£10 MoT Halfords

[RobQuads]

My local halfords was really good on my old octavia vRS, picked up things they should do i.e. broken plate bulbs, poor wipers etc but never created work that wasn't genuine.

Arguably Halfords were better than Ford where frequently I was told I should get new brakes pads / discs when there was loads of life still in them (i.e pads with 50% of material left)

[cheshired5]

Originally Posted by Zebster

It's unlikely that an MOT tester would risk his certification (and livelihood) by failing vehicles on invented faults.

Not every "fault" is black and white or provable one way or another.
I had a fail on the indicator bulbs not being orange enough which is a matter of opinion.
I had a spare bulb kit in the car which they wouldn't let me fit myself as the car was under test conditions.
If I had fitted them, they would have charged me a retest fee and they wouldn't fit my genuine Volvo bulbs because they hadn't supplied them.
I had to pay for 2 new bulbs plus fitting which was slightly less expensive and less inconvenient than booking a retest which they wouldn't fit in that day.

They were technically being correct but showed none of the common sense you'd get from an independent receiving the full test fee.

[Roosterb]

Well my XC90 had its £10 MoT at Halfords today and passed with no issues.
They did refuse to test it yesterday due to illegal character spacing on my reg plates but that's my fault not theirs. No up selling or any other pressure. Only downside was communication with the staff was at "grunt" level.

[Zebster]

Originally Posted by cheshired5

Not every "fault" is black and white or provable one way or another.
I had a fail on the indicator bulbs not being orange enough which is a matter of opinion.
I had a spare bulb kit in the car which they wouldn't let me fit myself as the car was under test conditions.
If I had fitted them, they would have charged me a retest fee and they wouldn't fit my genuine Volvo bulbs because they hadn't supplied them.
I had to pay for 2 new bulbs plus fitting which was slightly less expensive and less inconvenient than booking a retest which they wouldn't fit in that day.

They were technically being correct but showed none of the common sense you'd get from an independent receiving the full test fee.

Isn't the retest free within 10 working days?

[RobQuads]

Originally Posted by Zebster

Isn't the retest free within 10 working days?

It depends on what needs testing according to https://www.gov.uk/getting-an-mot/retests

Looks like Lamps are only free if you take it back the next day, any later and it will cost

[volvocat]

During a lull in Volvo ownership I had a few Chryslers (yes, I admit it!) and two were MOT’d at Halfords on cheapie vouchers.
These cars (PT Cruiser & Crossfire SRT6) are known for electrical and sensor issues so, although working well pre-test, I was still a little nervous, but they both sailed through without advisories or any attempt at up-selling - and I hadn’t bought a thing from them.
I can only conclude it’s a similar situation to the main dealer issues often highlighted on here - it totally depends on staff/management attitude at any given branch.
It shouldn’t be - but that’s life these days...

[ASt85]

Originally Posted by Zebster

Isn't the retest free within 10 working days?

If the vehicle is removed from the testing station for repair and returned for retest within 10 working days following the day of failure, then only a partial retest is needed and a partial retest fee is charged. In any other case a full retest is required and the full MOT test fee will be charged.

NB (http://mottesting.org.uk/mot-retest-...tion-fail.html)
Free Retest Items
If the failed vehicle is taken away but then brought back to the same test station and retested before the end of the next working day on one or more of the following items only then no fee is charged for a retest:

Partial Re-Examination Items - (No Additional Fee)
Bonnet Horn Sharp Edges
Bootlid Lamps Steering Wheel
Brake Pedal Antislip Loading Door Tailboard
Direction Indicators Mirrors Tailgate
Doors Rear Reflectors VIN
Dropsides Registration Plates Windscreen and Glass
Fuel Filler Cap Seat Belts Wipers and Washers
Hazard Warning Seats Wheels and Tyres

[DriverDen]

I remember many years ago I had an old Metro that I took for an MoT and it failed on multiple points and I was given a quote for the repair. I then took it to another MoT station and had the test repeated, it failed again on multiple points, but different points to the first, and I was given a quote for repair. I took it the garage that offered me the lowest quote and I ended up with a MoT pass, but the multiple failures from the other garage were never looked at.

These days I pay and take my kids cars to a local MoT station for him to test em as I don't want anything missed, and the kids pay for the repairs anyway!

[Bashy]

Originally Posted by DriverDen

I remember many years ago I had an old Metro that I took for an MoT and it failed on multiple points and I was given a quote for the repair. I then took it to another MoT station and had the test repeated, it failed again on multiple points, but different points to the first, and I was given a quote for repair. I took it the garage that offered me the lowest quote and I ended up with a MoT pass, but the multiple failures from the other garage were never looked at.

These days I pay and take my kids cars to a local MoT station for him to test em as I don't want anything missed, and the kids pay for the repairs anyway!

I bet its harder now as they record the fail points and advisories, I assume they tester checks for these prior to doing the test?

[Clan]

Originally Posted by Bashy

I bet its harder now as they record the fail points and advisories, I assume they tester checks for these prior to doing the test?

No , the test is done fresh ... who is going to pay for the time it takes to check the previously failed items which may or may not be valid ..? It's cheaper to get the fresh MOT and see what happens..