Since 1961, the MOT has been a compulsory part of motoring. The annual check for cars over three-years-old is factored into a driver’s requirements, making it a guaranteed service for workshops that offer it.
There are over 32 million passenger car MOTs carried out each year. Of these, on average, 28.2% of these result in a failure, with 7.8% carrying at least one dangerous issue. This alone equates to around two million vehicles, highlighting the importance of the MOT.
While lamps are the area with the biggest failure rate, at 11% according to the latest DVSA statistics, suspension accounts for 8.8% of refusals to pass. Tyres are the single biggest product to lead to fails, with 6.4%.
Recent data from Tyresafe shows that many of these defects were highlighted as an advisory the previous year, showing that driver attitudes around the information from the MOT need to be challenged.
A need for training
The MOT would be nothing without the thousands of dedicated technicians with the ability to run through the series of checks, ensuring vehicles are safe.
“Not only is it important for technicians to stay up to date so they can test vehicles better, but it is a mandatory requirement from the DVSA,” commented David Lord, Training and Content Creator at MOT Juice. “There is the annual exam that needs to be completed every year, along with the mandatory three hours of training.”
Keeping up with training will become more vital in the coming years. Vehicle technologies are changing, both in terms of software and propulsion.
“The industry is changing a lot,” added Lord. “There are new technologies on cars, and constant updates from the DVSA. The testing practices are evolving, and you need to keep on top of all your training, but it should be the right training that is for you.
“We tend to find testers that are more organised, tend to be more confident, they are less stressed, and they tend to pass the annual exam first time with actually better marks. Those that usually wait until the 31st of March, cram in three, four hours of training and then try and do their exams, they tend to be more stressed and sceptical about the need for the annual training.”
Organisation, therefore, is key, with training and administration, to ensure no disruption to your ability to offer MOTs.
The right equipment
But while the technician is the most important aspect of the MOT, the equipment is equally as vital. This is what allows a tester to pass, or fail, a vehicle’s inspection, and needs to be up-to-date, and in full working order, to help a business continue to offer the annual test.
“The MOT test fundamentally is a safety test, followed by an environmental check, and having the right equipment to do the job properly is the important thing,” commented Julian Woods, Chief Executive Officer of the Garage Equipment Association.
“To be fair, a lot of the equipment is common across the MOT classes, especially 3, 4 and 7. For a lot of garages, the MOT is their bread-and-butter work. Having reliable equipment, not buying the cheapest, but buying something that is trustworthy, reliable, and backed up by a proper company that is looking to support and offer support to you, is key.”
As technology in the automotive industry and beyond develops, so too does the offering in the garage equipment industry. Modern test equipment allows for a more thorough test, and easy reporting, reducing the workload on a tester.
“Certainly, with modern equipment, the DVSA have been promoting connected equipment, and has mandated some,” Woods continued. “It is there to help MOT testers, to help them reduce their errors and speed the test up. So workshops really should be considering this area, it will help to improve their business.”
Nothing is insignificant
Attitudes towards cars by drivers are changing. No longer are they looked after and cared about as much, instead they are tools to get from A to B. For this reason, many smaller items are leading to MOT failures, most of which are simple to spot, and replace.
Bulbs are one area, especially as lamps are the leading cause of fails. However, 4.6% of total MOT declines in the last four quarters were to do with visibility. Therefore, having a supply of parts that are easy to replace, and can get a customer back on the road quickly, is increasingly important.
“Having a supplier on hand is great, and we know how quickly the UK industry works in getting items out to garages, so this can certainly help turn an MOT fail into a pass quickly,” highlighted Sam Robinson, Business Development Manager at Simply Brands.
“The other option that we are seeing more and more workshops do now is holding stock of wipers on site, so with some of the multi-clip options that are out there, garages can stock 15 product lines in a small rack and have them to hand. It is also an additional revenue opportunity.”
Highlighting the importance of checking the MOT testing manual, and the need to close any loopholes within it, the DVSA recently updated article 3.4, stating that windscreen wipers must continue to operate automatically when switched on.
“That change in itself is a bit strange, because you would imagine it should have always been there,” added Robinson. “Essentially, what that not states is a technician must turn on the wipers, and when they do that and activate them, they must turn on and stay on, which as I say you would think would be part of the test anyway.
“But I think perhaps there is an element of closing a few loopholes, perhaps where if it did not work you could not test it, so now as part of the test it has to physically function.
“I think that if the DVSA are doing that, and if the technicians are aware that there’s this extra test now and something else that needs to be ticked off, then it ensures technicians are performing that test properly through from just turning them on to actually checking the deterioration.”
Cost of the MOT
Over the last decade or more, government interference has seen challenges to the MOT, especially its frequency. However, the aftermarket has always fought back, and succeeded in keeping the test as it is. Now, however, the industry is taking action of its own, petitioning to increase the MOT cost cap, after over 15 years of the £54.85 fee.
“If we kept the fee in line with inflation, it should be sitting around £90 at present,” highlighted Mark Field, Chief Executive of the IAAF. “When you look at modernising the MOT test to encapsulate all the latest technology and software and systems that are on a vehicle, as well as kind of the functional checks, that is an investment for a garage.
“It has been 15 years since the current cost cap level was introduced, and I am struggling to think of anything that has stayed the same price since 2010,” Field continued. “And I have to question why the industry is being penalised in that respect. Equipment is an investment, as is the training, and if we want vehicles to stay roadworthy, and within their emissions limits, garages have to be able to charge a fair and proportionate amount.”
