John K Posted June 27, 2015 Share Posted June 27, 2015 OK, my local garage recently changed hand and they seem to be total sticklers for the MoT. Apart from the brakes and electrics Mr Grumpy failed his MoT on the spacing between the numbers and letters on the front plate. They never mentioned the stick on, they just said I needed 1/2" more gap between the digits and letters. Now... He has had many, many MoTs and passed them so why are they now picking this up? I don't really want to replace the stick on as I suspect it's actually holding the nose cone together and I reckon it will be a mess to pull it off. Do I a) try to reason with them at the garage or b) take it somewhere else who might be a bit more Westie friendly? Problem is the place I would like to take him is 30 mins drive away and the garage that failed him is my local one. I know I can drive to the MoT centre with no MoT, but does this apply to 'any' garage or do I need to go to the most local one? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stu Faulkner Posted June 27, 2015 Share Posted June 27, 2015 I'm not 100% but if a car had failed an MOT then won't it be recorded on the data base and why it failed? I may be wrong. I have been before (so the wife tells me but i don't remember) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jonk179 Posted June 27, 2015 Share Posted June 27, 2015 Buy a plate, cable tie it to grill and remove after test. 6 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Quinten Posted June 27, 2015 Share Posted June 27, 2015 Book your MOT in at Julian... as long as you take a (reasonably) direct route to and from the MOT station, it can be anywhere in the country. My wives car was MOT'd (when it failed) at my work location as it is convenient for me to bring it there... 40 miles from home. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bigals Posted June 27, 2015 Share Posted June 27, 2015 Stick a new stick on plate over the top or as above cable tie a solid plate to the front and stick some tape over the stick on, if you do this within ten days you should get a free retest, then next year take it somewhere else, sounds like they are being a bit tight, but I have found some garages don't want to go near anything a little different and some love having something different to work on Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SJLB Posted June 27, 2015 Share Posted June 27, 2015 Buy a plate, cable tie it to grill and remove after test. This is what I do Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aerodynamix Ltd Posted June 27, 2015 Share Posted June 27, 2015 Could you post up a picture of your plate ? See the following link to the MOT manual : https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/429032/mot-inspection-manual-classes-3-4-5-7-vehicles.pdf Page 146 says words to the effect that plates should only be failed where spacing and character sizes are clearly incorrect , I assume the plate is not trying to read something else , on something like this it should really be common sense as testers as noted are not required to physically measure the characters or their spacing - yes it also says this on the notes in page 146 . Hope this helps . Julian Edited to add , I would have a chat with them if you think it is unreasonable after reading the manual , or directly email me info@aerodynamix.co.uk and I will give you my opinion as to what I would do if I was testing it . 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John K Posted June 27, 2015 Author Share Posted June 27, 2015 Thanks Julian, yes, I am not trying to 'spell' anything. I think they are pointing out that the character groups aren't separated at all and that there is no discernible gap between the numbers and the alphas. I will post a pic tomorrow. And the .pdf of the regs is nice to have..! Cheers Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CosKev Posted June 27, 2015 Share Posted June 27, 2015 Book your MOT in at Julian... as long as you take a (reasonably) direct route to and from the MOT station, it can be anywhere in the country. My wives car was MOT'd (when it failed) at my work location as it is convenient for me to bring it there... 40 miles from home. You need to be really careful travelling that far,no where does it state you can drive it where you want. People have been done for taking a half mile detour to halfords etc to buy wiper blades or summat en-route for a MOT. Could you post up a picture of your plate ? See the following link to the MOT manual : https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/429032/mot-inspection-manual-classes-3-4-5-7-vehicles.pdf Page 146 says words to the effect that plates should only be failed where spacing and character sizes are clearly incorrect , I assume the plate is not trying to read something else , on something like this it should really be common sense as testers as noted are not required to physically measure the characters or their spacing - yes it also says this on the notes in page 146 . Hope this helps . Julian Edited to add , I would have a chat with them if you think it is unreasonable after reading the manual , or directly email me info@aerodynamix.co.uk and I will give you my opinion as to what I would do if I was testing it . Don't they check for BSAU number and plate makers postcode on number plates now for MOT?No chance of getting those on a stick on plate! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Quinten Posted June 27, 2015 Share Posted June 27, 2015 You need to be really careful travelling that far,no where does it state you can drive it where you want. People have been done for taking a half mile detour to halfords etc to buy wiper blades or summat en-route for a MOT. See https://www.askthe.police.uk/content/Q600.htm. There is no limit on distance, but detours (like stopping at Halfords) are a no-no. Also, there is a big difference with driving any distance with a car which failed the MOT on an illegal spaced number plate and a car which failed for bald tyres/brake failures/etc... If all it has failed on is the number plate, I'd probably follow the advice above and get a new plate, stick it on for the purpose of the MOT and remove it afterwards again. Then find yourself a different MOT station next year... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CosKev Posted June 28, 2015 Share Posted June 28, 2015 See https://www.askthe.police.uk/content/Q600.htm. There is no limit on distance, but detours (like stopping at Halfords) are a no-no. Also, there is a big difference with driving any distance with a car which failed the MOT on an illegal spaced number plate and a car which failed for bald tyres/brake failures/etc... If all it has failed on is the number plate, I'd probably follow the advice above and get a new plate, stick it on for the purpose of the MOT and remove it afterwards again. Then find yourself a different MOT station next year... there is no distance stated your right, but do you think if you had a accident in a car with no MOT whilst travelling 40 miles past numerous MOT testing stations the police/a court would let you off? Not a sniff imo Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ralphy Posted June 28, 2015 Share Posted June 28, 2015 For info: The letters and numbers (characters) on number plates bought since 1 September 2001 will need to meet the following standards: Characters must be 79mm tall Characters (except the number 1 or letter I) must be 50mm wide The character stroke (the thickness of the black print) must be 14mm The space between characters must be 11mm The space between the age identifier and the random letters must be 33mm The margins at the top, bottom and side of the plate must be 11mm Vertical space between the age identifier and the random numbers must be 19mm For plates fitted before 1 September different standards apply, chapter and verse here: https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/359317/INF104_160914.pdf R Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John K Posted June 28, 2015 Author Share Posted June 28, 2015 Ello all, Picture of plate... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tex Posted June 28, 2015 Share Posted June 28, 2015 You can also fail on the plate itself not being vertical. In order to be read by camera's etc. It is an offence. I dont agree personally with it but suppose he could be awkward Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John K Posted June 28, 2015 Author Share Posted June 28, 2015 You can also fail on the plate itself not being vertical. In order to be read by camera's etc. It is an offence. I dont agree personally with it but suppose he could be awkward Not this time, he had no problem at all with the stick on, just the lack of gap between the "ledders and da wumbers"... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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