They all must have a poster (and notify DVSA) of their opening days and hours. There are two columns on that poster giving the days and times for 'tests by appointment' and 'tests on demand'. Most places just say 'by appointment only' but will do one straight away if they are not busy. Not many actually offer tests on demand.
You have to be allowed to watch irrespective of whether its an on demand test or a by appointment one. On demand means you can just turn up and if they have free ramp with no waiting customers you can get a test, by appointment means you book a specific day/time.
You reply with; I'll just sit in the viewing area and have a cuppa.
As Stivino says.
I work for a car manufacturer. Believe me, we don't do recalls unless there's a bloody good reason and someone has a gun to our head! Getting a recall done is the socially-responsible thing to do. If not for you, then for the next owner or other road users. There are calls to make it an MOT fail to have an outstanding recall. Needless to say, I'd prefer owners to "do the right thing" without regulation, but sometimes, it becomes necessary...
So... you obviously never had an old Alfa 156 where Alfa decided to get greedy and go for the company car market. Despite what their engineers told them, their marketing people ended up setting the cam belt change interval to 72,000 miles, in order to appeal to fleet buyers, who would have disposed of the cars long before then. Needless to say, it didn't work out, and belts regularly failed. After that, they put it around the dealer network that the dealer had to "inspect and replace if necessary" at 36,000 miles. They specified an inspection process, which involved taking the belt off and bending it back on itself to look for cracks at the roots of the teeth. It was all bullshit, of course! They knew darned well that no dealer was ever going to carry out all the labour of taking a belt off and then putting it back on again, regardless of what the teeth looked like! Pretty much all the cost of a job like that, was in the labour. Plus, of course, any dealer who DID decide the belt was OK and put it back on for another 36,000 miles knew full well that if it failed before then, Alfa UK would turn round and say "well you checked it"! Bloody nasty, it was...
For someone who claims to be "in tune" with things mechanical, that's a very surprising point of view! I'd take the car that's been thrashed up the motorway by some rep and serviced regularly, over the one that's done far fewer miles at the hands or the "little old lady pootling backwards and forwards to the shops"!
Yes, some Ferrari engines have belt-driven cams. They offer some performance advantages over chains. And yes, depending on which Lotus, some had belt-driven cams.
I must say, I've been disappointed in some more modern chain-driven cams. Some of it, I think, is that the engines rev higher now, and there is a lot more valve lift. 50 years ago, a cam with (say) 500 "thou" of valve lift, was probably a racing car. These days, it's not uncommon in pretty ordinary cars - plus variable valve timing, of course, and stop-start.The original Ford Endura engine was similar.....two belts, change both at 36000
Unfortunately timing chains are letting go too - maybe that's due to extreme oil change intervals, I don't know. There doesn't seem to be an exact formula but it's belts for me......nice and quiet, most are easy enough to deal with.
John
They might also, of course, be extra thorough and do everything strictly by the book...As Stivino says.
Just tell them "No thank you, I'd like to see the test carried out". Anyone who insists on watching could well be from the DVSA on an incognito visit. They won't say no and they won't chance taking liberties as long as you act confidently.
Nah - any benefit of doubt as to a pass/fail decision must always be given to the vehicle presenter.They might also, of course, be extra thorough and do everything strictly by the book...
Well, they are not allowed to bring a car along with faults on them so it's the actual process they are checking. Such as often forgotten things such as checking the fuel cap, sun visor, boot floor etc.Indeed, but if I was a tester and I thought a DVSA inspector might be looking over my shoulder, I'd be pretty thorough...
