Ben Davies Posted June 15, 2009 Report Share Posted June 15, 2009 Dear all, Does anyone know of a decent MOT tester, preferably in the Surbiton / Kingston area - but happy to travel further for a decent garage which is familiar with classics. Cheers, Ben Quote Link to post Share on other sites
88V8 Posted June 15, 2009 Report Share Posted June 15, 2009 Walton Express in Walton on Thames. Does my 6 and my Landy, and just lately the chaps from Brooklands Museum have started taking their cars there. The tester, Ali, has a balanced and intelligent approach and is all the more sympathetic if the owner is obviously looking after the underside of the car Been using them for some years, their previous tester was much the same in his attitude. 01932 231 704 Ivor Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Ben Davies Posted June 15, 2009 Author Report Share Posted June 15, 2009 Great - just the job. Thanks Ivor. Ben Walton Express in Walton on Thames. Does my 6 and my Landy, and just lately the chaps from Brooklands Museum have started taking their cars there.The tester, Ali, has a balanced and intelligent approach and is all the more sympathetic if the owner is obviously looking after the underside of the car Been using them for some years, their previous tester was much the same in his attitude. 01932 231 704 Ivor Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Rob Salisbury Posted June 15, 2009 Report Share Posted June 15, 2009 Dear all,Does anyone know of a decent MOT tester, preferably in the Surbiton / Kingston area - but happy to travel further for a decent garage which is familiar with classics. Cheers, Ben Hi Ben, Berrylands Garage, Surbiton Hill Park have been doing my cars for the last umpty years, new guy Duncan is quite keen on older cars, no pushover but fair, and for me, just at the end of my road. Cheers, Rob Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Ben Davies Posted June 17, 2009 Author Report Share Posted June 17, 2009 Ivor and Rob, Thanks for the both of your responses. Just returned from Express with a new ticket for 12 months! Agree with your views on Ali, professional guy, very thorough test but seems to know and appreciate the cars which is great. Rob - Berrylands is very close to me also but I booked as soon as I saw Ivor's post - I'll bear that in mind for any other issues. Cheers guys, Ben Quote Link to post Share on other sites
88V8 Posted June 17, 2009 Report Share Posted June 17, 2009 Just returned from Express with a new ticket for 12 months! Agree with your views on Ali, professional guy, very thorough test but seems to know and appreciate the cars which is great. Rob - Berrylands is very close to me also but I booked as soon as I saw Ivor's post - I'll bear that in mind for any other issues. Good news. In my experience when you find a decent MOT station it pays to keep going back, you will be remembered. To the extent that a chap down the road from me still takes his 67 SII Landy Lightweight back to the Dorset garage from which he bought it many many years ago. Ivor Quote Link to post Share on other sites
TR6 Poor Posted June 18, 2009 Report Share Posted June 18, 2009 I have seen you guys talk about the dreaded MOT for years. We have something similar over here , annual inspection. In my opinion, over here, it is just a magnet for crooks, a bloody racket. If it were over here, I would befriend an inspector, and slip him some extra cabbage at the end of each MOT. That seems to dull their senses and dampen their enthusiasm for rejection. Also, let them put in a light bulb or a wiper blade every now and then, you know, some thing cheap, makes them look good in front of the boss. However, if the vehicle is a "junker" and has major safety problems, it needs to be rejected. Over here they look hardest at the things they make the most money doing, brakes, shocks, tires. Its all about the cabbage. I don't need the government telling me when my car needs to be inspected, the problem is, the government is on the take. I don't have to get my TR6 or Norton inspected because of the type license I have on them. What you guys need to do is get all the classic car/bike clubs together, and have the law changed so that antique cars do not have to be MOT ed. Over here, campaign contributions and whores do wonders for such changes, if handled properly. A car is an antique over here after 25 yrs. All my comments are about how I perceive things in the USA, no reflection on anyone in the UK. However, when you get down to it, there ain't a lot of difference, its all about the cabbage everywhere you go. Cheers Quote Link to post Share on other sites
CONCRETE24 Posted June 18, 2009 Report Share Posted June 18, 2009 (edited) Over here they look hardest at the things they make the most money doing, brakes, shocks, tires. Its all about the cabbage. Hi TR6 Poor That's why I always take my car to an MOT station that only does MOT's, so no incentive for them to fail the car at all. In fact, despite not being a garage as such last year they did as you said and tightened up a wheel bearing free of charge (that would have otherwise been a fail), because they took pity on me! The proprietor is notoriously grumpy - but a classic car owner himself - so they're not all bad! Michael (who could do with some more Cabbage himself)! Edited June 18, 2009 by CONCRETE24 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
