How do I find a good MOT Centre?

How do I find a good MOT centre?

Naturally, motorists are nervous when it comes to booking in their cars for repairs or their annual road worthiness check. In today’s economic climate, nobody wants to fork out for repairs that are unnecessary and they also want to ensure those repairs that are needed are safe and meet quality standards.

Thankfully, for consumers, tougher measures have recently been introduced to regulate the MOT industry and remove those garages which consistently fall short of the Government’s expectations.

From April 2014, the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) – which replaces the Vehicle and Operator Services Agency (VOSA) as the body responsible for road safety in the UK including MOT standards, will publish the name of Vehicle Testing Stations (VTS) which have been removed from the MOT system after falling foul of compliance regulations.

The move was announced by MP Justine Greening back in 2012 as part of the Government’s aim to enhance the customer’s experience when booking in for the annual MOT test and better protect their rights.

The announcement will affect garages who have been withdrawn from the scheme following formal disciplinary proceedings. Details of the garage concerned will only be made public after the appeal period has ended or at the conclusion of the appeal where a finding has been made.

How will the public be made aware of those garages which have been removed from the MOT scheme? An email alert will be published every month to enable consumers to check those garages which have been removed from the scheme. These details will include the garage’s name, location, reason for removal and the period of removal.

More than 35 million MOTs take place in the UK every year at around 21,000 authorised premises. Changes were introduced in February 2014 to the site assessment procedures which included new codes of practice and discounted MOT test fees.

There are a number of ways of determining a good MOT garage in addition to checking the list of those suspended from operating including checking whether the garage has any industry accreditation or belongs to any quality schemes. It’s always advisable to gain more than one quote from a car garage for comparison purposes and even in the age of modern communication referrals from friends and family is still the best means of identifying a good garage.