MOT extension will have “huge impact” on independent garages, warns IGA

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  • #193418 Reply

    The Independent Garage Association (IGA) is raising concerns to the government about the huge impact of extending MOTs for six months. Whilst supporti
    [See the full post at: MOT extension will have “huge impact” on independent garages, warns IGA]

    #193452 Reply
    NIGEL PYMAN
    Guest

    Its like allowing off licences to open but not to sell alcohol,
    We are risking our lives here and the the government want to keep unroadworthy cars on the road.

    It was bad enough with the car scrappage scheme many years ago ….
    this Killed the second hand car market !

    #193453 Reply
    Trevor Rumney
    Guest

    This decision has not been thought through properly at all. This week alone, we have MOT’d several cars with bald tyres and broken springs, we all know how dangerous this could be to other road users and pedestrians.
    This will only lead to, people who don’t really want an MOT doing, to them not having one at all for another six months, by this this time, their cars will be death traps. This doesn’t make any sense at all.

    Trevor
    Autopoint Bham Ltd

    #193456 Reply
    Gary
    Guest

    I’m so lucky I left the garage and became an Rac patrol, all the garages I’ve worked in over the years and closed and also laying people off. Feel so sorry for mechanics and mot testers now, especially the guys only doing mot testing which I was doing towards the end! Good luck everyone and stay safe

    #193459 Reply
    martin
    Guest

    i couldnt agree more! I only work on motorcycles and march and april are my busiest months of the year.
    A 6 month extension is ridiculous considering this initial lockdown is for 3 weeks! I think there suggestion of 6 weeks is sensible at the moment. Many people with motorcycles only ue them in the summer months and we all know there will be people who will continue to use un safe vehicles to “save money” . Then when october and winter comes around many bikers will simply sorn there bikes over winter and wait until next summer to MOT them. This is going to have a huge on going impact all year, even if this only lasts a few weeks.

    Also, There is also alot less risk of catching covid 19 mot testing motorcycles, as you are not in an enclosed enviroment like you are with a car or van. We have been making all our customers wait outside and pay by card only and it was working pretty well.

    #193457 Reply
    Steve McLellan
    Guest

    It’s a devastating decision it takes away every reason for the motorist to come to the workshop for many drivers it’s the only time they have the car checked.Now the level of financial help we will need will be enormous.Six months is is far to long do the government have a plan as we are only able to get 3 months for our mortgage?we are at work we have plenty of safety precautions in place but no one to work for I think it needs to be looked at again as a matter of urgency

    #193469 Reply
    James Walpole
    Guest

    It is believed many people have no idea what ‘roadworthy’ means. If the car starts and drives away that’s it!

    #193502 Reply
    Becky
    Guest

    Hi All,
    I’ve just been in touch with our local MP Nigel Huddleston. I spoke with his assistant regarding my concerns on the deferred MOT’s for 6 months. I expressed how it will crush many garages and in our local area some have already closed. I’ve asked why it couldn’t of been for 3 months as we may be able to survive the chaos we’re in.
    She has urged me to write to Nigel how we think it can work…. which he will take to the ministers. Please help me to help you! Let me know your thoughts. B

    #193503 Reply
    ALISON
    Guest

    This ruling will have a massive impact on our business. We are only open from next week for NHS and regular customer emergencies. We have now Furloughed our employees and can see the impact that this ruling will have on when we can re-instate them or not, whatever the case may be.

    It is a very worrying time as we also just missed out on £10,000 grant, out rateable value is 13,000 and the cut-off is 12,000 so no extra help apart from getting into debt.

    This is a hard enough trade to be in at the best of times, so much competition, recession, we are in a poor area etc

    Hope the IGA is able to help our trade.

    Good luck to everyone.

    #193509 Reply
    Tony Vincent
    Guest

    Does anyone know where the 6 month figure came from ? Especially when Hgv has gone 3 months .
    Our customers initial reaction is excellent we don’t need to have my vehicle moted until sept !!
    The back log and panic this will give us will be ridiculous .

