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MG MG Y Type - To MOT or not to MOT

I agree that it is important to have a second opinion on the road worthiness of my car but feel that the MOT is far to restrictive when it comes to the following years licence renewal, it may be delayed by work being carried out so the renewal could be refused by the vehicle licencing authority and require a SORN. The local garage will give the car a full pre MOT check so that in an unfortunate event of an accident I have evidence that the car had been inspected to MOT standards, incidentally the owner has a split screen VW Camper Van so understands antique cars.

What is the consensus of opinion on the matter?

Bryan
B Mellem

Safety (of the driver, occupants, other road users and property) should always be first and foremost in our minds as we drive our vehicles I think Bryan, then compliance with the law of the land is also highly important. A third issue then is what is required by our insurance policy to certify that the vehicle is intrinsically safe.

I would agree that doing what an owner feels to be appropriate to fulfill those three requirements is the key to all of this and is the way to go personally. I recall this was debated only a few years ago on this BBS and is a constant source of something that we should be paying attention to.

Safety First as well as Safety Fast I think!

Paul
Paul Barrow

Bryan,

See the old thread MOT Exemption 1960s cars, may be useful to you

cheers

Richard
R E Knight

Paul The law here is that pre 1960's vehicles do not require an MOT test, it is up to the owner to ensure that it is roadworthy. Many pre 1940's cars have no chance of complying with modern standards of steering, brakes, wheel damping, or windscreen wipers, even when new, so it seems the DVLA has just put the responsibility on the owners.

The point I'm making is that once the car has been submitted for an official MOT test will the car owner be officially obliged to submit the car for an annual MOT retest.

My conclusion is that it is better to have a simulated unofficial MOT which satisfies the owner and the insurers that the car in fact meets all roadworthy requirements.

Bryan
B Mellem

Hi Bryan

Yes - very aware of the new MOT rules in the UK, and also of the different provisions in many States here as it is a State matter not a Federal matter here in the US. That was why I specifically couched my reply in very general terms rather than getting into drawn out specifics.

As Richard mentioned in the Archives there is a very lengthy discussion on the UK MOT either last year or the year before it and that is a good source of inspiration for us all as we consider Safety First.

Best wishes

Paul
Paul Barrow

Whether your car has been MOT'd or not it is you, as the driver/owner, to ensure that it is roadworthy. There is so little of the modern test that applies to our vehicles that I feel safer having it unofficially checked over by a garage which has knowledge and experience of classic cars than by an MOT tester who has never seen a set of points or a grease nipple,

John Y4895
J Foster

I submit my YB for a voluntary MOT test every year. There is no obligation to have the car tested when the certificate expires. I do this because it gives me confirmation that the car is safe (at the time of the test) and I get a certificate that I can show to my insurer as evidence that the car is properly maintained, should the need arise.

I use a garage owned and run by an old mechanic who did his apprenticeship with the local Morris main dealer, many years ago. He cut his teeth on Morris engines and knows the XPAG inside out. He allows me to stand next to him while testing the car and points out anything that may need attention in the near future, even if it is not within the scope of the MOT test.

The official MOT Testers' Manual is available online - https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/mot-inspection-manual-for-class-3-4-5-and-7-vehicles. This gives reasons for failure clearly. It also details the parts of the test that do not apply to old vehicles, with their cut-off dates. So, contrary to earlier comments, our cars are not required to comply with later design standards, such as windscreen washers, indicators, seat belts, emissions, etc, etc.

In my opinion, there is no valid reason not to submit our cars for an annual MOT test, even if it is not required by law.

Mike Long
M Long

Thanks Mike you have answered my question, its not about whether to have the car tested or not it is the legal obligation to have it tested each following year by a certain date which as we all know may be impossible due to repairs or restoration. As you say it is not mandatory then that is fine for me.

Thanks all Bryan
B Mellem

Bryan,

If you go on https://www.gov.uk/check-mot-status you will see the status of any car. If you have valid MOT it will show expiry date, if you then lapse without new MOT it just shows exempt and is still colour blue for good, if it is red then it would be expiry where MOT required

Richard
R E Knight

This thread was discussed between 27/03/2017 and 28/03/2017

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