79 replies to this topic

[villa3]

How do I do that?

[Norris73]

 

My mot ran out in apr but the tax doesn't runout till july,is the car still legal at the moment?

No, unless you have applied for exemption.

 

This is not how I understand it from my conversation with the DVLA. Essentially all cars over 40 years old became automatically MOT exempt as of 20/05/18. Applying for 'exemption' is simply for Tax purposes, and is required at your normal renewal anniversary (which in your case would be July), at this point and only at this point would you need to tick the MOT exemption box and confirm no substantial changes in the last 30 years on the vehicle tax website. In order to Tax the vehicle declaring the exemption is required to proceed to Tax your vehicle, declaring this exemption on the Tax website doesn’t make your vehicle any more or less entitled to the exemption, as essentially all currently Taxed 40+ year old cars will be exempt, the fact you will not have ticked the exemption box on the tax website yet until you tax renewal date does not effect the vehicles MOT exemption status. This is a self-certifying process that is required only when re taxing the vehicle. I do admit the literature is not worded all that clearly. If unsure I would highly recommend ringing the DVLA, they were most helpful this morning in explaining all of this.

Edited by Norris73, 21 May 2018 - 10:32 PM.

[minitravellerman]

I am waiting with bated breath on the MoT exemption coming to our side of the Irish Sea. Still no word of it as yet (probably mainly because we don't have a working executive at the moment in Stormont!!).

Anyway - I understand that the MoT exemption has a lot of "Fors" and "Againsts" but I am certainly a "For".

 

My argument for it is that I don't do any more that I'm sure 2000 miles a year in the Mini, so why should I be forced to MoT test it every year when my mates dad does over 25000 miles a year in his 2 year old BMW?? Surely a car doing that sort of mileage gets more wear and tear than mine does. Plus being a classic car enthusiast and wanting to make sure my pride and joy is always in tip top condition, it always gets a regular check over and will get everything it needs to ensure it stays as new. 

 

Ok, I may be at a slight advantage as my dad was a time served mechanic in a BMC dealership and then later was an MoT examiner in our local inspection centre, so I have learnt a lot from him over the years to allow me to be competent at my own mechanicing abilities.

 

Personally once the exemption comes into force here in NI I certainly will NOT be getting my Minis tested.

[Mito]

I don't think annual mileage is a good justification for not requiring an mot.

Most motorcycle's only do 2k miles per year and they will require an mot and will likely be less prone to rubber component failure as they'll still be running predominantly OEM parts.

Also components can fail early through lack of use. For example the chrome on shock absorbers is kept in good condition via the light film of oil it receives from being compressed. If they are not regularly used they will lose the protective coat of oil and start to rust causing early failure of the shock absorber.

The cost of an mot and the time to take it should be minor for a car which is kept in top condition.

[Homersimpson]

The thing that amazes me (and I keep saying) is there doesn't seem a sensible reason for the change.

 

If it had been applied to really early cars (Model T's with wooden wheels and acetylene lamps) where very little can be tested there would have been some sense to it but why on early wouldn't you want to MOT say a 1960's Mini Cooper S?  There is a lot of safety related stuff that would be checked and in all honesty we can't rely solely upon owner enthusiasts (many with no formal training and varying degrees of competence) to keep them in a roadworthy condition.

 

The other thing for me is that if you can afford an old car as a toy they you can afford £50 a year for an independent person to check it over and make sure its reasonably safe.

[minitravellerman]

I don't think annual mileage is a good justification for not requiring an mot.

Most motorcycle's only do 2k miles per year and they will require an mot and will likely be less prone to rubber component failure as they'll still be running predominantly OEM parts.

Also components can fail early through lack of use. For example the chrome on shock absorbers is kept in good condition via the light film of oil it receives from being compressed. If they are not regularly used they will lose the protective coat of oil and start to rust causing early failure of the shock absorber.

The cost of an mot and the time to take it should be minor for a car which is kept in top condition.

 

Well I basically carry out my own MoTs on my Minis every couple of months and as a result I always ensure they are kept in top condition. Plus MoTs are different here in NI as they are done through a central government centre and not in the local garage, so they are the most impersonal and depressing places you would ever want to visit.