    #193510 Reply
    Robert Mabee
    Guest

    Astonishing decision however disgraceful and disbelief – l own and operate a small family mot repair garage in a village surrounded by other villages the average year of the vehicles we test is 10 years plus, the failure rate is high, roads in village areas are poor which in-turn damages tyres suspension steering, this is the totally wrong decision – vehicles untested possible up to 18 months unbelievable.
    I am a NT QC AE been in this business for over 45 years so have a little knowledge of the reasons why vehicles MUST be tested yearly.
    How is DVSA allowing this ? Who is responsible for this insane decision?
    If people are allowed to get shopping go to work they certainly can go to there local MOT garage.

    Of course vehicle owners that MOT is due just after 30 March 20 with love this, they simply will do anything NOT to spend on there dangerous vehicle however if it’s a £200 piece of clothing that’s a different matter.

    #193511 Reply
    Jeffrey Morris
    Guest

    Since you have given a six month extension on Mot’s my phone has stopped ringing Taxi’s have & public call to cancelled there test , we offer collection & delivery service to help the vulnerable out there, some go ahead with this but not all , so after putting my staff on the front line it is looking like within the week we will have to close the garage down for the unforeseeable future, will insurance companies cover taxis carrying passengers ? How do owners know if there cars are road worthy? This is putting the public in a dangerous position, we see the state of some of these taxis & public cars this is very Dangerous. If we run a collection & delivery serves there is no excuse not to have a current mot. Regards a very disappointed garage owner and there are a lot of us !

    #193514 Reply
    Harry Salkeld
    Guest

    I own an MOT station & workshop. Where MOT’s are 75% of our business. We all need to stay safe and getting through this unprecedented situation was going to be tough. But I felt if we were care full, maybe we would get through it, with maybe 6 to 12 weeks of hardship. The announcement of the six months of no MOT’s will for us be crippling.
    With some 19,000 MOT stations in the country. Could the IGA not set a petition page that we could all get onto and express our concerns and maybe with enough shouting from all the independents. We could get this ruling overturned.
    Remember it will have to be the independents, that will have to do the shouting. As the big high street names, will want to see, there smaller competitors go out of business

    #193520 Reply
    mark ivinson
    Guest

    We have been told from York council we can not get any rates relief or grants.
    I run 2 mot and repair garages with 12 staff.
    We closed Thursday night as everyone cancelled for the foreseeable future.
    We are in real trouble.

    #193521 Reply
    Tom
    Guest

    The garage owner I work for has decided to stay open regardless, put simply if he closed, it would never reopen.
    This is naturally because of the unfortunate and sad circumstance of the outbreak and that if he does borrow to close, the lack of work from essential Mots will not Be there to allow the swift recovery needed when reopening.
    I believe he feels he has been put in a corner with no choice but to stay open for all types of work to keep the business from going under.
    I would like to isolate with my family but he needs me to work or I risk losing the job I enjoy.

    #193522 Reply
    Paul drake
    Guest

    Funny they not cancelled people having to buy roas tax,ah of course they recieve revenue on that don’t they,absolute madness to give that extension,what with the costs of paying for a new emmisions machine monthly,the threat of what ulez will do with loss of trade,not give one thought for small buisnesses at all,

    #193524 Reply
    John Bentley
    Guest

    Does anyone even know how it’s going to be applied. Is it vehicles expiring in the next 6 months that get an extension or is it all vehicles? Will we do nothing until September then double testing for the next 6 months? Will Mots end up being a winter thing?

    #193574 Reply
    Chris Morrison
    Guest

    Whilst we all respect the global pandememic and accepted we all have a role to play, it’s very hard to see a way for our trade to rebuild and go forward with deferred Mot’s for 6months!
    I belive the government has got alot right but this matter needs to be reviewed. My suggestion to keep it simple, let’s put cars and vans on the same date as hgv/buses (3months) and if things are still terrible then defer week by week.
    If things don’t change I can see our garage going down to a 4 day week (or worse) next March and then working 7 days September onwards. Terrible for business with a massive knock on effect. This will cause a massive increase of vehicles on the road to be in unroadworty condition and I think the police and other bodies have enough on there plate without an influx of vehicles to carry out safety checks at the side of the road.
    I hope the IGA keep the pressure on and maybe we should all write to our local councils. Any advice would be greatful. Good luck everyone and keep your safe practices up.

