Had a meeting last week with the Retail Motor Industry Federation, in particular the Trust my Garage division as we host their data on behalf the Consumer Code.
Part of the conversation moved onto the the recent MOT legislation, something I hadn't really considered and from what I had seen on the news sounded like a good thing. ie moving MOT's to every 4 years means another year before having to worry about MOT's so in my mind, good news all round.
Chatting to the guys at RMI, they told me the other side of the argument and to be honest it was serious food for thought. Modern cars are much better insulated and sound proofed than they were years ago. The average driver has lost most of the basic skills we all had years ago, like checking the oil, tyres, listening to and identifying a strange new noise. Technology has taken over a lot of the tasks from auto tyre gauges (notoriously unreliable) to automated oil checking, ie my wifes car doesn't even have a dipstick.
There is little argument cars are far more reliable than years gone by, but something I hadn't considered was road conditions and quality has deteriorated dramatically over the last 10 - 20 years. Budgets have been slashed, potholes are bodge fixed rather than fixed properly. The length of time for roads to get resurfaced has increased. Apparently the most common fault now for MOT failure is suspension component wear and tyre wear and damage.
So with long life servicing, motorists more reliant on technology, is having a manual check of your vehicle to ensure it's road worthy such a bad thing?
The government have opened a consultation to let everyone have their say, and a campaign has been set up by the likes of the RMI, AA, RAC, Halfords, Kwikfit to raise awareness of the issue: www.promote.org.uk. We have just published a blog post from Trust My Garage (part of the RMI) if you want more information:
Proposed MOT changes: Why the 4-1-1 system is dangerous
The cynics will say the organisations against this are self serving as it's interest for motorists to have regular MOT's and vehicle servicing. But I must admit regardless of manufacturers service guidelines, I always like my vehicles serviced and checked out every year for piece of mind, rather than relying on a sensor or a component that is supposed to last longer.
Am I alone or do you agree? Or do you think MOT's should be pushed back to 4 years?
Any thoughts or comments, for or against?
