I am a garage owner and I have just been to an evening put on by my local Trading Standards office. One of the key points of the evening was to introduce us to new legislation regarding cars which are not roadworthy and are taken away by customers to fix elsewhere. This could be anything from a tyre low on tread or brake pads worn out. In fact any MOT failable item would be considered as not roadworthy.

The suprising thing they said next was this:

If we (the garage) do not fix the fault we are not allowed 'by law' (their words) to give the car back to the customer unless they pick it up on a trailer or transporter. If we do give it back then we are liable for anything that happens, like an accident etc.

So the point of this thread is to ask you 'the customers' what you would think if your garage insisted they fixed your car or you couldn't have it back?

Scenarios could include:

-You take your car to the main dealer for a broken cup holder and they find that the exhaust is blowing and you need two tyres. They are obliged by law to fix the faults before allowing to have the car back.

-You take your car for an MOT and it fails on a few things you think you can fix yourself. You would have to get it towed away from garage or you wouldn't be able to have it.


And before you say it... you cannot sign a disclaimer or anything like that. It is simply either the garage fixes it or you get it towed or you can't have it back.

 

They have advised you wrong imho

 

How much would you get fined for letting them drive off? I'm assuming thats the point of all this?

 

This was an organised evening by our local trading standards office for all the local garages to attend. I don't think they got it wrong.

 

If I allowed someone to leave with their car and they had an accident and killed someone on the way home I could be held liable.

 

i'd take my own tools, insist on using their ramp or pit, and cos i'm a mechanic, i would do a temp repair, to warrant my car roadworthy...

but my question to you is... if you take it to a garage, and they say its un roadworthy, and then fix it, who has the final say to whether it is road legal again.. does it go thru another MOT, which you would have to pay for?

 

Just remember to take a spare set of keys so you can drive it away if they withhold the keys.
But really, i'd just make super sure that if i was taking it for an mot it is going to pass before i take it, it's the owner of the car to ensure that there car is in a road worthy state. imho if your driving around with bold tyres i completely agree the car shouldn't leave the forecourt until there sorted and garage owners shouldn't let them leave.

 

Is this new legislation, and are we all going to be made aware of it when we take our cars in for a service etc?

 

Why would you check the brakes/tyres if the customer had asked you to, far example, replace a MAF sensor.

You can't be expected (esp if not an mot station) to do a full MOT on every car you take in, even for minor/trivial jobs.

Or are they saying that "if you notice" the tyres are out etc.? In which case, there's not problem, you just say that you didn't see or check the tyres.

 

I think they were implying that you should do some kind of basic check on every vehicle irrelevant of what job it is in for. A visual check would probably be okay but no doubt it would be sensible to record it somewhere just in case (yet more paperwork).

 

surely no garage has enough time to check anything that the car hasnt gone in for, why should the garage be payed labour for checking things ***** nilly

 

I can't see garages abusing this for profit at all !

 

but it is your car, surely by law they cannot stop you driving off in it as it is your property.

 

It's a handy way of dumping a car that has come to the end of its useful life.

Take it to the garage and leave it there, forever...

 

Well, they must specify what you check. Visual or otherwise.

Yup, tyres are easy to "visually" check but you still have to measure them if they aren't "clearly worn".

Do you have to check all the lights?

Brake pads, on many cars, it's not clear if they are worn without removing wheels, and again you would have to measure anything not "clearly worn".

All this will do is will make people stop using garages until mot/service time, making things worse.

I agree with above, many garages will use this to scam more money out of customers.

Recently I had my car serviced, I knew it needed new tyres which I had booked elsewhere. Car was serviced and they told me front tyres were out. i.e. advised me. a few days later I had new tyres and all was fine and dandy. Had they the power to keep my car, I would have to pay stupid amount of money for their tyres (or flatbed etc.) and a great deal of inconvenience.


Anyway, how would TS prove that you didn't check or that there was something wrong? you can say, well the tyres looked ok when customer brought the car in etc.... like an MOT, only says the car is roadworthy at the time of testing.

 

Good idea in theory but far to open to abuse. If this does become enforced law then once again it will penalise the wrong people ie as pointed out in the above case with tyres, And the peson that runs around in the badly mainted car will still get his dodgy mate down the pub to get his MOT and hence the car will be classed as roadworthy !

Richard

 

Like an MOT clear states, only at the time of inspection was the car roadworthy, after that it is the owner/driver who is responsible.

It is fair that you warn them of a potential fault, but not your responsibility to enforce the law.
What if a drunk comes in wanting his car ?
You can report him, but can you refuse him his keys if the bill has been paid ?

The world is going H&S crazy.

My car has a non-standard (not E marked) exhaust, are you obliged to remove and replace this with a standard one from Subaru....
My tyres aren't Bridgestones, are you obliged to put Bridgestones back on...

Nuts !

DunxC

 

lets face it wouldnt work wot about mot testing stations that only do mot tests, vosa testing stations for example

 

Aren't certain fails on an MOT covered under this sort of thing anyhow? Where the MOT station can refuse to let the car leave under its own power?

 

Interesting replys - a lot of which are similar to the discussions on the night. With any luck they will realise it is unworkable and drop it.

 

we make you sign a disclaimer if you take it away knowing it's in an unroadworthy state

 

I thought the law was changing so that if your car failed its MOT then it would not be allowed to leave the garage (driven) until the MOT was sorted

Im not too bad in this respect as my next door neighbour takes my car for its MOT and he brings it back whether failed or passed as its his garage and has to get home

 

what happens if like me you take your car to MOT center, they onlydo MOTS and dont stock tyres or anything like that.

 

Just phone the old bill to come round and settle it, or failing that just go ape **** and start swinging around a bat.

 

Totally unworkable! idiots.. I own one of the largest independent garages in my area. They have one of those Trading Standards evenings coming up soon, I'll go along and heckle.

 

That would be the perfect example of the lawmakers removing the role of police in enforcing laws and dumping it on someone else's lap wouldn't it.

How would it work in places like Northern Ireland - where MOT's are only carried out at specific VOSA locations?

Just totally unworkable in all cases other than a vehicle is truly dangerous to go back on the road.

 

Look forward to the feedback Alan.

 

As above just draft up a disclaimer for any customer to sign showing they were well aware the car was unroadworthy and that you aren't liable for any consequences arising.
Job done!

 

Can I just ask.....

If it's taken for an MOT before the old one runs out, then surely it's still legal under the current certificate?

 

Judging by the amount of grief they were getting in Exeter they will have changed their minds by the time they get to you Alan

I was chatting about it again last night. It is yet another misguided answer to a question no-one is asking and yet another result of the 'blame culture' we live in.

Its all Trading Standards fault if you ask me