The rules for MOT renewals for those who had a 6 month Coronavirus extension should be changed

Sky_Dragon

I just had an email from the DVSA suggesting I get my car, which had it's MOT moved from May to November because of the lockdown, MOT'ed now because:

"We’re expecting unprecedented demand for MOTs during September, October and November.

This is because some MOT due dates were extended by 6 months to help prevent the spread of coronavirus (COVID-19), and they’ll now be due during this time.

Your local MOT centre will do all it can to meet the demand for MOT tests. But it will be very busy.

Your test is currently due during peak demand. You may struggle to get a test date at your preferred MOT centre when your MOT is due."

While I'm prepared to get it MOT'ed now to help spread the work (after all, I still got some free months) this still leaves a couple of issues:
1. As the existing MOT early renewal rules apply, if I renew now, my next MOT will be August 2021. So, I would think most will ignore the warning and wait until no more than 30 days before their new renewal dates to do their MOT anyway;
2. Much bigger issue - there are now pretty much zero MOTs in April, May, June and July and this will be the case for 2021, 2022, and 2023 (as the first cars needing a May MOT will be sold in May 2021, assuming very few were sold in May 2020). So all the garages will have another dearth of work for 4 months for the next 3 years too.
I think it would make more sense to either offer free/discounted MOTs now to those who are happy to have their MOT date revert to the original (i.e. for me, next one would be May 2021) OR allow any deferred MOT done now to last until the original month in 2022.

What do people think? Is this a real problem, are there any better solutions, and who should I lobby if there's agreement that something should change?

TooManyPoints

A classic case of the law of unintended consequences. Tackle one problem only to see it reappear somewhere (or some time) else. Bit like squeezing one side of a balloon.

AdrianC

Sky_Dragon said:

2. Much bigger issue - there are now pretty much zero MOTs in April, May, June and July and this will be the case for 2021, 2022, and 2023 (as the first cars needing a May MOT will be sold in May 2021, assuming very few were sold in May 2020). So all the garages will have another dearth of work for 4 months for the next 3 years too.

Umm, what about those cars which were new in Apr-Jul 2018, which are due their first MOTs in 2021? Or the ones from Apr-Jul 19, due the first test in 2022?

I think it would make more sense to either offer free/discounted MOTs now to those who are happy to have their MOT date revert to the original (i.e. for me, next one would be May 2021)

So you'd be happy with getting the car tested, but only 8 months until it expires? Why not just take it to be tested in May anyway? Don't forget - the gov't don't set test prices. They only set the maximum that can be charged. Any tester can charge less...

OR allow any deferred MOT done now to last until the original month in 2022.

So another 20mo MOT for no reason other than a bit of convenience?

Car_54

I predicted this in another thread some months ago. Deja vue all over again.

MinuteNoodles

Sky_Dragon said:

What do people think? Is this a real problem, are there any better solutions, and who should I lobby if there's agreement that something should change?

Nobody should be entitled to a free MOT. It has been possible to get MOTs through almost all of the duration of the pandemic. The chancers who took the option to extend fixing their unroadworthy sheds will have a problem and will just have to accept getting it done early. They've still won as the new expiry date may only be 12 months and not 13 months but it will still be months later than it should have been if they'd not used the extension so they've still benefitted.

In regards to discounted MOTs, you can get those anyway. I can't recall the last time I paid full price for a MOT test as someone always has an offer on.

prowla

There should be no further extension and the new MOT should last for 1 year - we've already had (up to) 6 months free and that's enough.

A_Lert

As far as garages go, MOTs aren't high profit for them anyway. I'm not sure they'll be too worried about it.

Sky_Dragon

AdrianC said:

Sky_Dragon said:

2. Much bigger issue - there are now pretty much zero MOTs in April, May, June and July and this will be the case for 2021, 2022, and 2023 (as the first cars needing a May MOT will be sold in May 2021, assuming very few were sold in May 2020). So all the garages will have another dearth of work for 4 months for the next 3 years too.

Umm, what about those cars which were new in Apr-Jul 2018, which are due their first MOTs in 2021? Or the ones from Apr-Jul 19, due the first test in 2022?

Good point. Far fewer MOTs but at least not zero as I thought.

I think it would make more sense to either offer free/discounted MOTs now to those who are happy to have their MOT date revert to the original (i.e. for me, next one would be May 2021)

So you'd be happy with getting the car tested, but only 8 months until it expires? Why not just take it to be tested in May anyway? Don't forget - the gov't don't set test prices. They only set the maximum that can be charged. Any tester can charge less...

Well - if I just wanted to minimise costs I'd wait until November and take my chances, and then I wouldn't have to MOT again until November 2021 - there's no financial incentive to get me to go back to May. I was just thinking the government could give a financial nudge or at least allow businesses to offer cheaper 8 month MOTs to re-balance the dates (as I agree they usually do their own discounts anyway)

OR allow any deferred MOT done now to last until the original month in 2022.

So another 20mo MOT for no reason other than a bit of convenience?

Agreed - not a great idea - just floated that as an an extreme solution.

A_Lert said:

As far as garages go, MOTs aren't high profit for them anyway. I'm not sure they'll be too worried about it.

Well, I saw a lot of grizzling by garages after the initial deferrals, as they were saying people generally have other stuff done as well at MOT time (I usually save things up any maintenance for the MOT day if it's not urgent) so they were saying work had pretty much dried up because of the MOT deferrals, but, as @AdrianC pointed out, there will be some work from the new cars bought in Apr-Jul 2018 in 2021, so while it will be significantly fewer MOTs it won't be zero.

MinuteNoodles said:

Nobody should be entitled to a free MOT. It has been possible to get MOTs through almost all of the duration of the pandemic. The chancers who took the option to extend fixing their unroadworthy sheds will have a problem and will just have to accept getting it done early. They've still won as the new expiry date may only be 12 months and not 13 months but it will still be months later than it should have been if they'd not used the extension so they've still benefitted.

In regards to discounted MOTs, you can get those anyway. I can't recall the last time I paid full price for a MOT test as someone always has an offer on.

I don't think the majority people who had their MOTs automatically extended are "chancers" - as far as I was aware it wasn't an option as the DVSA just automatically added 6 months to the MOT date when the original date was reached which I assume 99% of motorists took advantage of. Maybe I'm wrong about that and people were still MOT'ing their cars even though they didn't have to.
I'd agree, it would also have been an extra advantage for the small number of people who knew their vehicles would definitely fail but I would have these people, who I think you are referring to, are in a small minority.
I just suggested Free MOTs as a way of encouraging people to get back their original MOT cycle to smooth the overall workload.

Sky_Dragon

Actually, just noticed I could book a Halfords MOT for November now, so maybe I should just get in quick and leave the problem to those who normally have November MOTs 

AdrianC

Sky_Dragon said:

Actually, just noticed I could book a Halfords MOT for November now, so maybe I should just get in quick and leave the problem to those who normally have November MOTs 

Halfords...? No, don't...

Just book it with somebody whose main business isn't selling stick-on tat and cheap bicycles, but is actually garage services.

marlot

I've had the extension on both my cars.
But I'm taking them in for their MOTs in late August - I don't want to be caught out if there's a rise in Covid during the winter months.  Plus the MOT centres are fairly quiet at the moment.