Don't go to a Council-run MOT centre if there's any chance of failing at all.
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EpicFishFingers wrote: »
The council run MOT centre shuts at 4pm. It's a proper compound with vanguard fencing etc - I suspect they won't leave the key on the wheel for me - I won't get back form work till gone 6, as is the norm with full-time employment.
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This gem always makes me laugh.
You think the folks at the council servicing don't work full time?
Or are they just not normal?
It may come as a shock but people who don't work 9 to 5, still actually work.0 -
So you drive your car on the road without a MoT. I would have crushed it to ...EpicFishFingers wrote: »Just learned this the hard way.
6 months ago I noticed I had a dead headlight and tried to replace it myself. Had previously paid Halfrauds £22 only to watch the chap effortlessly take a rubber seal off the back of the headlight housing, take out the bulb and put the new one in.
Tried the magic trick myself and just spent half an hour shredding my hand. Tried shaking it, pulling and pushing, thrusting it (oo-er), the car bounced on its suspension but the !!!! wouldn't come out of the headlight housing. Something came up and I drove off, and forgot about it.
Last week I noticed the MOT had run out so I booked it in at the local council place. Forgot about the headlight. Remembered at the test centre, and handed the mechanic the replacement bulb (maybe he, a mechanic, could hack it).
He outright said he probably wouldn't do it. I should have taken the car there and then but was late for my train.
The council run MOT centre shuts at 4pm. It's a proper compound with vanguard fencing etc - I suspect they won't leave the key on the wheel for me - I won't get back form work till gone 6, as is the norm with full-time employment.
So now the car will fail, they won't fix it, I'll have to drive it tomorrow (possibly illegally, depending on what "minimum roadworthiness" actually means) to somewhere else and, because of the timing of picking it up/dropping it off, I'll be outside of the "next working day" so I'll have to pay for either a full-price or discount second-test MOT
The thing is, if the car had working lights but failed on something unforeseen, I'd still be in this situation, forking out for a second MOT.
So aside form the obvious "check the common stuff before you go", I'd add "don't go to the council MOT centre at all if it shuts before you can get home from work". Because you WILL fork out for another part or full MOT.
And that, ladies and gentlemen, completely offsets the benefit of going to the council-run MOT centre in the first place. Very frustrating.0 -
This gem always makes me laugh.
You think the folks at the council servicing don't work full time?
Or are they just not normal?
It may come as a shock but people who don't work 9 to 5, still actually work.
Good point. Our vehicle workshop used to open around 5.30 am, the same time that the dustman started work, and would close around 7pm. We had vehicles running through the night. The MOT tests weren't done in house though.0 -
Veolia Mot Tester, please remove your number as advertising is not allowed.0
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Veolia Mot Tester, please remove your number as advertising is not allowed.
This is NOT advertising!
It is a correction to out of date information on the main forum!
https://www.moneysavingexpert.com/travel/cheap-mot/#localcouncil0 -
And have you rang that new number to see if it is genuine?This is NOT advertising!
It is a correction to out of date information on the main forum!
https://www.moneysavingexpert.com/travel/cheap-mot/#localcouncil
If he wants the number changed then he should contact the main site admins. The rules are quite clear regarding forum posts from people purportedly representing organisations, and there for very good reasons.0 -
Ringing the number listed would not prove it is genuine. But checking the DVLA listing on the .gov website proves that it is.0
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EDIT: Note that Post 25, which contained a correction to information published on the main site, has now been deleted, but the following information maybe useful to some Forum Members:-
In case post 25 gets deleted, anyone trying to contact Croydon Council's MOT testing centre should know that the telephone number has changed.
The correct number is 020 3567 6495
The information on the main MSE site is wrong.
https://www.moneysavingexpert.com/travel/cheap-mot/#localcouncil
I've verified the new number with the DVSA.
I don't work for Veolia (who have the contract with Croydon) and never have, but I do know that these guys are experts in vehicle maintenance, and keeping vehicles on the road in tip top condition is essential for their core activities.0 -
I would hope this thread is a wind up. If not I hope op has learnt a valuable lesson in car ownership. Almost anyone can get caught out by an item on the mot like emissions or a suspension component. However every single driver should be able to check the basics of tyres and lights before an mot.
