4 years to first MoT - consultation announced

We have previously mentioned plans to extend the period before a car needs an MoT, and now the government has launched a consultation on changing the period, from three to four years. The consultation is here and the BBC News website reports the story (with added background) here.

Garage owners and testers imprisoned for carrying out fraudulent MOTs

The owners of a garage and two testers who worked there have been sentenced to up to 18 months in prison for conspiring fraudulently to issue MoT certificates. The case follows an investigation by DVSA, which showed that certificates were being issued for cars that had never been tested on the premises. It was also found that more than 4,000 certificates had been issued by one of the testers even though he had not worked there since 2003.

The garage also lost its authorisation to carry out tests.

Read more courtesy of Fleet News and Garagewire.

MoT certificates will record historic mileage

From 18 November, MoT certificates will show the mileage at the previous three test dates as well as the current one. VOSA announced the change last month (having trailed it earlier this year), but where this announcement can be found neither I nor Google can tell you. But it is in the trade press (Motor Trader here for example) so it must be right, and must have come from somewhere. And the NFDA welcome it, not surprisingly as it fits well with their desire to deal with the menace of clocking.

MoT certificates to show historic mileage?

The Daily Telegraph reported on Saturday that the government is considering requiring historical vehicle mileage to be recorded on MoT certificates, in a bid to stamp out clocking. If the certificate showed you the readings from previous years, that would of course be a big help - unless it had been clocked in the first three years, when it didn't need an MoT test. Oh, and at the same time the government wants to make that four years.

At present, of course, clocking isn't illegal: it's only selling the car with the false mileage that is. This lacuna is allowing "mileage correction" businesses to flourish, and while they might have some legitimate purpose it's definitely outweighed by the less legitimate side of mileage adjustment, enabling others to pretend the mileage is less than it is. The only way to stop it completely is surely to outlaw the adjustment business altogether.