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#1 jonnyenglish

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Posted 22 January 2014 - 01:25 PM

Ok so this weekend the mini will be finished!! woo only a year and a half since i started! need to get it mot'd am i right in thinking that its fine to drive to and from without tax as long as its insured and the mot is booked (is it still OK to drive away even if it fails?). also whats the mot likely to fail on the mini, whats the most common (apart from rust) also thinking that i may take it to halfords autocentre as they can mot it on a Sunday is this a stupid idea (assumed answer yes?)

 

thanks for your help!

 

Jon

 



#2 FlyingScot

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Posted 22 January 2014 - 01:38 PM

It's a tricky topic, technically if it is insured and booked in for an MOT you can drive it there. It becomes more complicated afterwards because if it passes you should buy road tax right away. If it fails then you are not AFAIK legally be able to drive it away.
Brakes in my own experience is the most common reason for a fail (excusing anything daft like a lamp that was working and magically doesn't when tested).
There are some people who are inspectors on here so maybe they can clarify.

And no I wouldn't take a mini anywhere near Halfords, simply because they are most likely to have little experience of them ( lifting on the floor pan etc). Nothing against Halfords but I prefer MOT stations who have some mini knowledgable testers.

FS

#3 Dan

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Posted 22 January 2014 - 02:14 PM

It's not that tricky, it used to be written on the back of the certificate! Not sure if it still is though. After the MOT you may drive it 'on to a place of repair' if it needs fixing, unless the tester deems it unsafe rather than just un-passable in which case it stays where it is and can only leave on a trailer. You may not drive it from one place of repair to another or to buy tax (technically although there is legal precedent for stopping off on the way home, but defending it would mean a trip to court).

#4 tiger99

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Posted 22 January 2014 - 02:17 PM

FlyingScot,

 

That is good advice, and I would only add that certain failures will result in you being prohibited from driving it, if they are sufficiently serious, so you may need to make arrangements for a trailer or tow truck to take it home. You are also still subject to the Construction & Use Regulations too.

 

For that reason, it is often useful to use a MOT tester who can do repairs on site, but please do not have any "MOT standard" welding done on any car, especially a Mini, as the minimal standard of welding and rust prevention necessary will only hasten the need for more extensive repairs. MOT standard welding is really only to hold parts of the car together until the next MOT, and it might, for example, include oversills, which, being a serious corrosion trap, will mean a much bigger repair next time. On strict reading of the MOT rules they should not pass, as the bottom weld is in the wrong place for structural integrity, and they are neither a proper panel replacement not a partial seam-welded replacement either, but that is a debate for another time.....

 

Bodger's inner sill repair panels, with the cutout over the crossmember, should also be a complete fail, but I happen to know that some MOT testers consider that they have to pass them, because they can't see the vital bit of metal that may be missing.

 

Edit: Dan is also correct, and there have been STUPID prosecutions for stopping off to buy tax on the way home. Most Plods are reasonable, but in every profession there is always an idiot. The law is an ass, because it should explicitly allow this.


Edited by tiger99, 22 January 2014 - 02:20 PM.


#5 FlyingScot

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Posted 22 January 2014 - 02:57 PM

The problem Dan is there is no certificate as such now so it's not so obvious as in the past. I wrote buy tax right away as my local MOT guy told me to hot foot it to the PO and get it before I drove home to avoid any issues when it passed. (Fortunately it was within walking distance !)

OP try and find a decent place to get it MOTed and if necessary repaired would seem to be the answer to any issues you might have.

FS

#6 Dan

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Posted 22 January 2014 - 03:11 PM

You are quite right there is nothing in the rules that permits you to drive to the post office, you should go on foot and going straight away is best to avoid problems. The couple of cases where people have been before the court and got away with driving elsewhere involved stopping for fuel and fags but literally en-route I believe. You'll have a hard time proving its acceptable to go out of your way.

#7 Ethel

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Posted 22 January 2014 - 04:44 PM

I think the classic case was a guy that stopped to buy petrol on his way to get a restored car tested. Not sure if we've made it clear the test must be pre-booked, be sure give the registration number if they don't  ask for it.

 

My preference for a testing station would be a small, well established, independent. That's usually where you find the older testers who have seen plenty of Min's in their time and, as owner-operators, they are more bothered about reputation than targets & bonuses. Also let them know beforehand (tactfully) that you'll be doing any repairs. I'm sure most of us stick with the same one once we've found a goody.

 

Just get hold of an old test report sheet and go through the obvious pass/fail stuff, like checking all your lights work properly, wiper blades aren't split, washer jets unblocked... A newish fail is split rubber boots so check those too.. Other Mini classic fails are radius arms pin wear, inefficient handbrakes and  subframe rubber mountings.



#8 Cooperman

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Posted 22 January 2014 - 08:08 PM

My 'S' was MoT'd last week at an MoT station where the owner is a great Mini enthusiast. He now supports his son who races one and he loves to drive my full-on rally car. In fact he even gets customers with Minis to call me about restoration issues and parts and engine specifications.

So, if you can find a Mini specialist who has an MoT station then, even if it's a long way, it is worth the drive. There is no limitation in law as to how far you can drive an untaxed car to a pre-booked MoT. I take mine just over 30 miles, stopping for petrol on the way. I pass a post office on the way home, so again it's not an issue, and I don't think I would care if it was as it's just so petty. But then, my road tax is free :D.

My son drove his Audi from Dover Docks to the same MoT station in Bedfordshire as it had run out whilst he was in Germany & France. It was pre-booked and he had the booking confirmation by email from the MoT station, so it was not an issue.



