Morris Minor Owners Club

Had a rapid look at French legislation concerning MOT's for classic cars - With the obligation since 2009 to test classic cars a "lighter" series of controls has been brought in that "respect" the age of the vehicule with adaptations relative to date of Ist registration are grouped as thus :

Registered before 31st December 1919,

Between 1st January 1920 and 31st December 1955

Between 1st January 1956 and today, the legislation appears to encourage testing stations to opt a "lighter" test for vehicules over 30 years old.

HGV's, tractors, buses etc registered as classic vehicules appear to have their own specific tests.
Not gone into the details but this system seems logic - gives some food for thought.

Michael

I am against any changes, it all sounds good on paper, saving whatever you pay for your MOT each year. something would take its place eventually. It could be another route to limit the use of classic vehicles in the future. No Mot, old banger,a solicitor would have a field day with any accident claims.

I'd vote for a cheaper test for classic cars as they are exempt from emission testing which means the test is shorter and simpler.

We must, must, must keep MOTs annual for all vehicles! With every year that passes, more and more drivers enter the marketplace who don't know or couldn't care less about even the basics of oil and water levels, let alone concerning themselves about what that funny clunking is when you go over a bump!
We must realise that there are da**ed few drivers out there who have any mechanical inclination, and just wait for the car to stop, then call out the recovery servce. We cannot assume that just because someone drives a "Classic" car that they have any feeling for the mechanics of the thing.
On the deeply pessimistic side- IT WOULD restrict the regular use of Classic vehicles, as insurers would want some sort of engineers report before insuring you, all as stated by our French friend above^^^.
And even a brilliant mechanic like me can sometimes miss things on their own cars

Yes am in favour of cheaper MoT's for classics as in general there is less to check, but as Mark said above and i maybe wrong the few 1970 + cars i beleive require an emmission gas check.

A metered emissions test is required from August '75 (for petrol) and August '79 (for diesels). Cars made before then are still supposed to have a visual check, and can fail if there's too much smoke.

Said i could be wrong. I had my 54 series II gas checked when i took it for MoT last year the car had been garaged for twenty + years the recon engine was 18 years old, it was new when i bought it. the gas test came back and it was running better than some modern pre catalytic cars.

i'd be happy if they charged half the fee for a classic. i do less than 1500 miles a year in mine and at the current price, its not cheap.

I am in favour of keeping MOT's for all cars. It's a no brainer.

Accept the personal costs involved in classic car ownership and if you are only doing a few thousand miles a year so be it (that is your life choice).

As others have said previously if there is a fatal accident involving a classic car which doesn't have an MOT there will be a real commotion in the press and it could lead to a situation where we classic car owners ultimately won't have a choice of how, when or where we use are cars.

And what about the insurance companies? A car without an MOT has got to be seen as a greater risk and therefore could be more costly to insure. And to get insurance cover you can bet the insurance companies will want you to get some sort of certification of road-worthiness (to reduce their risk). These are likely to be available only from one of their approved vehicle inspectors. So no competition or choice there either.

There may be a very short term gain but in the long run it is a bad idea.

Cheers Ian

If one or two accidents are blamed on untested classics, the Police will then swarm around any pre-1960 car as if it's a new BMW swerving at 3.00am, and driven by an 18 year old. Then they'll scrutinise it with eyes accustomed to finding faults in modern cars with tighter tolerances.

I can also foresee far more post-sale disputes occuring, where standards are not defined or evidenced.

By the way, you lot are paying highly for testing - round here there's cut-throat competiton amongst the smaller garages and £30 to £40 is the norm.

lockupchap wrote: By the way, you lot are paying highly for testing - round here there's cut-throat competiton amongst the smaller garages and £30 to £40 is the norm.

Same here, I know Classic Car Garages, they are very competitive. I just think MOT's are a good standard for all cars! this stops cars falling into a state of disrepair! Not just Minors, but all cars!

MOT exemption only makes sense for veteran London - Brighton cars that have virtually nothing to test according to the modern MOT. For our historic vehicles, what would make sense as our cars are much simpler than modern vehicles, is a much simpler (and cheaper!) MOT test.

It only takes a good tester about 20 mins of the alloted 1 hour on the computerised MOT. So please DVLA/ FBHVC, do us all a favour and bring in a 20 min £20 MOT for pre 72 historic vehicles and only exempt pre ww1 cars.

Simple and safe!

I think doing away with any sort of testing on any roadgoing vehicle would be one of the stupidest things they could possibly do. the mot isn't perfect but at least everything meets a standard of roadworthiness as not everyone has the same care or even ability to know there car is unsafe etc.
The argument that that "my car only does X hundred miles a year so shouldn't need a test" doesn't hold up as lack of use is the best way to get seized brakes etc

Two year mots would also be a bad idea, this pic is from a car under 3 years old so not yet tested but on a 2 year service schedule [frame][/frame]

That tyre is seriously dangerous, but that can be done in days if the tracking is way out of alignment, so not as much an MOT issue as normal-worn-out tyres.
Needless to say the annual MOT finds many tyres below the legal limit. I certainly understand that low tread depth is rarely a safety issue in a dry summer, but there were people stuck in last winter's snow with bald tyres, completely clueless to why their car was "so difficult to drive"
There are plenty of recorded accidents caused by low tread depth, and plenty of MOT fails on tyres, so why would any country allow a 2 year MOT?

Did someone not say it is 2 years in France ? The Euronuts are always keen to enforce their ideas on us - so why isn't the car MOT and TAX system standardised across ??

In France it's every 2 years for moderns and since 2009 5 years for classics. Why 2 years for moderns I don't know. It costs 74€ for private cars (modern and classic). The "forces de l'ordre" when they pull you in for a random check go over your vehicule with a great amount of zeal - that is their job. Tyres are the first thing they look at, then lights etc..........

I'll look into the in's and out's of the French MOT legislation and will get back after the festivities - they invented it themselves and didn't need any inspiration from Europe!!! 2 years is the max I feel and 5 years is to long for classics but once a year is better.

Perhaps others in Europe could tell us what happens "chez eux" - in Germany they must be very thorough !!!

Might see standardisation of legislation someday - we don't pay road tax in France on cars, even moderns!!!

I think all road vehicles should be tested as they are now IE 3,1,1
And does everyone realise MoT test is a MINIMUM standard of road worthyness and NOT a service/maintenance standard.
So if a vehicle is well maintained and serviced to a proper standard then it should fly through an MoT.

If you take a new vehicle standard as say 100%
And well maintaines as say 75-85%
The MoT test fail mark is around 15-20%

Congratulations on passing your mot testers certificate Steve

thanks Lee,
It's really opened my eyes! No wonder our vehicles have always passed MoT test.
Iv'e binned disc's and suspension joints etc that would have done thousands more miles.
My biggest problem now is useing 2 different heads, 1 for servicing and the other 1 for MoT'ing

It's been an ongoing ambition of mine to gain an MOT Tester Certificate! Doesn't seem to be possible though - unless I buy a garage business. Even then.........