Council MOT Testing

Jimmy1977

Just wanted to share my experience yesterday when I took my car for its MOT at my local Council test centre.

Its a 53 Lexus IS200 which is normally a pretty reliable car, but there were a few issues that would have meant a failure on the MOT such as mis-aligned headlights and a twisted brake fluid line to one wheel. The guys doing the MOT just fixed/repaired each item as it came up, never charged me anything more than the standard MOT fee.

From my perspective its a huge thumbs up for using council MOT centres, can't fault that service at all!

Have a good weekend everyone, cheers!

Jimmy

TrickyWicky

They're not all good mate. I used one years ago that failed the car on emissions. Took it to a private mot-only place and they passed it within the hour.

colino

Now, ducking to avoid the brickbats about to be thrown, what skilled tradesman would work for the council? Sure its normally a cushy number with a pretty secure outlook, but not the best paid billet.
I certainly don't mind people saying that council MOT centres are unbiased or whatever, but letting one of these guys loose on a private car is foolhardy.
A cracking example of this was the Lord Provosts roller that was, "fastidiously maintained" by the council, "Mechanics" but had to go to a specialist for a minor repair. They did a free (and genuine) checkover of the car and declared it unfit for the road. So many bodges, wrong parts, badly fitted parts etc.,that it had to come off the road for a major overhaul. Stick to changing oil on the bin lorries.

Jimmy1977

Well i watched the whole time, he showed me exactly what was needed, and he seemed very competent to me. I know there will be some good ones and bad ones, but my experience was good. Its one of the biggest London councils and they MOT cars daily, so I don't think they lack experience on private cars.

Jimmy1977

And just to add, they picked up faults that the last private MOT place didnt... faults that can't "just happen" of their own accord.

SailorSam

We had to take our Cabs to the Council dept to be tested and they were so strict that everything was perfect that the garage who did my repairs had a noose hanging up in the corner 'cos sometimes drivers decided that was an easier way out rather than have a test.
One test in particular i remember, we had to have a full steam clean before the test, and on the day mine was due it was torrential rain. I had my steam clean drove a mile to the testing centre and it was put on the ramp. The tester said straight away "You've failed", he said it's dirty underneath and he wouldn't get under.
I should have taken advantage of the noose.
And the tests on taxis are every 6mths.

TrickyWicky

Jimmy1977 wrote: »

And just to add, they picked up faults that the last private MOT place didnt... faults that can't "just happen" of their own accord.

Thats good if you're the type who wants to know about every niggle and have it repaired ASAP and have the money for it. If you're the type who's desperately trying to get to work to earn half a crust of bread then you don't need the fussiness. There are some faults that won't seriously affect a cars performance or safety on the road (eg warning lights on the dashboard about the ECU throwing a hissy fit).

I've taken cars in for an MOT that have had mot failable things wrong with them but which would not pose a safety risk (eg a number plate slightly delaminating in the corner). A council depot would fail that yet a private one may see it as a non-issue because in reality, thats not going to cause a crash is it and can be glued back in place. If you're the sort of person who wants a car failed on a triviality then sure the council depot may be the way to go but if you want a common sense option then the private mot-only place can often be better.

Even Vosa will admit there are differences of opinion between MOT testers - I spoke to the Vosa manager responsible for MOT testers in my area on the phone years ago and he said it himself!

Jimmy1977

Well in this case it was a twisted brake fluid cable. Hardly a triviality. It was pointed out to me when discovered, and yes the cable was badly twisted.

I'm not the sort of person that wants a car failed on a triviality, in fact the council guys doing the MOT could have done that very same thing on a couple of things, but they chose to quickly fix it.

I go agree with you though that testers will differ from person to person and indeed from garage to garage so I guess in some respects its still a lottery. I do appreciate the feedback though, as they say knowledge is power, and i learn a lot from guys like you, so thanks

Cheers,

Jimmy

colino

If you had a twisted flexi that is purely down to the guy who either replaced it last time or who removed/replaced the caliper in a cack-handed manner. Did that happen recently?

Jimmy1977

It happened prior to the last MOT check.

scotsbob

My experience is the same. I have used the council centres for some years now, since reading about them on these forums.

Really helpful guys who know their stuff and will tell me things like "tightened up your handbrake cable it was a bit loose," "your petrol filler cap was an emergency plastic one, which would be a fail, we had a spare here I just stuck it on for you"