[Mito]

Well I basically carry out my own MoTs on my Minis every couple of months and as a result I always ensure they are kept in top condition. Plus MoTs are different here in NI as they are done through a central government centre and not in the local garage, so they are the most impersonal and depressing places you would ever want to visit.

are they like mini government oppression centres for cars?

Fair enough but I'd guess the majority won't be checking them over to mot standard.

[minitravellerman]

are they like mini government oppression centres for cars?

 

 

LOL pretty much - they are the most soul destroying places. Even when I know I've prepared the car to within an inch of its life, there is always that little nagging thought in the back of your mind that they are going to fail it on something so petty. The problem is that most of them don't have the first clue about old cars and treat them as if they are modern cars in for their first mot at 4 years old. And then if you bring anything sporty in they take it for a spin around the centre site for a "test drive" that they are entitled to do. Basically they get to have a spin in any car they like just because they can. I hate going near the place hence why I am welcoming the mot exemption with open arms. I would gladly pay the £30.50 mot fee to NOT get tested lol

[Homersimpson]

As an example of how silly MOT exemption is, I have 1962 AH Sprite in a garage and its been on sorn and hasn't been moted since 2013, I insured it earlier this year when I insured another classic as they only wanted £30 extra and I have thought about putting it back on the road this year.

 

I thought I would try and tax it out of interest to see what happened and low and behold it let me so its now on paper anyway road legal!  

 

The car is still in really good condition as it was fully restored and not used in the wet so there isn't any structural rust, however, I would bet the brakes are now seized amongst other things,

 

If someone had an old classic that was taken off the road for serious rust they could now insure it, tax it and use it and it would be a problem if an accident occurred or they get caught!  

 

Rest assured when I do dig this car out I will be taking it for an MOT before it goes back into normal service (once I have fixed everything that's seized from storage and serviced it).

[CityEPete]

It's still the responsibility of the driver to ensure its safe, I can't see it makes much difference.

[Homersimpson]

-0o

It's still the responsibility of the driver to ensure its safe, I can't see it makes much difference.

The thing is if anyone has ever taken a car to an MOT and its failed (I know I have and I doubt there are many people into old cars who could say they hadn't had this) then we are not able to keep their vehicles in a safe condition without a legal requirement for an independent inspection once a year.

 

The thing is when you are on forums such as this most people are interested in their cars and work on them so will keep them reasonably safe but I have been in many car clubs and know many people who only fix something when its needed and have to pay someone else to do it, if the suspension knocks they take it to a garage when it fails the MOT they pay a garage to sort out repairs. 

 

If they don't have to MOT it they will only fix something when its seriously wrong and they notice it, they won't be checking the condition of the brake pipes under the car once a year.  I've known people who have brakes pulling to one side and just think, oh its ok its not too bad and its probably just lack of use, they might be right or it might be something more serious.  Either way an MOT once a year at least makes them do something about it and the situations doesn't go on forever.

 

The worst people for this (in my experience) are people with more expensive classics like Big Healeys and Jag XK's as they just buy them and don't have any mechanical knowledge or experience so just pay others to fix. 

 

The whole problem with this as I keep saying is there was no reason to change, it hasn't benefitted the Government at all, its reduced trade for garages and people who own these cars can afford to MOT them.  If only one person is killed in the next 20 years because of this change its one person too many.

[CityEPete]

Well I can't see them changing it back anytime soon.

[Minigman]

I’m not MOTing my cars anymore but they’ll still be regularly serviced by me and an annual check over by my local classic garage. Provided people take a responsible approach I can’t see why I’d pay for an MOT if I don’t actually need to. It’s like anything else, people drive around in death traps without a care for anyone if they’re that way inclined.

[CityEPete]

Exactly, for every car over 40 years old with a faulty part that might be found at an mot there are thousands being driven without insurance, mot, tax probably by drunk drivers or people without a licence.

[hunterg30]

there[s a lot of new cars driving round with faults ,there mot does not happen until the vehicle is three years old, common sense needs to be in play whether it be an old or new car