1)Book in to a an MOT centre that does not carry out repairs .Especially avoid fast fit centres where Managers are often paid bonuses for work carried out.

2)Let a male driver take the vehicle in to the MOT centre. Unfortunately some garage operators believe women are less knowledgeable about vehicle maintenance and will take advantage by creating unnecessary work.

A Haynes workshop manual is the best gift any motorist could have - Ladies or Gentlemen.It can save you a small fortune and if you do it yourself you know the job has been done right. Just follow the Haynes step-by-step instructions on virtually anything your vehicle fails the MOT on.

3)Plan your service to be done prior to the MOT - it improves the emissions results

4)Make sure the engine is warm when it goes in for the test. Rev engine just before
parking up - especially important on diesels to expel gases to pass the emissions test.

5)Make sure the vehicle is clean - image can make a difference.

6)Wait while the vehicle goes in for the MOT - it allows less time for work to be created.

7)Leave a copy of this check list on the passenger seat - ticked where checked.

8) If work does need to be carried out don't be pushed in to having the repair done. Obtaining your own parts can save a small fortune.

9) Make sure the garage explains the failure items on the failure sheet .Often the descriptions can be vague - you don't want to replace the wrong item.

10) If you decide to let a garage carry out any work we suggest you mark the items to be replaced so you know the job has been done .A scam some mechanics play is to clean the outside of a part and tel the owner the part has been changed.Also if you are using top grade consumable products like fully synthetic oils and expensive fuel additives make sure you see them go in to your vehicle - otherwise you find the products are not used - at least not in your vehicle.

cant argue with that ,i never quote for repairs when i test and the best advice is to stay with the car and tell the tester to call you in and show you any failures as he finds them .very few places test and not repair so the places to find are smaller test stations with a test lane and one repair ramp ,if you go somewhere with a test bay and half a dozen ramps you can be sure that the tester is supposed to "find" work for the mechanics
the whole point of the mot is a minimum safety standard and components MUST be getting to the point of failure to be rejected. Bonded rubber bushes are a prime example, take a radius arm bush on the rear of most fwd cars lots of places will fail for slight play because its a good labour earner same goes for discs , a slight lip is no reason to fail and if you disagree then say so because the one thing test stations fear most is appeals. Anyone going on a testing course now is told that if any component is not seriously,worn,corroded,damaged then you should pass and advise
Another old trick is to sit and let diesels idle a cuple of mins proir to the smoke check and not purge the engine to give a failure especially with auto 4x4,s usually followed by the garage trying to sell you a service .Same goes for cat,s especially older ones which can need a proper boning up the road to get hot enough to pass the bet test ,a sure sign of this will be failing the fast idle test on slightly high co and the lambda being just a smidge high.

[Edited on 2/3/07 by froggy]

As an ex mot test (gave it & mechanics up due to morals issue ie what I was being asked to do by managment), if we were being watch or some one left a check sheet, then we looked harder because they could be from the VI. So the vehicles generally came of worse.

That check list is very handy and dead right except for leaving the list on the seat. It will make the tester look harder. The same as if u take a dirty one in. Could be consealing something.

Give the cars a good thrash to the testing station too. Gives the car a proper warming up and blows the cobwebs out and gets the cat nice and hot.

All garages will fleece u in someway. I service and MOT my families cars. I had my mums serviced and mot'd. A week later she got a puncture and the garage fleeced her 2 rear tyres which i know had 4mm on and they were michelins so good for another 5000 easy. That was at a garage where they know my family!! Yet my sisters car had the same and thy repaired the puncture on a tyre with 2mm which i would have changed!!

Is there a set of guidelines (like the SVA manual) that we can download.
I was very pissed off by the work done for my last MOT - I think most was unnecessary or made the car worse than before.

I was working away and rang my local tyre fitter to arrange 2 rear tyres. Money agreed, deal done.

My old dear took my car down and they told her the car needed 4 (it didn't), but she said she only had the cash for two.

'Don't worry you can drop it in later', they said. She rang me after they fitted them and I said I'd sort it.

I walked in the garage on the Saturday and thanked them for the free front tyres, told them to go and f*ck themselves for the money. A few of the tyre fitters knew me and slipped out of the way to let the manager have all the shi*t.

