Another pointless thread

Sorry to hear about your Dad and the light assembly Graham, but the important thing is.....how's the camera? All fine I hope.

Cheers,
Stephen

At 4 years old my car passed it's first ITV inspection last Wednesday, the Spanish equivalent of the MOT.

That's that sorted for another 2 years.

???
You mean you can keep your car for 4 years in Espania without having to worry about the dreaded MOT? And if you do have it tested it last for 2 years:

That would save me a fortune in getting rid and depreciation costs

The camera is fine, he was cuddling it on the way down.

Exactly. The first “Inspeccion Tecnica de Vehicles” (ITV/MOT) is at 4 years, then every 2 years up to 10 years. After 10 years they need ITV'ing every year.

Makes sense with modern vehicles, I wonder when the Ministry of Transport will see the wisdom in this.

So far, in Québec, you don't have to have your vehicle inspected by the MOT, unless it was in storage for more than a year, or you bought it from another Province/Country.

Well if you are old enough to remember, the original MOT was called the 10 year test. I agree cars should be tested regularly, but I wonder if anybody actually collects the data to work out the failure rate of modern vehicles.

In Spain, all ITV tests are carried out by a government controlled body and are operated by TUV Rhineland. The test gear they use is more sophisticated than that which is used in UK. The driver stays in the car and obeys the instructions of the tester up until the final ramp test. When the car is on the ramp, hydraulic tables turn the front wheels, and others move the wheels in and out. The inspector then looks for any loose joints etc. The diesel smoke test is done at 4000 RPM which is a bit less than UK I think.

In the uk cars only need MOT after 3 years. Perhaps this could be extended a bit if you are having it serviced in accordance with the warranty? After that I reckon yearly tests are sensible, given the risks.

The point is, what are the risks? I can't imagine many people with relatively new cars are driving around without brakes and with bald tyres.

The problems arise with old cars owned by people who can't afford to run them, and who consequently skimp on essentials.

I reckon a test at five years, then at seven and nine and annually thereafter, would be just as effective at preventing accidents as the present regime.

G

Argh, forum ate my post! TWICE! Try again...


Interestingly - whilst major mechanical / emmissions failures on cars that would be picked-up by the MOT are pretty rare sub-10 years, there's lots of maintance that's picked-up. E.g. most drivers never check their tyres are inflated properly, let alone if they bald!

And, as I found-out earlier this year, modern brake-pads wear-out incredibly quickly - I had to have a set replaced after only 1 year & about 4000 miles (well, 3800 of those were around London!) - because they no longer have asbestos in them, and the replacement materials are rubbish!

So I'd have a visual (cheap) inspection every year, and a full inspection every other year. Many garages would do the annual inspection for free, because of the opportunity to sell people expensive replacement parts!

No MOT at all in South Carolina....

I suspect this is more to do with driving style than brake pad materials.

G

I would agree - mine normally last about 60,000 miles

Well I've been driving for 20 years, and the only time I've ever gone through brake pads that quickly was when I had a Ducati But as I said, 95% of my driving is around London, which isn't pleasant.

From talking to collegues, a lot of them have said they have been having the same issue the last year or two...