Driving test fee when car has fault

jojeba

Went to sit my driving test this week. Got to the test centre - I'm using my instructor's car - and the examinar immediately noticed a nail in the car tire. My instructor had checked the car before I started driving to the centre so it must have been picked up en route to the test centre. Unfortunately it meant that I could not sit the test and got a non result which also means I have to rebook and pay the fee again. My instructor was disappointed for me, and offered to waive cost of using their time and their car for the next test, which is even more than the cost of the test itself, but I'm left wondering why I should have to pay for a new test at all as this was not my fault. I have a good relationship with my instructor so don't want to make a big deal about it, but £62 id a lotta money to stump up again.

AdrianC

Could you not have changed the tyre?

It certainly isn't the DVSA's fault that the vehicle wasn't in a suitable condition for use, is it? So why should they waive the fee?

BTW, if you think £62 for the test is a "lot of money", remember that your instructor - whose fault it also wasn't - is not only not charging you for the time and car for the retest, but is paying to replace the tyre. Seems he's the one who's most out of pocket for something that's nobody's fault.

lister

As Adrian says, why did your instructor not change the tyre - the examiners will give you 5-10mins to get it sorted?

That's why I always carry a full-size spare and am well practiced at getting wheels on and off in double quick time.

Personally in such a case I would be paying the test fee and giving a free lesson if I couldn't rectify, but you are already getting a pretty good offer by the sounds of it.

jojeba

Cheers. This was totally my line of thinking too because like you say the nail was nobody's fault but a load of people I talked to since have argued it was the instructor's responsibility to make sure the car was test-ready before we entered the test centre. I can't figure out what the standard guidelines are for something like this. So curious for an unbias second opinion.

jojeba

He was going to change the tyre but just as he went to get the spare the examiner said on second thoughts there wouldn't be enough time.

lister

jojeba wrote: »

He was going to change the tyre but just as he went to get the spare the examiner said on second thoughts there wouldn't be enough time.

Essentially down to the examiner's judgement - but usually you are given 5 minutes as a minimum to fix an issue. I would imagine they figured it couldn't be changed in time, but have seen it done in the past (with the examiner lending a hand).

Strider590

If this nail was picked up en-route to the test centre, the instructor should really have noticed the distinct "tick tick tick tick tick tick tick tick tick tick" noise from that wheel. It worries me to think that a driving instructor could miss such an obvious sign.

I've stopped at the side of the road with suspect nail in tyre on a number of occasions and fortunately it was just a stone stuck between the treads.

Nodding_Donkey

Strider590 wrote: »

If this nail was picked up en-route to the test centre, the instructor should really have noticed the distinct "tick tick tick tick tick tick tick tick tick tick" noise from that wheel. It worries me to think that a driving instructor could miss such an obvious sign.

I've stopped at the side of the road with suspect nail in tyre on a number of occasions and fortunately it was just a stone stuck between the treads.

Exactly, it was a stone not a nail.

A nail will make virtually no noise at all.

arcon5

Strider590 wrote: »

If this nail was picked up en-route to the test centre, the instructor should really have noticed the distinct "tick tick tick tick tick tick tick tick tick tick" noise from that wheel. It worries me to think that a driving instructor could miss such an obvious sign.

I've stopped at the side of the road with suspect nail in tyre on a number of occasions and fortunately it was just a stone stuck between the treads.

That's a bit judgemental. Not all nails make a noise ya know. It's not an oath all nail take before penetrating a tyre that they'll make a noise once inside

onomatopoeia99

Strider590 wrote: »

If this nail was picked up en-route to the test centre, the instructor should really have noticed the distinct "tick tick tick tick tick tick tick tick tick tick" noise from that wheel. It worries me to think that a driving instructor could miss such an obvious sign.

Not always obvious, especially if the windows are wound up. I've had a couple of nails in tyres in the last decade, one I heard within a few seconds of picking it up, the other only when the tyre went flat while parked up after finishing my journey.

jojeba

It made no noise until the examiner made my instructor try and pull it out - he said if he could get it out then we could continue. As soon as he pulled at the nail the tyre started hissing and that's when the examiner said we'd have no time to change it.

Strider590 wrote: »

If this nail was picked up en-route to the test centre, the instructor should really have noticed the distinct "tick tick tick tick tick tick tick tick tick tick" noise from that wheel. It worries me to think that a driving instructor could miss such an obvious sign.

I've stopped at the side of the road with suspect nail in tyre on a number of occasions and fortunately it was just a stone stuck between the treads.