Robbing b*stards.

yeah i am in the process of trying to find a decent garage, the last one i used took the wee a bit, they wanted a fair bit of money to fix my car but i took it away and did it mostly myself, when i took it back they failed it on a worn tyre and a cv boot i had fixed.

was well annoyed about the trye, the car had done less than 2 miles since the test how comw it wasn't even an advisory? if the mot was cheaper i would of taken it away again but sometimes you just have to take it the hassle and let them do it.

[Edited on 2/3/07 by trogdor]

quote:

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Originally posted by JonBowden
Is there a set of guidelines (like the SVA manual) that we can download.

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I don't have problems like that!
Maybe I am lucky, but I have a couple of mates who are mechanics who take my tintop, service and MOT it for very little money.
I don't bother servicing my car as I am self employed and I need a reciept for tax purposes. When you consider my average service and Mot is only around £100-£120 all in, it is not worth getting under my car for.
My best advice is to find a recommended private mechanic who owns his own garage and stick with them. I never go to these gloryfied chains unless it is a real emergency.
You can still find reasonably priced mechanics who live off their reputation, but you will have to look hard!

I've got a garage i use. Used them for years now. The only problem is they've grown successful. If i can get the owner to work on my car i'm happy as larry. He's a great bloke and i trust him completely. He really cares about the car and you find him using the torque wrench to tighten up wheel nuts. Problem is i'm more likely to get one of his mechanics and i don't trust them as much.

Its a shame that i'm actually thinking of going somewhere else now.

As Nitram says I've built up a good relationship with a small garage who arrange the MOT for me. The MOT test station pick up and return the car for the garage to sort any failures.

Only slight pain is the garage is 30 miles from where I live but I just make a day of it and go shopping etc.

quote:

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Originally posted by jollygreengiant
As an ex mot test (gave it & mechanics up due to morals issue ie what I was being asked to do by managment), if we were being watch or some one left a check sheet, then we looked harder because they could be from the VI. So the vehicles generally came of worse.

---

What's a VT-17 ?

I am fortunate in that I know 2 garages that always play it straight - one is run by my daughter's ex-boyfriend (they're still good friends) and the other is run by a member of a model engineering club I belong to.

Neither give me an easy test simply because they can't any more, but I do know that they'll always play by the rules and won't rip me off.

David

[Edited on 2/3/07 by David Jenkins]

Many years ago I bought a citroen AX new. At its first service, the service manager said that the front brake pads would need changing in a couple of thousand miles and that I should phone to book it in. They said it again a year later, and the year after that. I sold the car on when it was 4 1/2 years old, still with the original pads, still with plenty of life in them. It's not the type of establishment that = rip off but the staff that work in the specific shop.

Last time I took a car for an MOT the receptionist told me they recommended an engine treatment to help it pass emissions, and it was only £40.

Thanks Mike - the MOT testers manual was useful.
It seems that my non standard rear exhaust was quite acceptable. They did not need to replace it and in the process strip the manifold threads requiring quite a lot of work by me to fix

I've used the same garage for years now. I used to teach the chap who now owns the firm. Makes you feel very old, but I trust him implicitly with all my vehicles. He now also services most of the staff cars at work as well ! Top bloke.

I have our cars done at Kwik-Fit across the road from where I work.

Always a discount MOT and always a pass.

Never any stories of the overhead manifold sprocket needing replacing if I want to avoid a global disaster.

The relationship between a garage and customer is all about trust, not about being up to more tricks.
If anybody had tried anything like this on my watch the vehicle would have been given the most searching examination possible, ALL vehicles have defects if you look hard enough.

quote:

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Originally posted by thunderace
1)Book in to a an MOT centre that does not carry out repairs .Especially avoid fast fit centres where Managers are often paid bonuses for work carried out.

2)Let a male driver take the vehicle in to the MOT centre. Unfortunately some garage operators believe women are less knowledgeable about vehicle maintenance and will take advantage by creating unnecessary work.

A Haynes workshop manual is the best gift any motorist could have - Ladies or Gentlemen.It can save you a small fortune and if you do it yourself you know the job has been done right. Just follow the Haynes step-by-step instructions on virtually anything your vehicle fails the MOT on.

3)Plan your service to be done prior to the MOT - it improves the emissions results

4)Make sure the engine is warm when it goes in for the test. Rev engine just before
parking up - especially important on diesels to expel gases to pass the emissions test.

5)Make sure the vehicle is clean - image can make a difference.

6)Wait while the vehicle goes in for the MOT - it allows less time for work to be created.

7)Leave a copy of this check list on the passenger seat - ticked where checked.

