Just MOT it…

We’ve had the MOT exemption for a while now, by which I mean as soon as a car cracks 40 years of age, it no longer needs an annual roadworthiness inspection. This rule, when it came into force, and is still affect today… is daft. I hate it. Vehemently. I maintain that any car, be it a classic E Type or a modern Euroblob, is not a right, it is a privilege, and with privilege comes responsibility. It is our responsibility to make sure our cars are fit for the road. Of course, many motorists ignore that but that’s a rant for another time. The point is, classic cars are perhaps the ultimate automotive indulgence. If you own a classic car, you should only do so if you can afford to keep it healthy. And indeed, that is the case for almost all of us.

We didn’t need some false positive incentive like MOT exemption, it’s a stupid, shallow vote grab. A thing we neither needed nor asked for. It’s pointless. If you have a £50,000 classic in the garage, you can afford to MOT it. We also, for the most part, all take pride in the condition of our classics, and we all care deeply about the people whom we share that driving experience with. So why wouldn’t we want it tested? There’s a reason the term ‘second opinion’ exists, and it’s a damn good reason – another set of eyes may well spot what you or I won’t.

I’m reasonably confident on the spanners. I maintain my own cars as best I can, and I take a great deal of pride in the work I do. Now, my cars still need an MOT as they’re not yet 40, but, and this is important, even I get advisories or sometimes a fail on a car I have checked. A car I know intimately having done endless amounts of work to the thing. I’m sure some will scoff and call me names, but this is the peril of familiarity. We forget stuff, we assume, we’re more forgiving because ‘I did that last year’ when in reality it was two years ago, or three. You get the picture. The MOT chap or chapette doesn’t though, because they’re being objective. They don’t know the car, they know the test. They will spot things you won’t. And that’s a good, good thing.

Why wouldn’t you want that second, legally binding opinion? From a somewhat hubristic point of view, why wouldn’t you want to show off your classic to the MOT place? They’re sick of Mondeos and Corsas, give them something fun to test! Whatever your reasoning, just get it done. Cars are not invincible, things will break, they will rust, they will weaken and they will fail. And unless you have a four-post lift in your garage, you’re going to be none the wiser. Until that failure does indeed happen, and we don’t want that.

The other issue, which may lead you to believe I’m wearing a tinfoil hat, is that MOT exemption is a powder keg. A grenade, waiting to blow us into the bad books. Why? Because people will continue to be people, and that means some of them will exploit rules without care for our classic car community. Think about it, buy a 40 year old car (that’s 1983, so we’re not talking about a Model T here), insure it, done. Legal. Then, with no interest in classics, and with a desire for cheap motoring, they’ll drive it and drive it, then it will fail, and it will kill someone. And do you know what? It won’t be the fault of that irresponsible individual. It will be the classic car community’s fault, at least as far as the media is concerned. Think about it and tell me I’m wrong. And don’t get me started on berks selling a car that’s been laid up for decades as a ‘barn find” and then drive it home’. Get a grip.

Be one of the good ones, be on the right side, and spend your £50 a year on getting your classic car tested. It’s a great thing to do because it gives you peace of mind, it means you can truly enjoy your classic without fear and as long as we all do it, our wonderful little community will be safe from scrutiny. It just makes sense.