My regular Indy has been having difficulty with the computer that Big Brother uses now to record MOTs.

So I just took it to my local Council centre and paid a whopping £54 - guess what passed with no advisorys. They don't look for work (as they don't do any) just a straight pass or fail all done by the book. So if it had failed I would have known it was an "honest" failure and had no qualms about getting in fixed.

But as I said it passed  Geoff

Used one of those for the last few years.

Mine passed on Tuesday with no advisories. and only £40

They couldn't get me logged on to the system so I had to have a contingency mot printed and he would have to update the system when it came up.

Says vosa (I think it is?) have 35000 garages on it and the system can't cope. The have 65000 more to add he recons..... 2011 Range Rover Vogue SE 4.4 TDV8

Previous cars :
2003 Range Rover Vogue TD6
1999 Discovery Td5 ES
1995 BMW M5 3.8 6 speed
1992 Range Rover 3.9 Efi Vogue
1992 BMW M5 3.8
1988 BMW 735i SE
1989 Ford Sierra XR4x4 2.9i
1981 Ford Fiesta Supersport

USed one once but their waiting list was 2 weeks and as above they charge the reccomended amount which was between £55-60 IIRC.

Now i use one thats a 2min walk from the front door and they are honest as they know they get very little if any work out of me as i do loads myself and its only £30 and done while i wait usually  FFRR MY06 facelift With TDV8 Alloys Zeros/ATR's
Mantec Sump Guard, Rigid Load liner, MY10 BT upgrade.

They did say to me I might get a contingency MOT but in the event not needed.
Clearly my experience was at odds with others as the maximum charge for a FF is £54.85, centres can charge less but not more. Also I rang yesterday and got in first thing this morning, no waiting at all.  Geoff

Main dealers are worth a go too, they can still only charge the £54, plus there's a good chance your car will come back valeted and they'll do free collection and delivery.

No testing station is allowed to fail a car that didn't need failing. if they do you know can report them to the DVSA (former VOSA and DSA)

They only valeted it last week when they did the brake pipe recall and lent me a Disco Sport. I don't want them washing all the paint off :roll laugh:

Problem is with my limited knowledge how do I know if my car needs failing or not? Geoff

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications...7-vehicles

The MOT manual is pretty easy to read, clearly laid out. The new computerised system makes it a lot more difficult for testers to fail a car for something that isn't covered by the book.

If they do MOT work for you, always ask for the faulty parts to be returned (ask before they do the work), if they don't return them say you'll refuse to pay unless they do. Lastly you can always take a car from a failed MOT for a second opinion else where. The only possible drawback is if you take the vehicle away to be repaired for most things they'll charge you another test fee for the re-test, though it might only be a partial fee.

Zirconblue wrote:

Main dealers are worth a go too, they can still only charge the £54, plus there's a good chance your car will come back valeted and they'll do free collection and delivery.

No testing station is allowed to fail a car that didn't need failing. if they do you know can report them to the DVSA (former VOSA and DSA)

Don't like them. They are too by the book for me.

A good example is my handbrake not working great on my 3 series, it was auto so it was never used. Council failed it whereas independant passed it and stuck it as an advisory it was on its limit even though it should have failed.

Another time I had my radar detector on the windscreen, council failed it as obstructing view, indy removed it and carried on.

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A good example is my handbrake not working great on my 3 series, it was auto so it was never used.

Though it's probably worth pointing out by law you're suppose to apply the handbrake every time you leave the vehicle. You can't really complain about them failing a car for a defective handbrake.

But if you're using a radar detector, i'm guessing you don't do many things by the book.

an obstructed windscreen would be a free retest anyway, just take it out when you collect your car and they'll look and pass it there and then. The garage are probably just worried about being accused of breaking it if they removed it themselves.

Yes, you could still apply the handbrake, it just didn't work that great.

Nothing illegal about having a radar detector. Not everyone has it to get away with speeding, poor assumption.

Yes they failed it and retested it after.

Well please educate us then. Why do you need a radar detector? Out of curiosity more than anything.

I was under the impression anything other than a GPS only (or a printed map) that was capable of warning of speed camera sites was made illegal about 10 years ago. Even if you're not using it for that purpose, if it's stuck to your windscreen then it's still 'capable' of it? I mean i've never had one or needed one, so i may be wrong.

I like having a warning of a looming speed camera in unfamiliar territory. Same with camera vans... It's the same principle as why people like it on their sat nav, but these are fixed locations whereas the valentine are live.

No your information is incorrect. Illegal in other countries but not the UK.

"MOT Test of Windscreen...
Includes all items affecting the driver's view of the road: the condition of the windscreen, the wipers and washers. Satnavs in the windscreen, furry dice, air fresheners or trinkets hanging from the mirror are not allowed. "

"I was under the impression anything other than a GPS only (or a printed map) that was capable of warning of speed camera sites was made illegal about 10 years ago."

You would of course need to read the map before setting off on your journey because otherwise...

Nothing wrong with Sat Nav and the like reminding you of speed limits and impending 'speed traps'. Can keep drivers focused as opposed to having lapses in concentration that can have unintended but catastrophic consequences

So it is to avoid getting caught speeding then - my assumption wasn't that poor.

I remember hearing a lot in the news etc about 10 years ago regarding them being made illegal. But it might just have been they were 'considering' making them illegal but never actually followed it through. Like the thing about checking for illegal Xenon conversions in the MOT, it was never actually introduced.

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You would of course need to read the map before setting off on your journey because otherwise...

Unless you have another person in the car reading the map.

I switched the warning off on my satnav, i got fed up with it going off all the time. They put up speed limit signs, camera warning signs up and paint most of the cameras bright yellow so they're pretty obvious anyway. I spent 6 years doing multidrop courier work, never got caught speeding.