LETTERS
YOUR VIEWS
SOME MOT ADVISORIES
I was really interested in your recent report about the cost of the MOT test (News, 12 November). I have a vested interest, as I work for a firm that supplies and calibrates MOT testing equipment. However, I feel this puts me in the ideal position to explain the situation.
You may not be aware of the large investment a garage has to make to be an MOT testing station. To start, there are days and days of expensive DVSA training for staff, managers and testers. Then there’s the fitting of the equipment, which can cost around £30k-£40k, then the best part of £10k on building works.
Then the garage has to cover the cost of calibrations every six months, testers’ training annually and ad hoc equipment repairs. They even have to buy an MOT certificate (called a testing slot) from the DVSA.
It’s not unusual for an MOT tester to be paid £20 per hour; add the cost of holidays, national insurance etc and you can see how much it costs a garage to run a test bay.
There’s also huge responsibility placed on the garage by the DVSA to comply with very strict regulations.
MOT testing equipment can live a hard life and will eventually need to be replaced. For example, many test bays still use brake testers that are more than 35 years old, but the garages can’t afford to replace them.