question on annual 'MOT' roadworthiness...

[scrambler]

quite happy my SUbaru has lasted a year....

road licence is up in a fortnight.. so that means I have to get an annual check up for it?


can I do it now? ie in advance? never done it before!! ( best thing about motorbikes is dont need this!! )


i have a friendly mechanic,, but I wanna get clued up before I see him ( my chinese is quite p poor - sometimes misunderstand,,,, )

[kimwy66]

You need to get the mechanic to book the appointment for the test asap. It will be 10 days to 2 weeks before you can get an appointment.

[Oldtimer]

Not Sure. My garage did it in 2 days. They got it passed and fixed the minor problems.

You need to get the mechanic to book the appointment for the test asap. It will be 10 days to 2 weeks before you can get an appointment.

[Mat]

Not Sure. My garage did it in 2 days. They got it passed and fixed the minor problems.

Same, 48 hours.


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[wtbhotia]

Big places like Dah Chong Hong that I used last week you need to book in advance, they were quite full and booked out for 2 full weeks, There are other authorized MOT centers, your mechanic should be able to tell you which one they usually use and know people in so that minor stuff can get passed.

It costs HK$530 for the test, get your car checked out and you can either book and go yourself or get the mechanic to do it for you, most likely at an additional cost.

You must hand over the original CAR registration paper.

If you need my mechanic to do it let me know, his shop is just past Simons Workshop, just around the bend.

[mrdollars]

I went through a garage and it was done in 2 days, assuming nothing needs fixing.

[scrambler]

thank u everbody!

so 2 days is the norm.

thanks WTB - my subaru specialist in To Kwa Wan is super cheap - so I will prolly get him to do it again..

he super friendly too - an very patient with my crappy chinese - I jus stick in as many ju-lay-lo-mo's as possible to keep the smiles goin

[Skyhook]

thank u ppl.

so 2 days is the norm.

And NO, 2 days is not the norm for a legally acquired appointment booking at a gazetted/approved inspection centre. It's lucky at best and happens rarely that way. Unless it is a dodgy MOT, which really shouldnt be happening and is worthy of a phone call to the ICAC. This crowd does no favours for the automotive sector in HK, and if folks cant compete legally, they shouldnt be working in the industry. The fact that this crap is tolerated, really irritates me.

To be quite honest, if your car cant pass a legitmate vehicle inspection, for the rest of us, it really shouldn't be on the road. The test is rather mild, but covers mainly safety related items.

Personally if I was in charge of the inspection centre I would acquire comprehensive diagnostic equipment to seek out modifications of the ECU / ABS sensor - ESP ECU / Airbag seat sensors, for any signs of modification, or being tampered with. I'd also check to see if the airbags are actually even where they should be. I've seen cases of vehicles that had been accident damaged, repaired and discovered that there were no front airbag cartridges installed ! the steering wheel was empty, so naturally you would assume it would be same on the passenger dash side.


Most, if not all of the inspection centres are working around a 6 to 12 day turn around time, they can occasionally make exceptions but I wouldnt be reliant on that. A responsible/sensible person would have booked their inspection 2 weeks before the expiry, knowing there was nothing on their car that would fail an MOT inspection, a month before if they suspected there were some issues. Thus giving you enough time to rectify the failed area of the inspection, getting it rectified, and going back to the inspection centre for that area to be signed off and a vehicle road worthyness certificate issued.

Things they will fail you on....

Cracked or torn steering arm boot cover, severe power steering rack leaks.

cracked, or perished brake lines.

signs of subframe damage, corrosion/perforation of any structural under carriage components.

Tyres for signs of damage, cracks or bald patchs.

Imbalanced braking system, especially badly adjusted parking brakes.

Non factory standard headlight/tail light globes.

Inertia reel seat belts for inoperative mechanism and excessive wear / fraying of the belts themselves.

wiper blade condition, wiper operation and washer jets.

headlights, brake light, number plate reversing light operation.

legible number plate condition and official spacing between letters/numbers.



front seats for signs of mechanical damage or excessive play in metal runners or seat angle adjustment.

leaking shock absorbers

perished, or disintegrated front and rear suspension bushes esp control arms, tie rod ends, ball joints that have excessive amounts of play in them.

Wheel bearing play

Emissions test plus exhaust related condition ie, hangers, mufflers, cats ie for signs of damage/leaks ie perforation etc.



Thats pretty much what they check, all very commonsensical stuff that you should have working right any way, especially if you have kids on board.

[scrambler]

whatdahook? dunno if that tirade/lecture was aimed at me?

I think I need a geolawyer to defend me sometimes!

yeh I like cars to safe too - kids or no..

my car got 1 month old tires ( was somethin like 5 or 6 K for the set ) , - recently serviced brakes... etc

miy MOT expires on the 6th may... I taking it down on monday... so I am close to the skyhook sanctioned 2 weeks?

is there anythin about oil leaks in it? cos i do have an embarrassin *drip* problem.... have to wipe when leaving parkin in my posh friends carparks...

[Skyhook]

My comment was a general one for all concerned. Not just you Scrambler.

Presentation obviously will apply when anything is being inspected.

if it were me if its only a rear main bearing seal leak ( I am hazarding a guess based on my experience of owning a WRX once ) then I would have the car put on a hoist and spray it all over the oily areas with engine degreaser and let it soak for about 15 - 20 minutes. Then hose it all off about an hour, or two before your inspection appointment look as serious.



Unless the oil leaks are coming from the steering rack, or appear to be dripping on the exhaust manifold/collector etc ie which potentially could cause an engine fire, they dont usually care about them.