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Should MOT Testers Be Allowed to Test Their Own or Family Members Cars?

3148 Views 15 Replies 10 Participants Last post by  gravedigger, 
P
I dont think so.

An MOT tester needs to be completely beyond reproach and completely impartial.

How can this be the case if they can test their own or family members cars?

What do you guys think? i am being lambasted for suggesting such a thing might not be fair on the MOT testers forum! LOL
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Nick
I don't see the issue. If they don't, they are putting their job at risk, more fool them IMO.
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compuwiz_uk
i would be less worried about MOT testers testing family motors ( most of the time they would be MOT'd far better as they have more need to make sure the car is in top notch order for the loved one etc )

i am more worried about car sales places that have MOT garages in them that stick a fresh ticket on the cars they sell as most of the time these are only glanced over for the MOT to keep costs down for the sale etc :( ( again this view tar's all with the same brush but there is much more reasons for them to look less on the MOT compared with sorting a loved ones MOT etc. )
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G
compuwiz_uk said:
i would be less worried about MOT testers testing family motors ( most of the time they would be MOT'd far better as they have more need to make sure the car is in top notch order for the loved one etc )

i am more worried about car sales places that have MOT garages in them that stick a fresh ticket on the cars they sell as most of the time these are only glanced over for the MOT to keep costs down for the sale etc :( ( again this view tar's all with the same brush but there is much more reasons for them to look less on the MOT compared with sorting a loved ones MOT etc. )
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+1

The tester is more likely to be stricter with a family members car to ensure they are safe. What will probs happen is they don't fail the car but will make sure the work is done to make it roadworthy.
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Fred22
compuwiz_uk said:
i would be less worried about MOT testers testing family motors ( most of the time they would be MOT'd far better as they have more need to make sure the car is in top notch order for the loved one etc )

i am more worried about car sales places that have MOT garages in them that stick a fresh ticket on the cars they sell as most of the time
these are only glanced over for the MOT to keep costs down for the sale etc :( ( again this view tar's all with the same brush but there is much more reasons for them to look less on the MOT compared with sorting a loved ones MOT etc. )
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as above, i was told by a guy who bought a car off me once who owned a garage said he would put a full mot on the car and sell it for more, he said its "easy" for him to arrange the mot on the car as he owns the garage,

all i thought was "dodgy fcuker", doesnt care if there are real faults with the car, just as long as it looks good to a potential customer, who will buy the car thinking its all good with a fresh mot slapped on it, when its probably got alot of faults with it :nono:
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The Guv.
Personally I don't really care unless a MOT is bodged to flog a car on and I know this is easily done as I bought a couple of cars without MOTs on the basis the seller would cover costs to pass it, failed the MOTs at my local council station... Seller asked for me to return the cars to him so he can do the works and get a new MOT on them... Cars came back with a new MOT and none of the faults repaired! One fault included tread wear!

I said to him that I was going to fix the faults and he'll cover the cost or he can have them back for a full refund. He didn't take long to agree! If I'd reported it to trading standards his 'mates' garage would have probs lost their MOT certs.
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Rich
At the garage I tend to use for these things, they test each others cars...

--R
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Praxis
phpbiker said:
I dont think so.

An MOT tester needs to be completely beyond reproach and completely impartial.

How can this be the case if they can test their own or family members cars?

What do you guys think? i am being lambasted for suggesting such a thing might not be fair on the MOT testers forum! LOL
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Linky?
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P
All good Points.

Maybe I am letting my frustration cloud my judgment on this one.

I did expect more support for the idea of conflict of interest. Perhaps I am wrong. Thats always possible :) ..

However, I cant help but see a conflict of interest possibility on this one.

Especially if the car is to be sold.

Likewise, this conflict of interest is very similar to the one mentioned with the attached car sales / showroom.

If MOT testers can right out tickets like this, the appeal is only 3 months. I can see the advisory is going to be there when I check. But... its the same conflict of interest.

Sure, they guy may be concerned that his family members are gonna fly off the road into a tree ... but he may also be under pressure to write the ticket, to save time, money and or sell the car.

Just seems to me, that some kind of framework / guideline should be in place to make sure this kind of thing, is just a little less likely..

Countersignatures, longer appeal times etc..
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Praxis
I agree 100 percent with you, in fact i dont believe any garage should be able to mot cars, they should all (mot stations) be independant.
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P
For instance..

The guy pressures his brother into MOTing a car he plans to sell. Waits 3 months until the appeal period is over and sells the car with a dodgy ticket where no appeal is viable.