#9 cambiker71

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Posted 22 January 2014 - 09:05 PM

I would find a "classic friendly" MOT test station and get it booked in, there's lots of testers out there now who don't understand older cars and the limits applied to them for testing (emissions rules are a good one)

 You can take it to a test without MOT or Tax but MUST have insurance in place and MUST be booked in advance, when you book it in make sure they take your registration number and name and explain the situation to them in case you get stopped on the way there (it does happen in these days of ANPR) and take your insurance certificate with you.

 If it passes, well done, Is your car registered to you at your address, do you have a smart phone? If yes to both, use it to get online and buy a tax disc there and then. Keep the confirmation email available on your phone in case you get stopped on the way home, then don't use the car again until the tax disc arrives, usually in a couple of working days but they say no more than five working days. 

 If no smart phone then get yourself to the nearest post office, ideally walk there, or if you can't then park right outside it and if you get any problems you'll arrive back to the car with the new tax disc and mot certificate in your hand and should be ok. 

 

If it fails the test...copied from direct gov...

If your vehicle fails the test

You’ll get a ‘notification of failure’ from the test centre if your vehicle fails the test. The failure will be recorded in the secure central MOT database.

You can still drive your vehicle if it fails the test and its existing MOT certificate is still valid (ie you got it tested before the expiry date). However, you might be stopped by police and prosecuted if your vehicle is unroadworthy.

If the vehicle fails the test and the certificate has expired, you can only drive it to:

  • a pre-arranged appointment at a garage to have the repairs done
  • a pre-arranged MOT test appointment

Your vehicle should be retested at the same test centre which did the original test.

 

The reason for the last line is so the test station can carry out a partial MOT test (although only within ten working days of the failure date) by just checking the original failure items have been repaired correctly, but they will also check associated items too so ensure it has been repaired properly, I've lost count of the vehicles I have retested and, for example, found the brakes have been repaired brilliantly but the wheel nuts are left loose!

 If you're unsure what is required to pass the retest then don't be afraid to ask, this is another common reason for retest failures, inadequate repairs due to lack of communication.

I've often sent people away without logging the partial test on to the system if they have time to put things right and get back to me before they run out of the "ten working days partial retest" rule, but believe me there's an awful lot out there who won't!

 No good tester likes to fail a car presented for retest, If it's something simple to put right, like my loose wheel nuts example above, then a good tester will advise you, put it right, then send you on your way with pass certificate in your hand in the hope that you remember them next year for having looked after you!

 

Remember though that you only get ONE partial retest and a partial retest can only be carried out at the test station that failed the car originally but doesn't have to be by the same tester oddly, if you fail this then you'll be paying for another full test again. We can't get by this as testers because we have to record each test/partial test and the system won't let you log a second partial test, meaning you have to record all the details and measurements (brakes,emissions etc) needed for a full test again!

 

 Hope this helps.



#10 Cooperman

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Posted 22 January 2014 - 09:11 PM

I am absolutely sure that if it fails and does not have a current certificate still valid you can drive it back to the location where it is registered as being kept to be repaired there.

If in doubt I use my trailer to take cars to & from testing.



#11 cambiker71

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Posted 22 January 2014 - 09:24 PM

I am absolutely sure that if it fails and does not have a current certificate still valid you can drive it back to the location where it is registered as being kept to be repaired there.

If in doubt I use my trailer to take cars to & from testing.

 

I was too, but I can't find anything official about that anywhere now, I'm sure it used to be written on the back of the old VT30 failure sheet but I can't find one to confirm that. 

 

Looking at my copy and pasted rules from direct gov though it looks like that has been abolished. :(

 

EDIT

 

I've found an old VT30 failure sheet and it does say you could take it away from the test....this was from 2004!!

 

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Edited by cambiker71, 22 January 2014 - 09:30 PM.


#12 Cooperman

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Posted 22 January 2014 - 09:30 PM

Well I know I would still do it as that is where any failure will be repaired. I would make an appointment with my own workshop at home and book it in!

As a qualified engineer (aerospace actually) I'm sure I have a right to do my own repairs and I would be prepared to argue that case in court if necessary.



#13 Carlos W

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Posted 22 January 2014 - 09:34 PM

If I stopped at a post office to buy a tax disc after an MOT and was prosecuted for not having tax, I'd fight it all the way to court.

 

I think these rules are put in place to stop people taking advantage! 

 

Police officers can use discretion! I'd hope in this situation they would!

 

But we wont have tax discs soon!



#14 Dan

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Posted 22 January 2014 - 09:35 PM

It doesn't define what a place of repair is, AFAIK it can be your own home and if you will repair it yourself then prior arrangement is simple. Or you could call a mobile mechanic to meet you at home.

#15 The Matt

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Posted 22 January 2014 - 09:44 PM

There's no real definition of how far you can drive to the MOT station nor to the place of repair (as far as I'm aware)...which I find stupid. Too easy to take advantage.

Buy car with no MOT from 200 miles away, check it's roadworthy, book in for MOT at your local VTS, drive it there, drive it home even if it fails? Perfectly legal because it's prebooked?

There surely has to be some limit as to what a reasonable distance is? I mean, does one drive a car 50/100/200 miles with no MOT just to take it to a 'specialist' MOT testing station?

There should be absolutely no need to drive any further than your nearest VTS, as they 'should' all be testing any vehicle to the same testing standard. I wouldn't want mine tested for an easy pass. I'd want it to be right!




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