Though ours are a worry (due to having only a short time for any repairs) they're good. Many MoT testers let you watch them and it's a pretty thorough process with almost entirely good reasons for each step. They test mechanical items (suspension, drive shafts/boots, brake pads, braking efficiency, brake & fuel pipes, tyres, steering, seat belts, body strength, etc), emissions, lights (all bulbs, headlamp beam pattern) and so on.

The accidents & fatalities caused by unroadworthy vehicles are largely a thing of the distant past.

The MoT manual is available online, free, and is a good guide for any DIYer who wonders what to aim for when doing their own inspection of a car.

Generally people only buy a used car with a recent MoT (they're annual).

 

To be honest I don't mind having an annual MOT. I have it done at a garage I've used for years and that I trust.

I always assume that my MX5 is going to at least have advisories if not failures and it means I know what potential problems I have coming up and generally have time to prepare/save up for them.

 

As they are in areas where no annual MoTs exist. Vehicles don't suddenly fail as they might once have. Normal driving will indicate most wear issues long before they become dangerous.

 

But you have a process of natural selection in the rust belt Mikey where the junkers fall apart, come down to the desert where cars live forever and see some of the crap driving around.
A safety inspection would make Phoenix rush hour much more pleasant.

 

Some argue that we should have annual inspections here because of the salt. Our cars fall apart at an accelerated rate as compared to yours as it introduces potential structural issues.

Some Canadian provinces have annual inspections, some don't. There's no real demonstrable difference in road safety stats to justify initiating them in the 'don't have' provinces. Thankfully.

I don't believe the MoT as practised in the UK contributes one bit to road safety, it's an old, outdated system that many people accept without question.

 

Actually, some DO suddenly fail and with things that an MoT would have caught. Example: see the recent post where a lower ball joint fell apart.

 

True- there's exceptions and 'always' and 'never' are absolutes that should neve ummm 'rarely' be used.

The RATE of failures has decreased over the years to the point that a YEARLY inspection is overkill. Components and cars in general last far longer than they used to.

I've driven cars with worn suspension nowhere near the fall apart stage and have no idea how the owners didn't notice...............

 

Some of the EU now does 2-yearly and there's been a push for UK to do so, just hasn't happened. (MoT doesn't start till 3 years old.)

 

The idea that there's a significant probability of a car developing a safety issue when only three years old is part of the outdated thinking.

We're struggling here with an ill conceived smog testing program that I've ranted about elsewhere. It shares in common with annual MoTs the fault of saving the public from things that pretty much don't exist, with great sums of money, time and energy wasted along the way.

 

You're overlooking a considerable number of actual safety issues many of which should not occur but very often do. They mostly could be described as "bad owner" faults, such as failure to check bulbs work, failure to check tyres are either Ok or even have the right pressures, failure to maintain brakes, or indeed maintain any safety-related item (or the car). The list is rather a long one when you think about it, and rather depressing

They definitely exist and in scary numbers by 3 years old

The MoT catches these and also things that even a good owner would probably miss.

 

Playing devils advocate, for the faults mentioned above an annual inspection would then be inadequate. Daily MoTs!

PS- some of my background was developing maintenance schedules for commercial aircraft and their engines. Once a person's brain has been reformatted to think according to the rules of MSG3, the concept of hard time scheduled inspections is scary by being too lax, too strict or just plain ineffective. The car industry could learn a lot but convincing the owners to move into the 21st century would be difficult. How many times do we see people insisting on 3K mile oil changes no matter what yet wear their tires down to the steel belts?

 

Leave the oil out of it Mikey!

I can agree with both sides of the discussion, we don't have any safety inspections in AZ and I try to keep my cars in good shape so like to think I don't need a mandatory inspection but there's many others who just use the lack of inspection as a way to save cash until disaster strikes.
Hopefully their disaster won't involve me.

 

Interesting though that is it's not relevant. These are not car industry let alone air industry issues. MoTs regularly catch worn tyres and because they are an annual inspection will usually catch them before they're so worn.

Daily might be better but is clearly daft. A compromise has been arranged, currently it's annual but a longer period has been debated as I mentioned.

For a very full/well-populated geographical area, especially England, we have much better safety than many countries - a main difference being those countries tend to have next to no or no inspections, particularly of anything other than emissions. (It's quite easy to have fewer accidents caused by bad maintenance in an unpopulated area as there's no-one to hit.)

 

I have regrettably and very unfortunately ran into yet another issue. I was suppose to get my car back tomorrow after literally 1 month in the shop. However now after everything relating to brakes (including EPB) has been changed, and them some, my mechanic is saying that the car still is throwing park brake faults left and right. He has cleared them several times but they reappear. He says the car engages the park brake when put in park and disengage when put in drive however still shows park brake fault. The park brake won't engage manually when you pull the button by hand. Only when you put it in park. This will cause it to fail the out of province inspection. I am so frustrated with this trash on rubber I can't even explain it. Now apparently a park brake motor is necessary. I know for a fact my mechanic is not lying the car is just not standing up on its own anymore. Problem after problem. I can't even sell it in this province until it has that inspection. I have my hands up ladies and gentlemen of this respective forum. I don't know what to do. This car has bled my patience dry. I really never have had a car make me feel this helpless and frustrated. My damn hands are up.

 

A common cause for the EPB fault is a bad battery. Unless you know that yours is new, I'd change it. The EPB motor being bad doesn't make sense. A bad switch or wiring would.

 

A decent mechanic ought to be able to figure what's wrong and fix it. It's definitely not rocket science!

 

Well in my perspective if a fourth generation British mechanic who works soley on British cars is having trouble with the car then anyone else will have similar issues if not more so. I've had vehicles that even the dealers said they didn't know what was wrong such as a with a 2005 lr3 which this guy fixed in less than an hour. It's not a question of is the mechanic competent but more so a question of the viability and functionality of the damn car. I love all jaguars from the classic Olds to the spankin new but this STR has put a bad taste in my mouth. It wasn't worth buying. But oh well on to the next one, what doesn't make me broke will give me better financial perspective on a car in the future. It was a mistake buying the car but I learned quite a bit. I have at least brought it back to the condition where the next owner won't curse me. I ain't keeping it that's for sure spent at least what the car is worth if not more on repairs since I've had it. Fixed quite a bit of the cosmetic damage myself aswell since I've owned it. I don't care what I get for it but I don't want it no more.

 

You still don't get it???

The only way to own a used Jaguar without a warranty is DIY the repairs.That is the function of this list. You will go broke using the dealer. All the problems are out there as well as the answers. On this list we are blessed with at least 2-3 factory mechanics. These guys are gold!!!

An expensive luxury car gets no cheaper to repair regardless of the value of the car.
.
.
.

 

I have done quite a bit myself. Much of the cosmetic damage I fixed myself. Minor things that I have both the space and tools for I do myself. However not every single repair can be done. If your going to tell me there's not one thing on your jag you can't repair then kudos to you. But the average person who is not a mechanic can only do so much as there is a specified skill and limited tools involved.

 

There is a calibration procedure for resetting the EPB. Have you printed it out and given it to your mechanic?

The EPB can be a bit touchy so getting it cleared can be hard.
.
.
.