ianc Posted June 18, 2009 Report Share Posted June 18, 2009 I always go to the same garage and am very happy to have my car checked each year - an experienced tester can see things that I can't - he is underneath whilst I swivel the steering from side to side, he sees the engine running from below, he observes the brake hoses whilst I'm pressing hard on the pedal etc. Also, he has a machine which tests the braking on each wheel - although it is likely that I would detect an imbalance at the front, I might not on the rear. He checks the lamps to ensure that I don't dazzle oncoming drivers. When he spots something that is not a "test fail" item, but which I ought to fix (e.g. loose bolt on the underside of the alternator, only obvious when the engine was running; the gaiter on the rack being stretched too much and likely to split if no action taken - small adjustment required; suspension ball joint beginning to wear - replaced within a month), he tells me and I go home and fix it. I just wish cars were tested when they get to one year of age (they are not tested until 3 years of age in the UK) - it might stop people driving new cars with defective lights - especially dangerous in the winter time and doubly so when it is the offside front. Ian Cornish Quote Link to post Share on other sites
TR6 Poor Posted June 18, 2009 Report Share Posted June 18, 2009 How much does a MOT cost on a TR6? Quote Link to post Share on other sites
88V8 Posted June 18, 2009 Report Share Posted June 18, 2009 I have seen you guys talk about the dreaded MOT for years. We have something similar over here , annual inspection. In my opinion, over here, it is just a magnet for crooks, a bloody racket. If it were over here, I would befriend an inspector, and slip him some extra cabbage at the end of each MOT. That seems to dull their senses and dampen their enthusiasm for rejection. Also, let them put in a light bulb or a wiper blade every now and then, you know, some thing cheap, makes them look good in front of the boss. However, if the vehicle is a "junker" and has major safety problems, it needs to be rejected. Over here they look hardest at the things they make the most money doing, brakes, shocks, tires. Its all about the cabbage. I don't need the government telling me when my car needs to be inspected, the problem is, the government is on the take. I don't have to get my TR6 or Norton inspected because of the type license I have on them. What you guys need to do is get all the classic car/bike clubs together, and have the law changed so that antique cars do not have to be MOT ed. Over here, campaign contributions and whores do wonders for such changes, if handled properly. A car is an antique over here after 25 yrs. All my comments are about how I perceive things in the USA, no reflection on anyone in the UK. However, when you get down to it, there ain't a lot of difference, its all about the cabbage everywhere you go. Cheers A car used to be a Classic over here after 25 years, until Gordon Skinflint Car-hater froze the eligibility date. The EU allows cars to be regrded as Classics at 20 years, none of which moved them to exempt them from the 'Scrappage' schemes But in fact the 'classic date' made no difference to the MOT requirement. There is a general concession in that the car doesn't have to comply with regulations not in force at the time it was made - seatbelts for example - and beyond a certain age there is no emissions test as such just an absence of 'visible smoke' and within a later date band there is a slacker emissions allowance, but that's it as far as my cars are concerned. I presume there are also other concessions, such as braking performance for example for very old models. Yes I'm sure that over here too some garages fail cars to generate work for themselves. I believe it's less prevalent with classics as most garages don't want to get involved with fixing them. The MOT in general has been a plague for the old-car owner. I remember in the 60s there were still many vintage cars in daily use, one saw Lancia Lambdas, Rolls 20hp, Riley 9, Alfa 1750, Crossley, Delahaye, and later models such as Ford Pilots and Armstrong Siddeley, parked in the street. Then the 10-year test came in, and they were swept away. The Vintage Car movement didn't have the clout to stop it then, and certainly doesn't now with those in authority generally younger than the generation that knew and loved the older motors, I'm sure to most bureauprats now our old cars are just a b....y nuisance. How much does a MOT cost on a TR6? £45 and rising. If it fails it has to be retested, pay again. There is some concession I think if you take it back within X days, my cars haven't failed for a few years so I'm a bit wooly about this. Ivor Quote Link to post Share on other sites
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