Multiple MOTs

danadanny

Hi,
I'm wondering if I am allowed to get a second opinion on my failed MOT from a council MOT test centre?

I sent my car to a local garage for annual MOT on Monday. The reason for the MOT failure was due to front left headlights out of alignment. I had a minor accident on Sunday where I scraped the front left bumper against a wall. The lights are working fine.

I just want to make sure the headlights are indeed out of alignment & not because some repair guy wants to rip me off.

Thanks.

CKhalvashi

danadanny wrote: »

Hi,
I'm wondering if I am allowed to get a second opinion on my failed MOT from a council MOT test centre?

I sent my car to a local garage for annual MOT on Monday. The reason for the MOT failure was due to front left headlights out of alignment. I had a minor accident on Sunday where I scraped the front left bumper against a wall. The lights are working fine.

I just want to make sure the headlights are indeed out of alignment & not because some repair guy wants to rip me off.

Thanks.

Council MoT systems don't have garages attached, which turns out to be a nightmare for some of us that are forced to use them.

CK

keith1950

Have the alignment checked/aligned elsewhere and them go back for a free retest.

A council test centre has nothing to gain by wrongly failing your car as they don't do repairs.

Hintza

So you think it is a coincidence that you pranged the car and they failed it because the light was out of alignment.

It would be a lot quicker and easier putting the car close to a wall and matching it with the other one.

slyracoon

danadanny wrote: »

Hi,
I'm wondering if I am allowed to get a second opinion on my failed MOT from a council MOT test centre?

I sent my car to a local garage for annual MOT on Monday. The reason for the MOT failure was due to front left headlights out of alignment. I had a minor accident on Sunday where I scraped the front left bumper against a wall. The lights are working fine.

I just want to make sure the headlights are indeed out of alignment & not because some repair guy wants to rip me off.

Thanks.

Just because the lights are working does not mean they are aligned correctly, if they are not aligned correctly you might be dazzleing other road users.

Why do you need a second a opinion, even if they were making it up the cost of them fixing it is likely to be less than you will pay for the second test. Its a 10 minute job to fix the alignment, my car failed on it last year, luckily they fixed it free of charge but I would expect to pay 30 minutes of labour time max if it is a simple alignment fix.

Unless of course its more serious than just alignment and when you pranged the car you damaged the headlight unit which means they are unable to fix the alignment without replacing the unit?

cb1979

No once your car has failed an MOT it is recorded on the database and as soon as our reg and vin number is entered in the computer at another MOT testing center it will show it failed on Headlight alignment
Get you car fixed, that is why we have an annual test, to get un- roadworthy cars fixed

worried_jim

It would be cheaper to get them re aligned than pay another £50 odd quid for another MOT elsewhere. OP- you sound mental.

harleq1962

Hintza wrote: »

So you think it is a coincidence that you pranged the car and they failed it because the light was out of alignment.

It would be a lot quicker and easier putting the car close to a wall and matching it with the other one.

i parked my car by a wall on an off ramp late at night, one of the beams was several inches higher than the other, car had been in a slight knock and twisted the wing to which the headlight is bolted, it dosen't take much to knock out of line, and it can be dangerous to other motorists if you are behind them.

Hintza

harleq1962 wrote: »

and it can be dangerous to other motorists if you are behind them.

That is why you then re-align it with the aid of a wall, to show you how far out it is.

molerat

Last year my car went in for test with the headlight pointing too low (the accident repair specialists obviously were not that specialist) and came out with it correctly aimed, pass ticket and no mention of it

Spending £50 to check something that was probably correctly failed given the car's history and would cost far less to fix is a bit silly IMO. You can have an MOT done every day if you wish, might get a bit expensive though.

spacey2012

It is generally the inner headlight reflector that sets the beam, this could have been knocked in the bump, so the headlight may look ok but be projecting and dazzling the crew of the ISS space station.
Re-alignment of the reflector is a simple job whilst the garage has the testing machine at hand.
If the system is broken, a scarp yard head light is usually a quick fix.