To MOT or not MOT

[®evo03]

Ive 2 mantas and another 1 heading for its 40th birthday, one is declared as free tax, the other one will be soon. 

I was on with the dvla swansea, and they advised all 40 year old cars are mot exempt, and i can delare it when applying for historic vehicle class.

Im unsure if i should as both are lightly modified, dvla states any mods to suspension, steering and brakes make it exempt being MOT exempt, here is the grey area! If it was completed before the vehicle was 10yrs old.

That statement is just weird! Both cars have passed mot every year, no advisories for fifteen years.

One has a corsa power steering, other has pedal box and disk brakes.

Seen this link and it states:

The guidance also allows changes made to a vehicle in order to preserve it when original-type parts are no longer 'reasonably' available, changes made to the vehicle type while it was in production or within a decade of production's end, and – for 'axles and running gear' – changes made to improve efficiency, safety or environmental performance. So modern disc brakes on a classic car are fine, as would be conversion of a hydraulic power-steering system to a less energy-hungry electric one.

So this statement is fine, anyway we have issues with mot here as apparently the guys and girls looking over our cars cant review their own practices and have been using lift ramps with stress fractures, not surprising as they are used for a purpose they where not designed for, sideways movement whilst they test for suspension issues! 

As i stated to them before whilst they mot'd a motorbike, i wouldnt be relying on them to tell me if it was safe or not, if i didnt trust my own work, my arse wouldnt be one it, 100% trust in myself. 

Example, i had a bush let go on a koni adjustable shock, within 30yrds, i knew what side it was, what it was, all felt through my backside in a bucket seat................no need for a mot adviser here.......or is there! 

https://www.goodwood.com/grr/columnists/john-simister/2018/1/john-simister-could-your-classic-be-MOT-exempt/

Edited March 10, 2020 by ®evo03
linky

[Jessopia74]

Lots of garages do pre mot checks, basically an MOT without it been official. That could be a good compromise. 

[Danny D114BCW]

Just keep them as they are? best to get things checked once a year and it isn't a huge cost for safety and piece of mind.

[cam.in.head]

i would too.

if a car is in perfect working and safe condition then theres no harm in having it mot tested as normal.it wont fail if everything is ok and may highlight an issue which you may not have known about . i like the 40 year tax idea obviously ! but cannot see the dvla's thinking behind mot exemption.most people who drive historic vehicles will know their cars inside out or have them maintained by someone who does and keep up to any issues as they arise but there will always be some unroadworthy cars that are out there,seriously rotten or with major brake,suspension or tyre issues that some owners dont know about(or choose to ignore!)

the owner of such a car could legaly (theoretically) put it on a motorway at 70 and drive from one end of the country to the other putting their and other people at danger.

this to me is total nonsense.

il be mot testing my cars as normal every year and read somewhere that some insurance companies may insist on it from a basic safety point of view eventually and why not 

[®evo03]

Taken all on board, cheers Lads.

1. Mot is out of action and goverment are issuing tempory exemption, usually a 6 month waiting list. The exemption puts the ownus back to the owner/ driver. 

2. Any Mot only validates a car on the date it was issued, it can be deamed unroad worthy the next day....... and why not.  Just because a major component is ok on mot date, does not guarantee a year of non failures.

Therefore it is up to the owner, driver to insure car is road worthy at anytime, mot'd or not.

Ive seen 5yr old merc with rusted brake pipes, it had 170k miles, driven to death, and traded for a new car, it failed on 7 major faults, ie there are more death traps out there, generally they are not classics, vintage! 

Q, If i do delare it exempt, can it be booked for a volunteered MOT. Cannot do a pre mot, as it means nothing here, the mot dvla is a goverment agency. < its not a good thing!

 

[Danny D114BCW]

We had a B series last year that was MOT exempt/historic on the log book. We still had it MOT'd to ensure it was safe.

[cam.in.head]

ah i take it you are not in the uk then ?

if you are going to get a garage to do a pre mot (or the equivalent of)then thats just as good as any owner who knows what threyre doin checking it themselves.   the nutters who drive newer cars in poor condition cant be accounted for unless the mot becomes much more thorough or more police roadside checks to find them.

 

[®evo03]

1 hour ago, cam.in.head said:

ah i take it you are not in the uk ?

Age old question, as the rapper e40 choices tune goes.... yep, nope! 

From the north of ireland, mot here have about 12 stations, run by the goverment, booking is about £30, you usually book it in two months in advance, now you get an exemption for every car, due to ramp issues. If it fails, you start again................basically its a money racket, operated by monkeys, they dont like being recorded, kind off totalitarian, its our way or no way.........dont like it that much....... i hate other people near my stuff, especially as they have no respect. Thats why i record them.

Story,........have a jap bike, its a jap market motorbike, but to get them racing in the isle of man in the 90s, they had to be homologated. That meant 100 had to be officially imported, still jap spec but an official uk import. My bike is number 25, left in road spec, never raced.

Now after owning it for about 10 years, had a issue, with a mot guy, his argument was.... if it is used on the uk road, it needs a sidelight! .....my view was that its was 20plus years old, motd for 15yrs, motd in the same station for 10plus years, why the issue now?, it never had a sidelight, and never will, end off! ........i won in the end, but it wasnt pretty....it wasnt a sidelight issue, but an attitude issue.

I do understand the safety aspect......but if it wasnt safe, i wouldnt be in it, or on it.