no more MOT for pre 60 cars

[charlie_morris_minor]

well the goverment have failed to listen..

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-18146326

[JSimons]

So i have to MOT one of mine but not the other...

[MColes]

Such a daft idea! We've all gone to look at classic cars with some horrendous bodges on them. With non-enthusiasts now picking up on this as well as the fact that insurance is so cheap I can see this ending in disaster!

[JSimons]

I wonder if testers will still carry out an 'off-the-record' test at an owners discretion?

[donsrule]

The BBC states no MOT for vehicles manufactured before 1960.

My Minor was first registered on 23/02/1960.

The chassis number is MA2S3803262

Is there any way of establishing if my car was manufactured before 1960?[frame][/frame]

[estwdjhn]

I wonder if testers will still carry out an 'off-the-record' test at an owners discretion?

Voluntary testing will remain available for anyone who wants it...

[StaffsMoggie]

Hope this doesn't push up the prices of pre 1960s vehicles, or lead to restrictions on their use.

[Tamsin]

I agree with Matt.

Its all well and good saying that classic owners maintain and look after their cars well - in the large part this is true. But we all occaisionally miss things that might get picked up at MOT.

I can just see a new class of classic owners cropping up too who think "its pre 1960, it runs and drives - so wahey!" totally ignoring the fact that the structure of the car is made of blu-tak and the brakes have the stopping power of a fart in a hurricane and smashing it when the brakes dont work. Thus the insurance will have to pay out, the insurers costs will increase and those costs will of course be passed onto those of us who do look after and maintain our cars.

The other thing is that the insurance will want evidence that the car is in roadworthy condition - and how does one do that without an MOT?

Signifies the end of cheap classic insurance to me....

[chesney]

Hope this doesn't push up the prices of pre 1960s vehicles, or lead to restrictions on their use.

Especially pushed-up prices for cars that don't have the security of an MOT

[morrisminorbzh]

Hope this doesn't push up the prices of pre 1960s vehicles, or lead to restrictions on their use.

Partly because of botching etc, the French brought in testing (every 5 years and when a vehicule is sold) on on classic cars in 2009 !!! We managed to get the stupid geographical restrictions removed - we were not allowed to go outside of our département.
Pretty sure that someone's going to say that it's the fault of the EU !!!! Not this time !!!!

[mike.perry]

The BBC states no MOT for vehicles manufactured before 1960.

My Minor was first registered on 23/02/1960.

The chassis number is MA2S3803262

Is there any way of establishing if my car was manufactured before 1960?[frame][/frame]

A BMIHT Production Trace Certificate will give the build date

[mike.perry]

I wonder if testers will still carry out an 'off-the-record' test at an owners discretion?

The computer says no

[JOWETTJAVELIN]

The scrapping of the MoT for pre-1960 cars is definitely a bad idea... there are a lot of rogues out there.
Also a lot of owners have only basic mechanical knowledge and may never have lifted the carpets.

Imagine this scenario which could become a reality:

a so-and-so 1936 Eight has been rotting in a barn for 40 years. Someone buys it, gets it running, effects a few structural repairs, frees the brakes off and then hits the open road without any obligation to have it checked over. So they might get pulled for driving an unroadworthy vehicle, but it might be too late.

Deffo a very bad idea. How am I going to know the handbrake linkages are worn, rubber bushes have perished and there's an unsafe amount of free play in the steering???

[dalgrae]

I like most people I think welcome the MOT as a further check on what maintenance / repair work I carry out , but I really hope that any vehicle that is currently on a SORN has prior to being put back on the road has an MOT carried out to at least show it is roadworthy .If not all sorts of things can and will happen

[Austingirl]

I worry that this is the thin end of a wedge whereby pre 1960's vehicles are thought of only as museum pieces and we are eventually told how and where we can use them
Hope I'm proved wrong

[Sidney'61]

The BBC states no MOT for vehicles manufactured before 1960.

My Minor was first registered on 23/02/1960.

The chassis number is MA2S3803262

Is there any way of establishing if my car was manufactured before 1960?

The first chassis number of 1960 was 790007 so yours was built in '60

A have a 1957 thats been off the road for 10 years now, looks like theres no need to fix it up properly and if i was so inclined could drive it in an unroadworthy state now. Ridiculous ruling.
Saying that, for those who do still intent to look after their cars you wont have to deal with MOTers that dont have a clue about cars, like one that tried to fail my car as he couldnt open the passenger door from the outside, he obviously hadnt realised that minors dont have central locking...

[Sidney'61]

Just a thought, this would probably mean that even more older cars will just be sold for their number plates and left to rot as they would no longer need to be made roadworthy and MOTd before nicking the plate.

[Neil MG]

Well I think it's great!

It will help promote older cars and reduces a lot of red tape and a test that was less and less applicable.

As for the condition or road-worthiness of cars I see that it will make little difference. I host our branch mechanics days and I can say that whether a car has an MOT or not is absolutely no indication of it being safe. Most of the posts on this forum about brakes, lighting or suspension problems relate to cars that hold a current MOT!

Let's not forget that it is our legal obligation to make sure that our cars are roadworthy, regardless of MOT.

It will increase the value of older cars because the annual running cost has now been reduced by about £40 or more. It will also generate interest in older cars, which is good for all of us.

As for comments referring to not needing to fix cars properly that have been off the road, anyone driving such a car is very (more) likely to be stopped and prosecuted. It is no more legal to do that now than it was before, having (zero duty) tax and insurance does not mean you can legally drive an unsafe car.

I think there is a lot of knee jerk reaction to something that will in fact be of great benefit to owners of older cars. I can understand those people that have a post 1960 car (of the same design) being a bit miffed though. I have several classics and three will qualify, which is a good start!

[Neil MG]

Just a thought, this would probably mean that even more older cars will just be sold for their number plates and left to rot as they would no longer need to be made roadworthy and MOTd before nicking the plate.

This was my only question, regarding the re-registering cars that have not got a V5C. My assumption is that these cars will still need to be inspected. I very much doubt that plates will be transferable either without a vehicle inspection.

[heathy12]

How do we tax them then ????

Guessing its a V5 logbook and insurance prentation at the post office then!

Great news for the Classic car scene