More on MoT

I agree. I rmemer the misery of trying to touch up Golf with a sort of metallic brown paint. Impossible to match.
I have always thought that a P6 would look good in metallic crimson. Looking through the club mag., solid green or blue look OK, as does that green colour, Avocado? or the darker green, Arden green? Whatever, the colour will have to go with buckskin seat, as I re-coloured them last summer. I am not going to be doing any repaint in the near future, so I'll keep looking and dreaming. I guess that the P6 colours were in keeping with the times, so I'll ignore comments about Tobacco leaf, and get on with the driving.
What about he metallic colours in the last few P6's; Brazillia and Platinum?
 
Got my 3500S back yesterday, with all "MOT fails" now fixed: new steering idler, new bushes, and full service done.
What could be better than driving a P6 through Surrey woodlands on a sunny day?
I have learned my lesson; I cannot expect to keep driving a 46 yr old car without it needing regular TLC. I am only glad that there are Rover experts who can look after the car for me. Hoping for some good weather to drive and enjoy the car.
 
1 year ago we had this in the Daily Telegraph
Classic car owners are at risk of fines, experts have warned, as new MOT rules mean thousands are exempt from the annual test and could overlook problems.

Changes which came into force today for cars in England, Scotland and Wales will make it harder for polluting vehicles to pass the test.

But the government has also exempted nearly 300,000 cars over 40 years old from MOT testing completely.
Daily Express was not far behind with
MOT test SHOCK - Half a million cars won’t need an MOT anymore
AMONG the new MOT rules coming into effect today around half a million older cars in the UK will no longer need to take the annual roadworthiness test, this is why.
The rule states that cars which are 40 years old older are now exempt from the test.

One caveat to this is if the vehicle has been significantly modified or changed then it will be required to have the yearly service.
so this is a pretty recent change
 
I am looking to purchase a 2000 tc . Three I have enquired after have been MOT exempt . I have asked them all if I said I would buy the vehicle would they MOT it prior to purchase . Two said they wouldn’t and one said he would but it wouldn’t be for a couple of months !! I wonder how many non road worthy MOT exempt vehicles are for sale .
I personally feel the 40 year rule is a bad one .
 
Yes and No
Firstly I think the government was of the mind set that most responsible classic car owners who take pride in there car or cars would obviously make sure there car was road legal.

A high amount of classic car owners make there cars better then New and far better than when they left the factory floor.
Lets not forget a MOT certificate is only as good to the day it was issued / hour it was issued on any car modern or old it is for the driver of any vehicle to make sure it is legal and road worthy MOT exempt or not.
Just because a car is Mot exempt does NOT mean you can ride around with a get out of jail free card.

Of course there there will always be a dodgy Dave trying to sell you a wreck of a classic that he doesn't want to MOT
But like you and others you have identified that problem and avoided them, You have used whats called common sense something lacking in the UK.
The amount of classic car owner who enjoy keeping to the rules of keeping there car 100% Road legal and serviced far out weights the odd
dodgy Dave's of this world.

And I can not think why everyone who keeps there car legal should suffer an MOT some classic cars are only driven 1 month of the year with owners making them better than new and all the costs that go with the ownership.
Some MOT inspectors just don't understand classic cars with play in the steering wheel that comes as standard.
I once failed at one garage and went to another and got a pass it is up to the MOT inspectors brain at the time.
Why don't you MOT the car yourself take a Jack and and something to lay on and a inspection torch jack it up and have a look around take all the time you need don't rush.
Just because seller doesn't want to put a MOT on the vehicle it doesn't mean its a shed he could be busy but be a genuine seller.
Dont forget there are messers out there they call you up hello mate have you got the car for sale, Yes, Can you Mot it of course I can
then buyer no where to be sean.

If the seller is not happy you turning up with your jack and spending as much time as you need to understand what the car wants ?needs
ect then I would abandon the sale. and if it is miles away and your buying it blind I would also avoid it.
I wish you good luck :)
 
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take a Jack and and something to lay on and a inspection torch jack it up and have a look around take all the time you need don't rush.

That's fine if you know what you are looking for or lucky enough to know someone who can come along with you who does. Not everyone is that lucky.

I keep seeing that the MoT is only a snapshot of one day in the life of the car and then hinting that because of that it's not worth the paper it's written on. Well, "yes and no" to that as well, depending on when it's done it can be useful as a guide as to the car's condition, and I would be genuinely wary about a seller who refused to put an MoT on their vehicle. The cost is only around £40 so cost isn't an issue on what will be a vehicle costing several grand, the only reason can be that they are worried it will throw up issues which they'll then have to fix as the car will not be road legal. I'd walk away if they refuse simply for that reason.
 
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I agree it can be a good guide for the testable items that are required to be tested on a mot, but there is a lot of other items that are not tested on a Mot, I have seen frightening repairs to sills that was covered up with a bit of tin stuck over the whole and covered over with a bit of black stuff,
I have never understood why all the gears on the gearbox are not tested.
The AA used to offer to come out and inspect a car for you before you bought it I am not sure if they still offer this service or not, the only other way is to find a good garage local to the car your buying and ask the seller if he or she would take it there, you all turn up at the same time and have it fully inspected and get a garage report however I’m sure the buyer would have to pay, also I suppose it’s the amount of money a car is if I was buying a 7k car and the seller did not want to mot the car I would certainly think it was a bit strange, however if your buying a car for £500 to a Grand I think you can expect that it will be in need of restoration.
 
Hazel's brake efficiency on the rear was well out of balance when it was MOTd a time or two ago. It was hardly perceptible when driving, but clear on the test equipment. I did a full caliper service & they are now great.

However, if I'd been in an accident & never had that MOT (ie: an independent 'expert' checking a 50 year old projectile) what would my chances be in law when I was 'driving with faulty brakes'?

The man on the Clapham Omnibus would expect that a regular check is carried out & being independent an MOT is a 'no brainer', especially in the blame culture that we now live in.
 
You make a good point there Phil
But here is one for you what about if the brake problem had developed after the mot was done you still would not of stood a chance.
 
But here is one for you what about if the brake problem had developed after the mot was done you still would not of stood a chance.

I think the fact that I wasn't appearing to be 'wreckless' would stand me in a better position with the law & also my peace of mind.
 
I have seen two cars with an MoT and one rear brake not working at all, both of these were MoT'd in this condition as the nature of the failure was such that it could not have occurred since the test (part missing and adjustments made to mask the fault). Getting exempt cars tested is very laudable, but beware of falling into a false sense of security.
 
You make a good point there Phil
But here is one for you what about if the brake problem had developed after the mot was done you still would not of stood a chance.
I get a print out from my brake roller tester to prove all is correct.
 
I have seen two cars with an MoT and one rear brake not working at all, both of these were MoT'd in this condition as the nature of the failure was such that it could not have occurred since the test (part missing and adjustments made to mask the fault). Getting exempt cars tested is very laudable, but beware of falling into a false sense of security.

I wouldn't want to rely on an MOT for checking my cars; it's just that having an independent additional inspection each year would seem a reasonable thing to do from a public point of view & it would help to demonstrate that I am taking the safety of the public seriously, should the worst happen. As long as it's not used as a sole check, it MUST be better than not having one.
 
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