    #193606 Reply
    Lynn Mumford
    Guest

    We think this new move on car MOT’s has not been thought out properly. Obviously, we must all do everything we can do to follow social distancing rules and smaller garages can probably do this better then larger ones.
    We only have two members of staff and we are now operating by appointment system only, and getting customers to leave cars on forecourt and not to enter workshop or reception area. We will ring them when the car is ready, take payment over phone by card, and then leave vehicle out for them to collect. This will avoid any contact between customers and our staff. All hygiene procedures are also in place.
    Fortunately, we are not a high volume MOT station, but we agree with everyone else that a large percentage of drivers will take advantage of this and not have their cars MOT’d but continue to drive them regardless of whether their car is roadworthy or not.
    Also, in 6 month’s time when they have to have an MOT, there probably will not be enough test stations left to cope with demand. The knock on effect is going to be tremendous.
    I can understand the extension for coaches, buses and lorries, after all they are all fleet vehicles which have to by law have regular safety checks anyway for the Operators Licences, but not for personal cars.

    #193646 Reply
    Belinda Teasdale
    Guest

    I totally agree with all of the above. We are a 4 person garage so social distancing is easy to adhere to.
    Our customer’s normally drop their car’s off and go for a walk, so it’s not as if they are all huddled in a waiting room standing together.
    We have hand sanitizer and alcoholic wipes in place for surface’s and customers car’s, and our front counter is quite high so social distancing is not a problem. We only accept card payments now and work very hard at following all the government rules.
    Our business has definitely taken a nose dive and our phones have stopped ringing, I don’t know how we are going to get through this as a small business.

    #193858 Reply
    Brian Waite
    Guest

    The trade has just died a death this week, one MOT and that was it. Jobs cancelled left, right and centre and no trade MOTs as dealers have closed. I feel sorry for the smaller outlets with not enough rateable value to get a grant as this will be a huge kick in the teeth.

    I got a call from our tyre supplier who we pay monthly on account asking that i pay cash for every individual tyre. They’re getting worried and I wonder who will be next to ask for payment on delivery.

    I’m sitting it out for four weeks and then reviewing what to do with my staff who are a great bunch of lads but I feel i will have to put some on furlough unless things change.

    Finally, to stop MOTs for 6 months is crazy why didn’t they say six weeks with a rolling review??

    #194169 Reply
    Stephen Sandow
    Guest

    Hello mark ivinson – You need to go back to York Council and challenge them on not providing the small business grant. Our garage is over £13,000 RV and we had no problem getting the £10,000 grant. The important thing is you must be getting the Small Business Rate Relief on your business rates. See https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/878082/small-business-grant-and-retail-leisure-hospitality-grant-guidance-for-businesses-v2.pdf.

    Also, if the majority of the work/service you do is to the general public you should be classified as a retail business. This means that for this year you will pay no business rates and your retail classification should be back dated to 2014/15. We got re-classified as retail by our Council. This mean’t we are paying no business rates for this year and we had a £3,800 refund for overpaying in the previous years. You must challenge your Council.

    #194168 Reply
    Stephen Sandow
    Guest

    Hello mark ivinson – You need to go back to York Council and challenge them on not providing the small business grant. Our garage is over £13,000 RV and we had no problem getting the £10,000 grant. The important thing is you must be getting the Small Business Rate Relief on your business rates. See https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/878082/small-business-grant-and-retail-leisure-hospitality-grant-guidance-for-businesses-v2.pdf.

    Also, if the majority of the work/service you do is to the general public you should be classified as a retail business. This means that for this year you will pay no business rates and your retail classification should be back dated to 2014/15. We got re-classified as retail by our Council. This mean’t we are paying no business rates for this year and we had a £3,800 refund for overpaying in the previous years. You must challenge your Council.

    #212833 Reply
    Jonathan Barbara
    Guest

    Hi everyone.

    I am the writer of the above mentioned Petition. Just an update:
    The Petition seems to be gathering pace now and it has passed 1,200 signatures. I have received messages of support from all over the country and I would like to say thank you personally for your support.
    I truly believe that something must be done to save the entire Motor Trade! If not already done so, then please forward the Petition to your family and friends as every signature counts.

    Take care

    Jonathan

Viewing 24 posts - 1 through 24 (of 24 total)

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