Halfords 'Free' MOT test

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Re: Halfords 'Free' MOT test

Post by daviemck2006 »

My regular mot man says as Richard W says. They cannot stop you driving it away with a dangerous defect. If it still has a current mot it is legal to drive it. He says this new dangerous printed on the fail sheet is just giving unscrupulous garages the ability to rip customers that dont know any better off, which to be honest is most of them. And for them to pinch work of smaller garages that dont do mot testing, and in some cases the ability to persuade people to buy a new car from their sales department. "Sorry mate your car has failed, its dangerous to drive and not really worth fixing. Why not pop into the office and Jimmy will sort you out with a new car for not much more than that one will cost to fix"
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Re: Halfords 'Free' MOT test

Post by GiveMeABreak »

If you fail the MOT, you are not covered even if you still have a valid older certificate (as in the case where you decided to get it tested a month earlier). The failure is immediately noted on the national database and recorded as a fail - game over.
The maximum penalty for being caught driving without a MOT is a £2,500 fine, a driving ban and three penalty points - even if the old roadworthy certificate is still valid, according to the DVLA.
So you could end up worse off, as you could of used that extra month you had on the old MOT for a pre-check and time to fix the issue legally as it were!
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Re: Halfords 'Free' MOT test

Post by white exec »

All vehicle testing across Spain is done in large state-run testing centres, so, unlike the UK, there is no involvement of commercial garages in vehicle testing. This system was instituted years ago to prevent the very unscrupulous and bribery-prone behaviour that Davie describes.

The same categories of pass/fail exist here: advisory, minor (light), major (grave), dangerous (muy grave).
For the last category (dangerous), you are instructed that the vehicle must be transported away from the test centre by means of an alternative appropriate vehicle - i.e. a recovery truck. This applies even to vehicles which still have time left on their previous pass certification.

Having seen the system work here, it seems extraordinary that the UK has clung on to its decentralised system for so long. Maybe the vested interests were just too much for governments to tackle, let alone the cost of setting up the necessary test centres.
itv-test-center.jpg
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Re: Halfords 'Free' MOT test

Post by bobins »

white exec wrote: 03 Oct 2018, 17:27 All vehicle testing across Spain is done in large state-run testing centres, so, unlike the UK, there is no involvement of commercial garages in vehicle testing. This system was instituted years ago to prevent the very unscrupulous and bribery-prone behaviour that Davie describes.


Do you have to accompany your car to the test centres in Spain or can you pay your mechanics hourly rate to get him to take it in ?
I'm quite happy with my routine of dropping it off at my local garage for its MOT the night before, then picking it up once they've done it at close of business - I don't have to take any time out of my day to sit with it for its test :)
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Re: Halfords 'Free' MOT test

Post by white exec »

You have the choice:
- take your own car in
- ask someone else to do this for you
- or take up the offer (by many commercial garages) of a "free ITV (MoT) check" :roll: which includes their taking the car to/from the local testing station. For this, you'd get a bill - which could (in theory) be zero, but is unlikely not to include any work they found it necessary to do, with your approval.
- Other garages simply offer a flat fee, which could include collecting your car from home, checking (!) and getting it tested, and returning it to you. Cost of this is usually ±€100.

ITV tests are by appointment (made on-line, by phone, or in person), and usually run spot-on to time. Test duration is about 15 minutes. A digital photo is taken of the car and the Tester, and this appears on the result print-out, which records the ID of the equipment which was used for the test. I find it very professional and impressive.
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Re: Halfords 'Free' MOT test

Post by bobins »

15 minutes ?? :shock: Is that with a single tester doing the test or a group of bods ?
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Re: Halfords 'Free' MOT test

Post by white exec »

ITV Cadiz.jpg
Can be one or two testers. If driver present, usually one tester.
All done on a straight Inspection Lane; four to eight lanes, depending on the size of the test centre.
One or two lanes equipped with a sound-deadening doors for testing noise and emissions of large HGVs with trailers.
Often a separate testing bay for motorcycles.
All the usual checks including rolling-road brake check, and ending up over a long inspection pit, equipped with wobble plates for checking suspension links, etc.
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Re: Halfords 'Free' MOT test

Post by van ordinaire »

I'd be impressed by a test that only took 15 mins - but not sure it'd be professional OR is it because the MoT is so unprofessional, that it takes 3 times as long?
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Re: Halfords 'Free' MOT test

Post by white exec »

Maybe 20mins, but never longer. TBH, I've never needed to put my watch on it.
It's just streamlined and efficient, with all the latest tools, and that's it.
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Re: Halfords 'Free' MOT test

Post by Michel »

GiveMeABreak wrote: 03 Oct 2018, 17:17 If you fail the MOT, you are not covered even if you still have a valid older certificate (as in the case where you decided to get it tested a month earlier). The failure is immediately noted on the national database and recorded as a fail - game over.


Correct. Your car is *not* legal to drive once it has failed an MOT even if it still has a current, valid one. It's a fail. It's on the computer as failed. Your old MOT is not valid. END OF.

My MOT man explained it in words of one syllable. They *only* do MOT tests, no repairs or servicing so he has no reason to bullshit me.
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Re: Halfords 'Free' MOT test

Post by EDC5 »

^ fair enough I suppose, if they spot something genuinely dangerous there needs to be a way to arrest said vehicle for the safety of others!

I think I'll stick to my local Citroen garage... although last time they failed to notice my rear seized caliper and (one) low brake pad that to my shame I also missed!
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Re: Halfords 'Free' MOT test

Post by jsp »

Just go to the independent mot tester if that exists in your neighbourhood.
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Re: Halfords 'Free' MOT test

Post by Pug_XUD_KeenAmateur »

I was everso glad I'd done a Dummy MOT earlier this year. Cheap, too. £45 MOT Fee, but not logged onto VOSA, so you can't get a Pass.

In my case, to my horror, I did get a 'Dangerous', but still had a legal (if not Roadworthy as such) car to get it home and sort it myself.
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Re: Halfords 'Free' MOT test

Post by Gibbo2286 »

white exec wrote: 03 Oct 2018, 17:27 All vehicle testing across Spain is done in large state-run testing centres, so, unlike the UK, there is no involvement of commercial garages in vehicle testing. This system was instituted years ago to prevent the very unscrupulous and bribery-prone behaviour that Davie describes.

The same categories of pass/fail exist here: advisory, minor (light), major (grave), dangerous (muy grave).
For the last category (dangerous), you are instructed that the vehicle must be transported away from the test centre by means of an alternative appropriate vehicle - i.e. a recovery truck. This applies even to vehicles which still have time left on their previous pass certification.

Having seen the system work here, it seems extraordinary that the UK has clung on to its decentralised system for so long. Maybe the vested interests were just too much for governments to tackle, let alone the cost of setting up the necessary test centres.

itv-test-center.jpg

Image



That's the true reason the government didn't do it and are unlikely to ever do it, if private companies go bust because they can't make it pay, well tough! It can always be taken over by another sucker who thinks he can.

And of course they can tax the stuffing out of the successful ones.
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Re: Halfords 'Free' MOT test

Post by van ordinaire »

If we'd had a "Spanish" set-up when the "10 year test" came in, it'd been privatised long since - & probably belong to Halfrauds - or KwikFit!
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'81 2CV Club :cry:
'05 C15 :!:
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'99 Cadillac STS :|
& the numerous "abandoned projects" #-o
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