Bought 2nd car from dealer with, what appears to be, a dodgy MOT certificate

colino

Extending this topic drift, it is utter garbage to regurgitate the myth that NTs do favours for those in the trade. Neither the MOT station (with its highly policed QC) or the trader would last very long with a reputation for dodgy MOTs.
Privateers (and those loveable driveway dealers) are much more likely to attempt to conceal and bodge fixes for our incredibly easy and straightforward annual safety test.

Joe_Horner

colino wrote: »

Extending this topic drift, it is utter garbage to regurgitate the myth that NTs do favours for those in the trade.

Really?

I'm not trade but, in the past, I've built up relationships with several test stations where they'd let some things slide on the understanding that I'd sort them out.

We're not talking no-brakes-wheels-falling-off faults but things like handbrakes slightly below limits, sticky calipers, borderline balljoint wear (on the wrong side of the borderline), or even some corrosion.

They knew I'd do the work, and do it right, so it saved them tying up the test lane to check and saved me faffing about getting someone else to confirm I'd done the bolts up tight.

If I can get that sort of helpful service after a couple of years of 2 or 3 tests a year, someone sending maybe 5 or 10 cars per month isn't going to have a problem finding a "helpful" tester.

It was also quite common (though doesn't seem to be so much now) to see dodgy traders offering a disproportionate number of cars for sale with "9 months MOT". Many of those had tickets written, then were left "round the back" until there was no comeback even for major structural rot.

colino

You should report your own NT then. Absolute BS that a VTS would do anything other than make 100% sure a sale car couldn't come back to bite them.

Joe_Horner

Why? These were testers i've used in the past, so it'd be a bit mean to report my current one, wouldn't it?

As for it being "absolute BS" that a testing station might bend the rules for a regular customer, you obviously dont live in the real world. Most won't (or, at least, won't bend them to breaking) but some certainly will.

colino

I've checked my postcode, it's definitely in the real world, but I had a read at your previous post where it mentioned "5 or 10 cars per month". That is really down in driveway dealer mire so perhaps some NTs have kept their jobs and flew under the radar buddying up with the low life. Any real VTS wants to stay in business and passes what it sees, not what it's promised.

salubrious

Joe_Horner wrote: »

Really?

I'm not trade but, in the past, I've built up relationships with several test stations where they'd let some things slide on the understanding that I'd sort them out.

We're not talking no-brakes-wheels-falling-off faults but things like handbrakes slightly below limits, sticky calipers, borderline balljoint wear (on the wrong side of the borderline), or even some corrosion.

They knew I'd do the work, and do it right, so it saved them tying up the test lane to check and saved me faffing about getting someone else to confirm I'd done the bolts up tight.

If I can get that sort of helpful service after a couple of years of 2 or 3 tests a year, someone sending maybe 5 or 10 cars per month isn't going to have a problem finding a "helpful" tester.

So you have accepted the benefit of having an 'understanding' from your local tester when it suited you - Yet if that 'understanding is applied to anyone outside of you, then it should be dealt with by an appeal/vosa.