MoT time again

[Richard DAF Webmeister]

That time again. Always a bit worrying, even if you are quietly confident.

But we keep belting along. Every now and again.

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Phew!

[swissdave]

Excellent news, that will be the last time then I guess?

[andrew]

Yes, good luck! I take it your tester is "classic friendly"!

[Richard DAF Webmeister]

Nov 10, 2017 22:52:10 GMT swissdave said:

Excellent news, that will be the last time then I guess?

Thank you.

And no, I don't think it will be the planned last time.
Funnily enough we are running an article in the next magazine about the new MoT rules/rolling years etc.

I am rather of the mind, as are most of the classic car magazines and commentators, that whilst in theory it is tempting to welcome the "no need for an MoT", I think that for peace of mind, it is worth having the test done. Especially for someone like me who does not have the ability/equipment to fully check the car all over/underneath etc.

Also, I fear that one day, somewhere, an old MoT exempt car (of any make) will be involved in some sort of disaster, which will whip non enthusiasts and campaigners to try to get them banned etc.

But, I welcome the fact that the government is at least giving owners the choice/option not to have to have the test done.

[triumph66]

I agree with Richard's view on getting my Morris tested annually. There are people who would like to see old cars off the road and a car with no MOT involved in a hypothetical accident will reinforce their views. Having said that most classics are well maintained by their owners .

[andrew]

This M.O.T. argument has been going on since the Government's decision to exempt pre-1960 cars from the test. Although I'm unaware of any Dafs having been imported before 1960 I am generally unhappy about this change in the legislation, for many reasons. In essence, I think all vehicles used on the Public Highway SHOULD be subject to an annual check by a qualified mechanic, regardless of its age. £50 and half an hour per year is not too much to ask of the owner to have a vehicle examined and the test would be relevant to the vehicle's age (no-one expects a 1940's Austin to have rear fog lamps, for example!)

On a slightly different (but sort of linked) theme, the date may become a "rolling" one. My wife has pointed out to me that our daily family car, a Citroën Xantia, is 23 years old! Although perfectly useable, running perfectly, with 200K+ on the clock and serviced in excess of Citroën's schedules, it IS almost 25 years old! Yet it still looks good and goes like a stabbed rat when it has to. Would a 1970 car have been in such good condition in 1995-I think NOT! The fact is that cars are better build and designed now and there could be a higher number of old cars in every-day use over the next few years than we did have in the 1970s and 80s. Would we want every-day cars being used without an M.O.T. test.... NO!

[triumph66]

The problem with cars built in the 1990s and beyond, is that many people see them as disposable vehicles once they have gone beyond financial viability. In truth most of the manufacturers deliberately stop producing body parts and so forth so as to encourage the public to buy newer models. How often do we see subtle changes to current line ups of cars these days. It is my belief that cars produced in the last 10 years or so will be beyond the mechincal means of enthusiasts in the future due to all the computerised complexities in the engines. Certainly cars produced nowadays are structurally superior to those built back in the 70s as Andrew has pointed out.

[andrejuan]

I agree Andrew. Cars are mostly better nowadays, they are better protected against rust despite being of thinner metal. The engines last longer I think due to better oils
rather than better engines but who knows?
Looking ahead, I suspect there will be a group of people wanting to keep a Petrol/Diesel car on the road longer, rather than having an electric car. The writing is on the
wall for Petrol/Diesel cars, and it will be sooner rather than later in my opinion.
My Saab is coming up to seven years old, I would like to think it will keep going for many years more but, it is certainly not the same quality as my previous Saabs.