MOT pricing

Their conclusion is understandable, but I like to think you're correct, and the testers will test correctly for themselves not their boss.

I recently asked of VOSA: (their reply comes first below)



I refer to your request below. The information requested is not recorded
by VOSA and therefore not held. VOSA/Department for Transport set the
maximum fees which can be charged for each Class of vehicle at MOT test.
What a garage chooses to charge their customers for MOT testing is
completely down to the individual business (providing it is not more than
the maximum) and therefore not recorded by VOSA.

VOSA Information Access Team | Berkeley House | Croydon St | BS5 0DA
E:Mail: inform@vosa.gsi.gov.uk
(Embedded image moved to file: pic00041.gif)



From: "Relief MoT Tester" <info@relief-mot-tester.com>
To: <inform@vosa.gov.uk>
Date: 03/09/2013 22:03
Subject: Failure Rates/Fees



Dear Sir,

Could you please help with the following questions.

Q1. What is the initial test failure rate for VTS’s (all classes) that
discount the test fee.

Q2. What is the initial test failure rate for VTS’s (all classes) that
charge the ‘full-fee’

Q3. What percentage of class IV VTS’s charge the full-fee


Thank you,

Yours faithfully




Kinda' makes you wonder why your VE always asks (AND RECORDS) whether or not you charge 'full-fee'

Never mind. I sort-of expected this reply & nothing new there then. But, I hope to have a little more positive news soon on free tests.

They ask the question so they have the information but for "some reason" they can't or (more likely) won't collate and publish it.

If there was a direct relation between fee charged, combined with the amount of discounting and fail rates I'm pretty sure that VE's on their visits will have a hunch.

VOSA get a fixed amount per MOT pass (changing on Comp 2 but that's for another time). They don't give a Hoot ( ) what a station charges for a test as long as in their opinion the test standard is what's expected.

In my opinion any test station that does a "proper" test for £25 or less is losing money. I'm basing that on smaller sites with very low overheads which can probably survive on £40/hour. They cant be doing 40 tests a day per person for that money - the computer would pick it up (you'd hope at least). They could have got away with it before the days of the computer of course, but not today. So where do they claw back the losses? Here's maybe a few ways:-

1 - Combining a service with the MOT test.

2 - Doing a quick test and carrying on with other "paying" work until the time's safe to log off.

3 - Finding small faults which can be rectified during the test (at extra cost of course).

4 - Failing items which according to the manual should be a pass and advise, quoting and carrying out the repairs (at extra cost of course).

5 - Failing items which are in no way a fail, quoting and sometimes carrying out the repairs (at extra cost of course).

6 - Carry out a, as it's known, Dial-A-MOT during a lunch break or while carrying on with the other paying work.

With items 1 to 5 a vehicle presenter will not leave with a pass certificate for the princely sum of £25. Item 6 used to be at least £50 (when I last heard they were available over 5 years ago - I have a sheltered life nowadays)

Anybody (apart from VOSA of course) disagree?

""Testing stations that discount test fees are at risk that sub- standard tests are conducted""
That's a statement from vosa which in my opinion is a bit detrimental and rather condescending towards testers.
I used to believe that discount test fees under valued the test scheme on a hole, until someone showed me the light.

Buisness is hard these days,and if you want that business ya going discount.
We've being discounting lately like they is no tomorrow,what that has led to is the dairy full,and having to take another tester on.
No one (any where i have tested) has come up to us and said hurry up and cut corners coz the fee is discounted,the simple fact is discount fees bring in business and possibly more business with repairs and hopefully repeat/returned customers,its all about getting cars through the garage doors. You just need to know what the consumer is looking for ,and they all want more for their money,these days .
It's a dog eat dog business the garage trade, ya have to grab what you can, nowt to do with sub standards vosa throw at testing stations.
My AE tells me based on test turnover the minimum fee we can charge and still make a profit is £10
Competition is a good thing and fixed test fees will never happen, and really why should it.
Iffy tests within the scheme has always been a problem and always will weather the fee is discounted or not.

I'm sure that your AE is correct with his assessment of MOT costs at your station, assuming that you are carrying out all the testing without him/her paying you. VOSA suggest that the break even point for an MOT is approximately £25 for an average independent garage. Doing an MOT also means that you're not available for possibly more profitable work at your garage

Yep I was there.........

A couple of years ago at work when we were talking about fixed price/discounting mot's it went something like this....

We all know there are many benefits to having more cash coming into vts right, decent pay for vts staff, decent equipment & facilities for staff & customers etc etc etc, so why not implement a fixed price for mots, after all it is a govt backed scheme.
We came up with an idea that dvla could send out a reminder to presenter, same as they do with rfl. Presenters could pay dvla for a test, as they do with rfl. Dvla would then send a test number/slot to presenters which would entitle them to 1 mot test with a pass or fail, with re test if needed. On presenting the vts with his/her test slot/number the vts would enter the number via comp 2 & the vts would get paid direct from dvla, so each vts would get paid correctly for the number of tests performed.
The other thing is presenters would not be trawling the internet/high street for the best price as they would all be the same. If that were to introduce some bigger players ie Tesco/Asda into the motor trade I'm not sure that would be such a bad thing with 5 or 600 or so new vts's they would would need nt's & and other centre staff, may be moving from dirty old run down garages that would not be able to offer the same level of customer service, who would have to improve or close.

I have never known who to bring this idea up with, but I guess this is as good a place as most !!

Nice idea Ivor.

Wally