs Cost Cutting MoneySavingExpert.com Discussion Area

fatstuff76

I haven't read through the whole forum so am not sure whether this has been mentioned, it is just a few words of caution.

Using MOT stations that do NOT do repairs are not always as good as they sound. It is known through out the trade that they can be unnessasarily strict. We have had people bring their cars into our local village garage for us to rectify faults that have caused the car to fail at council MOT stations, and have sent the people away to argue that there is actually nothing wrong with the vehicle. Everytime the car owner returns with an apology from the MOT station that the vehicle should not have actually failed the test.

One of the main problems is that MOT stations have to fail a certain number of vehicles on a certain number of things. Because all the details are now kept on a national database it is easy for the Ministry of Transport to look at reports from MOT stations and every single registered tester. If the tester does not fail enough vehicles to keep up with the national average then the Ministry will call upon him and question him on why this has happened. The fact that the vehicles may all be acceptable to the test means nothing, there has to be some failiures.

You also cannot always trust main dealers to be honest with you. We recently had a vehicle come in for repair as the VW main dealer had quoted £350 to replace the anti-roll bar for the MOT, we replaced the £5 bushes that were really required and sent the vehicle back to the main dealer for it's retest. Needless to say, the vehicle passed with flying colours.

I know that there are many dodgy garages out there that will try and rip you off here and there, I know some people that do. But I pride myself on being as honest as I can to the customers, whether I can make an extra £10 off them or not.

jase1

Is £45 cheap for an MOT these days?

It's all my trusted independent charges -- and I know he's honest, and his labour charges are reasonable (£30/hour).

Why would I go to Kwik Fit again?

lucretia_ten

Now I'm confused and don't know where to go for my MOT - council in Scorrier or local independant?. I live in Penzance - anyone know of a reliable MOT tester:question: :think:

MOT_Inspector

Did you know that Luton Borough Council operates its own MOT testing station? It's facilities are some of the best in the area.



Testing your car is their only interest as they don’t sell repairs, tyres or exhausts. They do sell peace of mind.



I think it was one of my better decisions!



You can call them on 01582 546839 and pop along to Luton Borough Council, Fleet Transport, Central Depot, Kingsway, Luton. LU4 8AU



Open from 7am to 8pm on Monday and Tuesday and 7am till 7pm Wednesday to Friday.



Oh, and they now offer a FREE RETEST!

rickbonar

:spam:spam a lam a ding dong

the post above

benjus

Does anyone have any experience with this company?

http://www.thetestcentre.co.uk/

£45 test fee, only does tests - no repairs, not too far from my place... sounds interesting.

davidncohen

London borough of Camden
Transport services
York Way depot
7 York Way
Freight Lane
London
N1C 4BE

Tel: 020 7974 6723

Email: [EMAIL="fleet.services@camden.gov.uk"]fleet.services@camden.gov.uk[/EMAIL]

Location: http://www.streetmap.co.uk/map.srf?x...earchp=ids.srf

Services:

• MOT tests (no repairs)
• air conditioning recharging
• emission testing
• battery testing
• electronic diagnostics of Ford, Mercedes and VAG vehicles
• brake testing

D4WNO

FYI - Thamesdown Transport of Swindon does NOT do MOTs for cars (they are listed on here somewhere). They may have done previously but not anymore

dom_

Hi,

Might seem a rather daft question but can you use any local authority mot test centre or does it have to be the one you live in or the one you pay rates etc to ?

Thanks.

SteveJW

You can use any MOT Station you wish, council run or otherwise

Little bit confused about people saying their local Council Station no longer does private MOTs, it used to be that if you were a council MOT station you had to offer MOTs to the public, it was possible to severley restrict the times you offered them.

I will check at work next week