8) If work does need to be carried out don't be pushed in to having the repair done. Obtaining your own parts can save a small fortune.

9) Make sure the garage explains the failure items on the failure sheet .Often the descriptions can be vague - you don't want to replace the wrong item.

10) If you decide to let a garage carry out any work we suggest you mark the items to be replaced so you know the job has been done .A scam some mechanics play is to clean the outside of a part and tel the owner the part has been changed.Also if you are using top grade consumable products like fully synthetic oils and expensive fuel additives make sure you see them go in to your vehicle - otherwise you find the products are not used - at least not in your vehicle.

---

I'm interested, I can only see one 'trick' the MOT man could ever notice (number 7 which I can see getting extra attention). Basically comes down to going to a while you wait MOT specialist rather than a garage. Turning up with a clean and recently serviced car should be common sense really.

quote:

---

Originally posted by britishtrident
The relationship between a garage and customer is all about trust, not about being up to more tricks.
If anybody had tried anything like this on my watch the vehicle would have been given the most searching examination possible, ALL vehicles have defects if you look hard enough.

quote:

---

Originally posted by thunderace
1)Book in to a an MOT centre that does not carry out repairs .Especially avoid fast fit centres where Managers are often paid bonuses for work carried out.

2)Let a male driver take the vehicle in to the MOT centre. Unfortunately some garage operators believe women are less knowledgeable about vehicle maintenance and will take advantage by creating unnecessary work.

A Haynes workshop manual is the best gift any motorist could have - Ladies or Gentlemen.It can save you a small fortune and if you do it yourself you know the job has been done right. Just follow the Haynes step-by-step instructions on virtually anything your vehicle fails the MOT on.

3)Plan your service to be done prior to the MOT - it improves the emissions results

4)Make sure the engine is warm when it goes in for the test. Rev engine just before
parking up - especially important on diesels to expel gases to pass the emissions test.

5)Make sure the vehicle is clean - image can make a difference.

6)Wait while the vehicle goes in for the MOT - it allows less time for work to be created.

7)Leave a copy of this check list on the passenger seat - ticked where checked.

8) If work does need to be carried out don't be pushed in to having the repair done. Obtaining your own parts can save a small fortune.

9) Make sure the garage explains the failure items on the failure sheet .Often the descriptions can be vague - you don't want to replace the wrong item.

10) If you decide to let a garage carry out any work we suggest you mark the items to be replaced so you know the job has been done .A scam some mechanics play is to clean the outside of a part and tel the owner the part has been changed.Also if you are using top grade consumable products like fully synthetic oils and expensive fuel additives make sure you see them go in to your vehicle - otherwise you find the products are not used - at least not in your vehicle.

---

---

Along time ago (when I was my early 20's) and very green I was duped into having shocks replaced by Kwik Fit. I will never go back.

Once (pursuaded by a friend) I gave an owner a second chance on the basis that he may not be aware of what his employees were up too but he stood by them and wouldn't accept he was in the wrong. Again I never went back.

My mate use to take his to the local council depot as they have a testing station for their vehicles but do outside work also. He argued they had no vested interest and would always be fair. Last time they failed it on emmisions though and it cost him a arm and a leg to put right.

Better still another mate of mine use to take his Landrover S2 50 miles to a garage as the guy knew the vehicle and just signed the form.

Best advice is find a garage you can trust and if one rips you off vote with your feet. If we all did this then the rogues would go out of business. As stated before, very hard to find but not impossible.

I found one and use him all the time. There are still people out there who depend upon reputation/word of mouth and are genuine.

Man from the ministry one day brought his car in for incognito test (about the 4th he'd had that day) and we failed it. He then produced his papers & started to give us a rollicking. We stood our ground, Failed because of blowing rear exhaust box allowing fumes to enter the vehicle via rear air vents. He then phone the VI and ten minutes later the car was at an exhaust fitters next door having the rear box changed. We got an appology and he got VEHICLE INSPECTORATE written in yellow chalk under his car while it was having the exhaust changed.

My favourite ploy is to authorise the testing station in advance that they can spend anything up to £25 on minor items without further approval and anything over that I will repair myself. This makes it clear that the most they are going to make out of me is MOT Fee + £25. This rarely fails to get me a pass first time.

I also try to ensure that I get it booked in as early as possible within the renewal window to ensure that I'm not put under pressure due to the imminent expiry of the previous certificate. That gives me a couple of weekends to sort the car out if required before retest.

Craig.