All about MOTs - your local test centre is Shire Cars, Cheltenham
Shire Cars is a progressive garage in the Cheltenham area, striving to deliver only the best possible service and customer care.
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I had several problems with my car, lights coming on, on the dashboard and noise when braking, and the car had no umph. Shire cars sorted it all out what a relief, it is to have great service they kept me inform from when they diagnosed the faults informed me of what was required and did I want the work doing as long with what the costs would be . I did have the work done. You can't ask for more. Thank you very much for your help will be using this garage from now on.
Deborah Craggs
Churchdown Gloucester
Rated 4.9/5, based on
68 reviews
Customer Reviews
Available MOT Offers and Pricing
MOT with free retest is currently £45. PLEASE REMEMBER do not fall for the cheaper mot with a retest fee, this means you will pay more. It is easier to pay a fixed fee and know that we can quote you to rectify the failure items, OR you can get them fixed yourself and return for the retest. You will only pay £45.00, so FIXED PRICE. ( You get 14 days to return the car to qualify )
Please use the form at the top of the page, or call us to book your MOT now.
Normal Mot price is £54.85. Book a service at the same time and ask what offers we currently have.!
What is an MOT?
Any vehicle that is 3 years or older is required by law to have an annual safety test. This test is more commonly known as an MOT – ministry of transport test. This test ensures that your vehicle is safe to drive and meets the minimum safety level required by law.
THIS IS AN EXTRACT FROM A PROFFESSIONAL CAR DEALER MAGAZINE TO HELP EXPLAIN WHAT IT IS WE DO:-
THE MOT
Its a funny old thing-the mot test. It's probably the most misunderstood area of the garage trade. Done properly its a very valid and worthwhile safety test, to a point. But often its devalued and discounted. I can never work out why some garages are so quick to heavily discount the test fee, especially given the large costs to install the MOT testing bay. You have to ask yourself " How is the Fred In A Shed Garage Co. going to make a living charging £25.00 for an MOT? " and then smell a rat- a very big rat ! Given that the garage has to recover the cost of owning the mot bay and the only way to make profit on a discounted mot is either to cut corners or carry out unnecessary repairs- " and that aint good ". Especially when you come back to the fact that its primarily a safety test designed to protect you and your family.
Even done properly there are a few points worth bearing in mind:-
- The mot test is a snapshot of your vehicles condition on that day. As an mot tester you cant look at a component and fail it just because you think it may fail six months down the road.
- Nothing is stripped down on the mot. For example, a tester can't take your wheels off to check you brakes-if you can't see it, you can't test it. Strangely the tester has to take off your fuel cap to check the seal, but is not allowed to take the brake fluid reservoir cap to check the brake fluid level- great eh?
- Just because its passed an MOT it doesn't make it legal! Take tinted windows for example, if your front door windows are tinted it won't fail an mot, but a keen policeman would see things differently. The police work to a different set of regulations (construction and use blended with a few old wives tales quite often )
- The mot is not a replacement for a service. An mot is just a visual check- no adjustments, no stripping , no cleaning. During an MOT, we carry out an inspection and a comprehensive series of checks on the vehicle. If your vehicle passes, a VT20 'pass' certificate is issued
SO WHAT DOES THAT MEAN WITH US:-
We offer an MOT for £45.00 with a FREE RETEST if the car fails. This allows you if you happen to have an alternative person who fixes your cars to complete the work required and then return it to us to check it off and issue you with your new mot. SO we do not fall in to the ' Not required work category '
For total peace of mind you have a choice let us fix it or you can yourself .
TO BE AWARE OFF:-
It is your responsibility to ensure your vehicle is examined every 12 months. Without a current MOT certificate you are not legally allowed to drive your vehicle. Please see the section below 'my mot has run out'. - HOWEVER, WE DO TRY TO CALL YOU EVERY YEAR TO REMIND YOU AS PART OF OUR SERVICE. !
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Complaints
If we need to address any form of complaint with an mot you can contact VOSA, who will process it on your behalf. The telephone number is 0300 123 9000.
My MOT has run out - what should I do?
Let's hope this does not happen, as driving without an MOT is illegal and invalidates your insurance in most cases. Apart from the risk of losing your car to the police, the inevitable fines and points on your license could be very costly to you, especially the higher insurance premiums. Most people simply just overlook this, (the police do not accept that by the way) and a few garages remind their clients but it usually falls on you the owner to ensure you have one.
You are not allowed to drive the car and you should book an MOT appointment now. You are allowed to drive the car to the appointment only, if you get stopped you need to give the police the garages number so they can verify the booking otherwise they will fine you there and then. We will try to sort your MOT out on the day as an emergency MOT - please use the form at the top of this page, or ring us on 01242 861111.
What happens if my vehicle fails its MOT?
If your car fails the mot, then technically you should not drive it until those items are rectified by someone. As a repairing garage we can quote you to do any necessary work. Small items like bulbs or wiper blades we can actually rectify on completion of the mot as VOSA gives us the power to correct any small areas prior to completing the mot, we will of course do this for you to save time. If however the problem is a bigger item then this will need to be rectified AFTER we have been given authorisation by you. No work will be carried out without your complete understanding of what is needed and what the cost will be. YOU CAN of course remove the car from us and have any work completed by a third party and returned to us to conduct the free retest. IF however any of the work is not done correctly then the car will fail and a new mot will have to be purchased and conducted, ( after correcting the problem).
There is a grey area here. IF your car has an mot then until that runs out it HAS an mot. If you present the car early for the mot then you do not invalidate the day it runs out, BUT if it fails the mot, third party people take a different view. Reason? You are now driving a car with a defect which is a safety item, after all that's what the mot is. So your insurance could say you are not covered as you are driving with a known defect!!, The police likewise ,and they could fine you for driving a car with the problem. This could mean points and fines been forthcoming, something to avoid I would advise.
Known cases recently highlighted a person who was advised on his mot failure to replace 3 tyres as they were illegal. For whatever reason the car was still been driven 4 days later with the tyres not done. The Police pulled the driver over ( their onboard computer tells them instantly if the car is mot'd/taxed/insured ) and fined him £600.00 and he got 6 penalty points for 3 illegal tyres. They could see the car was not mot'd and he had no excuse as the tyres were clearly stated on the failure sheet.
SO WE ADVISE THAT YOU DO NOT DRIVE ANY CAR THAT HAS BEEN RECENTLY MOT'D THAT HAS FAILED EVEN IF THE CAR STILL HAS EXISTING MOT ON IT.
What should I bring with me to the test?
This is really simple, we just need the car to conduct an MOT. Please come along at your time allocated and we will complete the test. You can wait while we complete the test, and we will happily make you a coffee or tea. Time wise will be around 45 minutes to 1 hr. We have FREE WIFI and a comfortable waiting room, bring a paper or a book if you wish.
When can I have my vehicle tested?
You can have your vehicle tested up to 28 days in advance of its due date. For example, if your MOT is due on the 15th of October, the earliest you could have it tested and still maintain the same renewal date is the 17th September.
Don't leave booking your MOT too late - contact us now and get your vehicle booked in!