MOT failures ?

Capri

Just watching an hour long programme on the busiest German TuV test station in Berlin. They also test motorbikes :eek:. Aside from the fact my German isn't great it's fascinating to see how they do it over there - they actually let the people sit beside the test , and they show the customer if theres a problem. The customer seems to be happy to be shown exactly what part needs replacing. One guy getting his Fiat 124 Spider test is actually in overalls and the tester lets him adjust the mix so that his engine passes emissions :cool::cool:



Sorting the wheat from the chaff -

Apart from the fact that, in theory, it's 'illegal' to sell a UK regd' car here :rolleyes: , I'd be asking anyone selling a UK 'classic' here

" How much MOT is left on it?" :eek::eek::eek:

Bit like asking sellers here "How long have YOU owned it?" :eek::eek:

I think a lot of UK stuff is being dumped over here because it doesn't need a test if it's pre 80. :mad::mad:

macplaxton

Capri wrote: »

I think a lot of UK stuff is being dumped over here because it doesn't need a test if it's pre 80. :mad::mad:

The absolute opposite is the case. Saying UK (or perhaps better described as GB) stuff is being dumped over here is pure bunkum. You might not mean it, but they way you have worded it implies that UK-based outfits and collecting up stuff and sending it here.

It would be more accurate to suggest that either

A) rubbish is being brought in willingly by IRL-based sellers/buyers.
good quality stuff is being brought in and then for whatever reason allowed to deteriorate.

And why the shocked smiley for motorcycle testing? Your next door neighbours have been doing it for years...

unfit2006

A lot of pre 1980 UK MOT failures are ending up over here. A small number are being purchased by private buyers for their own use with the best of intentions of addressing the issues and faults in the car . Others are being brought over by dealers and these quite often are the ones seen on Done Deal with obscured reg plates. Quite often,nowadays, those cars are returned to the UK for sale after a few months.
A lot of what I would call "borderline" cars, with MOT, also came over and many of those cars have now deteriorated to almost unrestorable condition in a relatively short number of years. Quite a number of people took up the "classic car" hobby over the past 10 years without any understanding that these cars will literately deteriorate in front of your eyes if you dont keep on top of maintenance issues as a priority.
A high level of car maintenance would not be a strong trait in some Irish motorists and that spells the death of many of the classics out there.

corktina

thats quite true. Whwn I started out, there were wall to wall Mk1 and 2 Cortinas and I only knew of ONE Mk3. Now the Mk1s have mostly disappeared as have many of the Mk2s, not to mention the legions of 100Es and 105Es that were so common a decade ago.

It's my belief that many of these cars are put away in sheds awaiting remedial work that probably wont ever come (mostly rust repairs which often entails re-painting which the owner has neither the skill or money to carry out. It was simply cheaper to go to the UK and buy a Mk4 or 5 and the older cars fell by the wayside (many of them original Irish cars of course)

gyppo

An awful lot of pretty good Irish cars (+ a lot of crap too, tbh) were crushed during the scrappage schemes too.
I remember seeing a 1985 nissan bluebird with 22k genuine miles going to a crusher some while ago.
Also, theres a lot of stuff that was sold for scrap in the past few years. Lots of local GAA clubs did fundraising yard clearances during this period.

Its no wonder that many of the classic/vintage cars over here have been imported in recent years.
The quality of these imports is debatable alright. Some of the one's i've looked at are overpriced tat, or downright dangerous rust-buckets.

mattroche

I have brought in a good few Mercs from the U.K. in the past 2 Years. I use the following method, pre 1980, get a NEW MOT, if it fails, get it repaired, and re-tested, to make sure I have a safe car for the drive home. If it needs bodywork, I get it done here. For post 1980, most of which I get transported home, pay the V.R.T. and book them in for the N.C.T. again, if they fail, have them repaired, and re-tested, & have the body work done here. It is very simple, I then have a nice car, fully roadworthy and looking good. I tell people that the reality is there is always some rust on most U.k. cars, unless you want to pay big money & get something really mint. I find the market here is O.K. up to E2700, anything more, and you are strugling to find a buyer. One would not want to be depending on it for a living,but it a lovely retirement hobby, not to be taken to seriously, glad to have my old age pension!! :)

Capri

You could be the Irish 'Marcus Walker' Matt http://www.classicdriver.com/it/magazine/3300.asp?id=16080

Hopefully your hobby is keeping you out of the pubs . You have your system and track record to fall back on and you have it down to a fine art, but there seems to be a lot of 'get-rich-quick' merchants lately thinking it's easy to 'Arfur Daley'

Back in the days when I made a few bob, I'd buy 'trade' stuff from Main Dealers, fix it up , drive it for a while and flog it on but couldn't even sell on a 99 Polo 1.0 recently for €600 - I think all the buyers have emigrated, or are saving to do so

unfit2006

mattroche wrote: »

I have brought in a good few Mercs from the U.K. in the past 2 Years. I use the following method, pre 1980, get a NEW MOT, if it fails, get it repaired, and re-tested, to make sure I have a safe car for the drive home. If it needs bodywork, I get it done here. For post 1980, most of which I get transported home, pay the V.R.T. and book them in for the N.C.T. again, if they fail, have them repaired, and re-tested, & have the body work done here. It is very simple, I then have a nice car, fully roadworthy and looking good. I tell people that the reality is there is always some rust on most U.k. cars, unless you want to pay big money & get something really mint. I find the market here is O.K. up to E2700, anything more, and you are strugling to find a buyer. One would not want to be depending on it for a living,but it a lovely retirement hobby, not to be taken to seriously, glad to have my old age pension!! :)

Matt,

have you ever NCT'd a pre '80 car that you imported and which may have had a current MOT ?