I mean if, at a normal garage, I'd have to pay for a full re-test even if the car failed and was repaired that day, then the council-run garage is definitely the best bet. Otherwise it seems easy to end up in a position where you need to drive elsewhere to get it sorted, then drive back the next day, and pay an extra £20 or so for a partial re-test, which is potentially £20 more than a normal garage would charge)Even worse is that the op was well aware his car would fail on a blown bulb yet still presented it for mot.
No, not well aware, read the OP: I simply forgot. I'm not concerned about a bulb being out when I'm driving in the day all the time.I don't want to be sharing the road with drivers who are this negligent. Wonder when the op last checked their tyres and fluids.
That's such a reach: because I let a bulb burn out and tried, but failed to fix it, I must also let my fluids and air run low? Both get checked weekly, believe it or not. You'd be hard-pressed to find someone checking all their lights weekly as well, but for the sake of this thread I'm sure you're all whiter than white and do exactly that.
#I have NEVER had a car fail a MOT because of a bulb.
Well don't get too cocky; I had a brake light fail on the way to the testing station!
Nail on the head: even maintaining your car daily, you could still just have something fail on the way to the tst centre, or more likely miss something.
We can all stop pretending we're all perfect and that I'm committing a cardinal sin now, thanks.
Anyway: the council-run place ended up being really helpful AND they even repaired the faults.
Car got no advisories but failed on two points: the headlight (surprise!) and also on one of the brakes sticking. I'm sure I'm satan himself for not doing the weekly brake tests too, right?
Anyway the council repaired both things for me! Didn't even charge for the bulb as I had the spare ready! I'll definitely come back again, but will fix the small stuff first ofc.
That said, seems like this is the exception to the rule that the garage chose to do repairs - they ARE a council garage and yet they carried out the work. Hmm...
Also I never said it was the garage's fault they shut early, just that it means if you do fail, you run into the next day if they don't repair it. And then the next day again when you have to take it back. Pretty big inconvenience tbh.
Most garages will leave your key on the wheel so you can at least pick it up, even if you've failed the MOT (shocker: they don't have sticks up their * like some here, talk about minor transgressions)
And no I'm obviously not going to be posting my car make, model, how much of a shed it is, what council garage this is, or otherwise stitching anyone up :money:0 -
EpicFishFingers wrote: »I mean if, at a normal garage, I'd have to pay for a full re-test even if the car failed and was repaired that day, then the council-run garage is definitely the best bet. Otherwise it seems easy to end up in a position where you need to drive elsewhere to get it sorted, then drive back the next day, and pay an extra £20 or so for a partial re-test, which is potentially £20 more than a normal garage would charge)
No, not well aware, read the OP: I simply forgot. I'm not concerned about a bulb being out when I'm driving in the day all the time.
That's such a reach: because I let a bulb burn out and tried, but failed to fix it, I must also let my fluids and air run low? Both get checked weekly, believe it or not. You'd be hard-pressed to find someone checking all their lights weekly as well, but for the sake of this thread I'm sure you're all whiter than white and do exactly that.
Nail on the head: even maintaining your car daily, you could still just have something fail on the way to the tst centre, or more likely miss something.
We can all stop pretending we're all perfect and that I'm committing a cardinal sin now, thanks.
Anyway: the council-run place ended up being really helpful AND they even repaired the faults.
Car got no advisories but failed on two points: the headlight (surprise!) and also on one of the brakes sticking. I'm sure I'm satan himself for not doing the weekly brake tests too, right?
Anyway the council repaired both things for me! Didn't even charge for the bulb as I had the spare ready! I'll definitely come back again, but will fix the small stuff first ofc.
That said, seems like this is the exception to the rule that the garage chose to do repairs - they ARE a council garage and yet they carried out the work. Hmm...
Also I never said it was the garage's fault they shut early, just that it means if you do fail, you run into the next day if they don't repair it. And then the next day again when you have to take it back. Pretty big inconvenience tbh.
Most garages will leave your key on the wheel so you can at least pick it up, even if you've failed the MOT (shocker: they don't have sticks up their * like some here, talk about minor transgressions)
And no I'm obviously not going to be posting my car make, model, how much of a shed it is, what council garage this is, or otherwise stitching anyone up :money:
and if the car isnt there when you pick it up?0
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