The independent garage sector does not need another photograph of people sitting around a table. It needs somebody to leave the room owning an action.
On 21 October, the IMI and DVSA brought together 24 representatives to discuss the future of the MOT. They covered familiar ground: frozen fees, rising operating costs, technician skills, EVs, ADAS, fraud and the increasing complexity of roadworthiness testing.
All are important subjects. None are new.
The roundtable was originally announced as a response to calls for an urgent MOT fee review. Its stated aim was to identify an effective solution that would be fair to garages and motorists.
The subsequent announcement tells us who attended and what they discussed, but gives no agreed recommendation, published survey findings, responsible decision-maker or timetable for the next step.
Perhaps useful work will follow. But garages cannot run their businesses on “perhaps”.
We don’t need to report that the Class 4 maximum fee has remained £54.85 since 2010. that’s been done to death.
During that time, testing stations have faced higher wages, energy bills, equipment costs, calibration requirements, training demands and administrative responsibility. We have gathered enough evidence to establish that the commercial model is under pressure.
Consultation has value when it leads to a decision. Without accountability, it becomes a substitute for one.
The industry should now ask for a published outcome containing four things: what the group agreed, what remains disputed, who will take each issue forward and when progress will be reported. The supporting survey data should also be released, even if the results are uncomfortable.
Garage owners have responsibilities too. We must know our actual cost of delivering an MOT, stop treating the test as an automatic loss leader and provide credible figures when trade bodies ask for evidence. Complaining without data will not move policy.
But those representing the sector must convert that evidence into a clear request and pursue it until somebody answers. Who’s answer are we actually waiting for?
Bringing the right people together is a start, but it isn’t an achievement in itself. I applaud the fact that conversation has happened, but I think we all need to see action.
If every roundtable ends with another commitment to continue the conversation, the only thing going round is the industry.
Words: Tim Benson, Oldfields Garage
Tim Benson is the director and owner of Oldfield’s Garage, an award-winning independent service and MOT centre based in Herefordshire. Running a multi-ramp workshop day in, day out, Tim regularly writes and speaks on garage profitability, technician development, and the operational challenges facing modern vehicle repairers.
Have a thought on Tim’s comments? Share your thoughts in the comments below.
3 comments
I completely agree that we have discussed this matter to death now. What would the French do?
I suggest we gather the IGA members to strike for a day and refuse to conduct any MOT’s on an agreed national recognised day.
I feel the DVSA are dealing with a symptom such as fraudulent MOT’s because we have cheapened the MOT scheme. If garages can earn a sustainable living out of the MOT scheme, surely it would reduce the amount of garages that choose to charge a higher rate for a “Ghost MOT etc.
Have the Government thought that it may even boost the standard and safety of some vehicles on our roads because motorists might actually maintain their vehicles because they do not want it to fail an expensive MOT test?
Action is needed to bring back the standard of the MOT scheme as I remember it when I became an MOT manager in 2004.
The subject of an increase in the MOT fee has to be politically driven. Governments of all persuasions cannot raise enough in taxation. They can ,however, claim to be protecting the public from rising prices by freezing or bearing down on rising prices. What better example than to refuse an increase in the MOT fee? The fee is, after all, generally viewed as an unwelcome Government imposed charge.
Perhaps the answer is for us to start rationing the time we allocate to testing and cause a bit of inconvenience to the voters who elect these Governments.
I am the owner of Gordon Grove Garage in south London.
Unless the MOT fee goes up within the next year I will have no choice but to lock my gates & say goodbye l. My business rates have gone from £300 to £1100 per month, my rent has been increased by nearly 3k per year & that’s not to mention other bills that come with running a vts in London. The mot fee has to increase as a matter of urgency but not only do we need an increase asap we can’t leave it another 16 years + before there is a discussion for it again. Surely it should be on the table every 5 years or so.
We all need help now!