MOT failure

[Adrian E]

Originally Posted by steamship

Our MOTs are done through the DVA, which is a government agency, so that sums up this shambles.

Pretty sure in NI that at one point they weren't even doing emissions tests on most vehicles? Or certainly not the correct ones anyway.....

Presume the authorities take adequate account if ANPR pops up a 'no MOT' flag, assuming you can produce evidence that you've at least booked before it expired?

[steamship]

Originally Posted by Adrian E

Pretty sure in NI that at one point they weren't even doing emissions tests on most vehicles? Or certainly not the correct ones anyway.....

Sort of correct. They do the emissions test on petrol vehicles but not diesel. Someone in their infinite wisdom decided it was too risky to their health! I kid you not.

Originally Posted by Adrian E

Presume the authorities take adequate account if ANPR pops up a 'no MOT' flag, assuming you can produce evidence that you've at least booked before it expired?

Again, sort of. The ABI and PSNI have an agreement in place. e.g. my MOT expires 20th May and say the earliest date I can get is 14th August. If I'm stopped by the police here and can provide proof of the impending test, then it's okay. However, that only applies to Northern Ireland. If I was to go over to annual meet at the start of June with a 'roadworthy' vehicle and get stopped by the police, I'm done for as there is no agreement made with the rest of the UK.

All this harks back to the start of 2020 and the failure of 52 of the 55 lifts they had, with them carrying out more MOTs than expected and not inspecting the lifts properly. They are now doing even more MOTs than usual, and the backlog is currently three months. It's even worse if you need to tax your car, as then you're really up a certain creek with no paddles in sight.

[HPsauce]

Originally Posted by steamship

It's even worse if you need to tax your car, as then you're really up a certain creek with no paddles in sight.

You need to try and employ my strategy if possible:

Originally Posted by HPsauce

The main thing I do aim for is to separate the MOT and tax renewal as far as possible, or at least have the tax before (not after) the MOT if they're close.

A combination of SORN (a saving) and 6 months tax (small extra cost) has allowed me to do that.

[steamship]

Originally Posted by HPsauce

You need to try and employ my strategy if possible:A combination of SORN (a saving) and 6 months tax (small extra cost) has allowed me to do that.

Thankfully I already have that, courtesy of the car being off the road last year for four months, but there are loads of people here having that exact issue.

[Adrian E]

Nightmare - that's refreshed my memory (I've not worked in vehicle emissions for about 6 or 7 years now).

I seem to recall nobody on the roadworthiness side in London was aware of what was going on for quite some time

[Conan_the_Librarian]

Does a mainland MOT count for you Sean? Pop over on the ferry and get one done in Holyhead?

[steamship]

Originally Posted by Conan_the_Librarian

Does a mainland MOT count for you Sean? Pop over on the ferry and get one done in Holyhead?

I did think about that as a possibility, but then it would be a case of what happens if it were to fail, as I'd then be stuck in Holyhead with a car with a failed MOT.

I did some Googling to see if others had come across this issue, but could only find very old posts, so I phoned DVSA to get the real facts (about a 30 second wait and a very helpful and informative person). The good news is that yes, I could just get the car MOTed over there, which seems logical enough, but it has a downside. The MOT would be registered with the DVLA, and I would not be able to tax my car online, as they won't 'see' the MOT as my car is registered with DVLNI, and I would therefore have to tax my car at the Post Office. The same would apply if a GB registered car was MOTed in NI.

It reminds me of a story my brother told me. Years ago when we still had the tax discs and you taxed your vehicle at the Post Office, my brother was working in London. He went to the Post Office to tax his van, and was told he couldn't tax it there. He then had to phone his wife here, get here to tax the van at the Post Office, and then post the tax disc over to him in London.

I did get a suggestion from the DVSA rep which I'll be following up on, as that might be another option, both for me and my other brother as well, as he will soon be heading off to the mainland soon for a funeral, and he refuses to fly.

[Conan_the_Librarian]

Fingers Crossed.