Half Price MOT or Full Price ?

**nibblitz** · 21st July 2011, 11:04

Argggg, my MOT is due (sooner than I thought)

Whats people take on places that offer Half Price MOT, can/do they really get away with creating work that needs doing to pass mot, just to make their money up.. Do people think places where MOT's are full price are more likely to pass without work? I'd like to think all MOT testers stick to the rules, regardless of what little or big garage they work out of..

Im seriously thinking about bunging it in the dealers, interim service & mot for 99 quid.. Surely a dealer wouldnt try and pull a fast one like a little garage thats offering cut price mot.. (gawd I hate mot time, i'd rather be having wisdom teeth out)

**chewy71** · 21st July 2011, 11:07

Id trust my local chap over a dealer any day.

**RobertHayman** · 21st July 2011, 11:09

I think the cheep MOT is to attract customers.

The standard of MOT should be the same.

Its not the cheep MOT, what is the charging rate for fixing the faults you need to ask about.

**scotty84** · 21st July 2011, 11:14

I had my MOT done by halfords a few weeks ago for £27 and it passed with no advisory, the only selling they tried was to use them for servicing as they could beat dealer price by 30%.

**m8internet** · 21st July 2011, 11:18

£99 for an interim service and MoT is very good (an interim service alone will cost £100 plus VAT)
If your car needs both, then that makes sense
However, check what the service includes (typically oil and either pollen or air filter only) and meets your requirements
As a 2005 presumably your car is out of warranty and not covered by a third party, so ask a local garage what they would charge for that same level of service

I tend to have the service a few weeks before the MoT
This usually catches most of the main points which will fail MoT (steering, suspension)

I have only once used a dealership for MoT, never again
They came back with a lost of 3 failures (which I didn't agree with during viewing)
Took the car to Kwik Fit and they passed it, although advised the emissions was borderline and recommended a new centre section
I then produced the receipt (11 months old) and they ordered a replacement which they fitted the following week

**m8internet** · 21st July 2011, 11:22

Originally Posted by scotty84

I had my MOT done by halfords a few weeks ago for £27 and it passed with no advisory, the only selling they tried was to use them for servicing as they could beat dealer price by 30%.

I also used Halfords previously, that was in the days before advisories and both times passed without any problem
They were also very cheap for oil and filter changes (on that car which had oil changes every 6K miles) at less than £20

However they gave me a quote on my current car and when I showed them the same quote from VX, they just replied "no chance of even matching that, the parts alone cost that"

**nibblitz** · 21st July 2011, 14:53

Well, Ive had a feel of my springs, they seem ok so hopefully I aint going to get stung for that again this year.. Ive booked it into the small little 2 man garage operation thats 2 minute walk from me, its full price MOT cost but hopefully they'll pass it without fuss.. I was seriously considering the dealerships offer of interim service & mot for 99 quid, but then feared them giving me a long list of repairs needed at vx dealership prices... Damb I hope it passes tomorrow, just aint got no real spare cash right now..

**Neil1523** · 21st July 2011, 17:56

I used halfords almost expecting them to rip me stupid but no, paid the 27.50 and it passed first time! well chuffed!

**m8internet** · 21st July 2011, 17:58

Originally Posted by nibblitz

feared them giving me a long list of repairs needed at vx dealership prices

I ask for the parts numbers and prices
I just take the list to my local garage and see what they can quote

Sometimes the dealership price cannot be beaten, but it is usually servicing
Also advantageous when the car is still under warranty, as you can advise them to carry out any repairs (if possible in the time)

**MickAP** · 21st July 2011, 20:35

I've just paid £30 for an MOT, it passed. It was a Vauxhall dealer.

I passed another garage offering MOT's for £29, but I know from experience they are very expensive labour charges but thorough with there work.

My local garage is cheap for labour costs but charge full price MOT fee. So if mine failed it would have gone to the local garage for work or if poss do it myself.

Mick