Obviously the MOT testers get a lot of stick for pretty much everything. And I dont accept that they are a dodgy bunch at all.

Just seems like a possibility for abuse here.

I dont wanna start a war with MOT testers. Never the less I am frustrated that my cars fail on the slightest little thing that I have to rectify, and this one may have had a clonking subframe that probably got an advisory.
I then notice the ticket is written by the brother he mentioned that did the servicing ... and think ,... hang on a minute!! LOL
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Rich
All the testers I've known have been utterly straight-up, and wholly thorough. There is just one exception - a few years back, my Dad took one of his bikes for an MOT. It's a proper show-stopper - perfectly maintained, nothing leaks, nothing would ever be bodged on it. The tester has known my Dad for years, and tests his cars(more than one) and other bikes(again, more than one).

How many miles has it done?

"About 50."

"Am I going to find anything for it to fail on?"

"No"

Certificate issued. But they're as straight-up and completely honest as you'll find - I worked next door to them for a couple of years, and my Dad's been using them for well over a decade now.

My limited experience really is that the vast, vast majority of testers, or those willing to let something major slide(just keep in mind here that some things are relatively trivial in the context of running a car - a wing mirror with a 1cm chunk missing from one corner isn't likely to be the cause an accident, nor is a Mondeo with a washer pump dribbling onto the floor when spraying on the windows) are very few and far between.

But having said that, there is always the scope for a bad one. You can't trust anything when looking at a car, but if the MOT length and any advisories tend to tie in with the overall condition of the car, chances are it's a fair bet more often than not.

My 2p, on my limited dealings with these things...

--Rich
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M
phpbiker said:
For instance..

The guy pressures his brother into MOTing a car he plans to sell. Waits 3 months until the appeal period is over and sells the car with a dodgy ticket where no appeal is viable.

Obviously the MOT testers get a lot of stick for pretty much everything. And I dont accept that they are a dodgy bunch at all.

Just seems like a possibility for abuse here.

I dont wanna start a war with MOT testers. Never the less I am frustrated that my cars fail on the slightest little thing that I have to rectify, and this one may have had a clonking subframe that probably got an advisory.
I then notice the ticket is written by the brother he mentioned that did the servicing ... and think ,... hang on a minute!! LOL
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If people checked their lights, fluid levels, tyres ect ect, then quite a few cars wouldn't fail the test.
But then again, most people are just lazy, and cant be bothered, then moan when their vehicle fails the MOT.
As for us MOT testers testing our own vehicles and family member vehicles, We can have Vosa turn up at any time, and want to test the vehicle in question, and if anything was wrong, we get points on our licenses, or even loose our license, so its just not worth the risk, and just another thought, I would never, ever want anything wrong with my motor, if it doesn't look right, it get fixed, no ifs, or but, and no expense spared

Sorry peoples, but people like this really get up my nose, and they think that we are all dodgy, of which this isn't the case, and they have nothing better to moan about.
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G
my brother in law, is a mot tester and i take my cars to his garage, knowing full well if it needs anything doing, or any such issues he will be the first to tell me the truth. end of the day i carry his sister, mother, ect in my car and sometimes his own kids. plus i know i can drive away from this place with 100% surity that he an his co workers are stright as a die
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P
motorman116 said:
If people checked their lights, fluid levels, tyres ect ect, then quite a few cars wouldn't fail the test.
But then again, most people are just lazy, and cant be bothered, then moan when their vehicle fails the MOT.
As for us MOT testers testing our own vehicles and family member vehicles, We can have Vosa turn up at any time, and want to test the vehicle in question, and if anything was wrong, we get points on our licenses, or even loose our license, so its just not worth the risk, and just another thought, I would never, ever want anything wrong with my motor, if it doesn't look right, it get fixed, no ifs, or but, and no expense spared

Sorry peoples, but people like this really get up my nose, and they think that we are all dodgy, of which this isn't the case, and they have nothing better to moan about.
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I dont mean to be derogatory about MOT testers at all. I understand they do a tough job in the face of something that I find abhorent. Mecanical lazyness.

I have always serviced my own cars, looked after them. In fact in the case of one in particular built it from near scratch with every attention to detail. I take pride in my cars and my work. And nowadays only pay for work that I cant do due to problems with my back.

However, the vendors brother was a tester, and its VERY clear that this vehicle would have been showing signs of wear, and he would have asked his brother about the clonking and taken advice on it.

So, when you say "people like this" I expect you must be referring to the vendor and his tester brother who alowwedd a car with a serious suspention fault to be sold to a guy (me) who clearly stated that he needed to drive his family around France in it.
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G
where is this all leading to?
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