I know that it is'nt a legal requirement but I often wondered how the NCT compares to the UK's MOT as an overall assessment of vehicle condition and roadworthiness ?

swarlb

unfit2006 wrote: »

A lot of pre 1980 UK MOT failures are ending up over here. A small number are being purchased by private buyers for their own use with the best of intentions of addressing the issues and faults in the car . Others are being brought over by dealers and these quite often are the ones seen on Done Deal with obscured reg plates. Quite often,nowadays, those cars are returned to the UK for sale after a few months.
A lot of what I would call "borderline" cars, with MOT, also came over and many of those cars have now deteriorated to almost unrestorable condition in a relatively short number of years. Quite a number of people took up the "classic car" hobby over the past 10 years without any understanding that these cars will literately deteriorate in front of your eyes if you dont keep on top of maintenance issues as a priority.
A high level of car maintenance would not be a strong trait in some Irish motorists and that spells the death of many of the classics out there.

The majority of 'just pre 1980' cars ending up here, is a direct result of the typical Irish habit of needing to find a 'loophole'.....ie, cheap tax, cheap insurance and no NCT. Most of these people are not 'classic' car enthusiasts in the strict sense of the word, but are simply looking for a cheap form of motoring.
All we need is for one idiot to cause a fatel accident in such a car, and the whole house of cards will come crashing down.
The exemption of normal tax rates was hard fought for, as is for people with a passion and a sincere interest in older cars, and to show them off whenever the opportunity arises.
Not for the general public to drive around in borderline 30 year old cars just to gain cheap road tax.
How many postings have been on here along the lines of...'only xxx more years, then she'll be vintage'...

macplaxton

swarlb wrote: »

How many postings have been on here along the lines of...'only xxx more years, then she'll be vintage'...

...and wouldn't it be good if I converted it to a dayshel. :P

swarlb

macplaxton wrote: »

...and wouldn't it be good if I converted it to a dayshel. :P

Indeed, and the reality is, is that very very few people will ever drive a 30 year old (or more) on the road as a daily driver, and even less will convert them to diesel. There will always be exceptions of course.
All you'll ever get is endless pointless debate about what 'could be done'. At least in the UK (or GB or whatever), there is a genuine love of maintaining cars of all ages. This can be bourne out by the sheer scale of the old car 'industry' as well as publications on the matter.

mattroche

UNIFIT, I have had a few post 1980 cars which had recent M.O.T. tested here for the N.C.T. and basically I would think that they are more or less equal standard, perhaps the N.C.T is a little more exact on failing on small things. I had a car fail the N.C.T. because the tyres were turned the wrong direction, but they passed it in the U.K. Then there were a few advisories on the U.K. M.O.T. that were not noticed on the test here, but by and large they are on par.:D:D

mattroche

Capri, I could never have enough hair to be Irelands Marcus Walker, but it was a nice video. Perhaps if you N.C.T your Polo and Taxed it for 3 Months, put it on D.D. for E995 you may well get takers, too cheap at E600, if it is a nice car. I dont like Pubs any more, No smoking, No singsong, No one to talk to about old cars, & too old to chat up women!!:D:D

Capri

have you ever NCT'd a pre '80 car that you imported and which may have had a current MOT ?

I know that it is'nt a legal requirement but I often wondered how the NCT compares to the UK's MOT as an overall assessment of vehicle condition and roadworthiness ?

As I posted at the top -

Just watching an hour long programme on the busiest German TuV test station in Berlin. They also test motorbikes . Aside from the fact my German isn't great it's fascinating to see how they do it over there - they actually let the people sit beside the test , and they show the customer if theres a problem. The customer seems to be happy to be shown exactly what part needs replacing. One guy getting his Fiat 124 Spider test is actually in overalls and the tester lets him adjust the mix so that his engine passes emissions

I'd imagine since most of the 'european' NCTS testers are replaced by Irish chaps, there'll be a lot more 'cop-on' with them in telling the customer what's really wrong with the motors.
Trouble with the Irish is we don't like 'foreigners' telling us that something is wrong, and sometimes foreigners don't have a knack of explaining things. In the German vid it was Germans explaining to Germans and all was hunky dorey, but if you had an Irishman there with limited German trying to explain then the German might be aggrieved ? :mad:

Capri

Wonder how many cars are touched up this way

http://blogs.hotrod.com/watch-this-guy-paint-a-car-with-his-mouth-46533.html#axzz2LoTlOHiA

corktina

Capri wrote: »

Wonder how many cars are touched up this way

http://blogs.hotrod.com/watch-this-guy-paint-a-car-with-his-mouth-46533.html#axzz2LoTlOHiA

never seen that done before! Not the best job in the world but the car was pants anyway (Yugo?)

hi5

Would have thought the moisture in his breath would cause bubbles?

unfit2006

Capri wrote: »

Wonder how many cars are touched up this way

http://blogs.hotrod.com/watch-this-guy-paint-a-car-with-his-mouth-46533.html#axzz2LoTlOHiA

Always liked those R12s.

macplaxton

corktina wrote: »

but the car was pants anyway (Yugo?)

unfit2006 wrote: »

Always liked those R12s.

Dacia. Dacia. Dacia (ok it's an R12)

Capri

macplaxton wrote: »

Dacia. Dacia. Dacia (ok it's an R12)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e8GtpL0Ly5Y

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oJLP5xAUrXc

http://www.imdb.com/video/wab/vi1063126297/

unfit2006

Capri wrote: »

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e8GtpL0Ly5Y

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oJLP5xAUrXc

http://www.imdb.com/video/wab/vi1063126297/

Thanks. That first video was great. Didnt know there was a Gordini version of the R12.

Capri

unfit2006 wrote: »

Thanks. That first video was great. Didnt know there was a Gordini version of the R12.

One of my favourite cars - eons ago !!:P