Is an MOT wash really necessary?

forgotmyname

Do you live in Switzerland? Importing a car to Switzerland?

JP1978

People sometimes think that the MOT is a chore, an inconvenience or other unnecessary expense. It isn't though is it, it is to keep our cars safe on the road.

Presenting the car clean, especially the underside will help the tester identify any issues of concern so that they can be addressed - one would imagine easier to spot issues on a clean car that may be an advisory when its clean. At least then owner has time to deal with before they become an issue.

robatwork

Probably had 30 MOTs and never heard of this, so you must "know" some strange people.

Arklight

An MOT wash? Have you tried driving fast through a puddle?

reddwarf2002

I always take my car in for a quick (cheapest) wash just to make the car more presentable. I figure that a MOT tester is more likely to pass me with an advisory than fail on borderline cases - so it helps not having to go back after fixing it. A tester is likely to think a car looked after (clean) is more likely to be repaired than one that looks neglected.

mollycat

Is it an euphemism for something?

OP, maybe the people who have told you about this are taking the "MOT wash" out of you? £15

I jet wash the day before as a courtesy to the MOT tester whom i've known a long time. Couple of ££.

Alanp

A couple of ££ for a jet wash!,! The one near me is £1 a minute

Cash-Strapped.T32

We always put HGVs on the wash before sending it for MOT (and by "on the wash", I mean a massive set of ramps that a bloke in waterproofs can walk underneath with a steam cleaner) - 1st time passrate is so important for operators that it's not worth even the risk of a tester failing a truck on an item because he can't see it clearly enough to be sure it is ok...

Never heard of it for cars and I doubt I'd do it other than just keeping my own car in good nick, but in theory I guess it makes some kind of sense...?

ripplyuk

It must be a Northern Ireland thing. Everyone here takes their car for an MOT wash beforehand. That’s why there are always car wash places with signs for ‘MOT wash’ beside or very close to the test centre. They put the car up on a ramp so they can clean everything underneath which takes longer so it costs more. I was always told the underneath of the car must be cleaned or else they can’t examine it properly and could fail it for that. Also, I guess muck would fall on the guy underneath checking it.

Do most people NEVER clean the underneath of their car? I thought the dirt would rot things if it wasn’t done occasionally.

mollycat

Alanp wrote: »

A couple of ££ for a jet wash!,! The one near me is £1 a minute

Yep, thats right mate, usually takes me more than a minute to do it properly so "a couple ££" does it.