What is MOT’d
I’m guessing this: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MOT_test
Oh yep, in Australia we colloquially call it “the pits” as in “Gotta take the car to the pits” but I’d say the more universal term would be checking the vehicle’s roadworthiness, or taking it for a roadworthy.
We call it getting it “smogged” in Los Angeles as the concern is cutting emissions to reduce smog; though many of the requirements are naturally related to road worthiness too.
Bunch of states have the same as MOT, called “inspection”.
Yep of course! I’m just not familiar with other states’ terminology.
I own a skoolie (used school bus converted to a motorhome) and it’s hilarious how much of the community likes to rant about Cali’s strict emissions policies being the result of liberal woke culture. No, you dumbfucks, it’s because they’re sandwiched between prevailing westerly winds and a fucking mountain range. You either restrict vehicle emissions or you live in a cloud of smog.
Here in PA, the roadworthiness inspection is separate from the emissions inspection (although both are usually done at the same time).
Fun fact, California doesn’t mandate safety or roadworthiness inspections for personal vehicles at all - only emissions.
This was a bit of a surprise to me when I moved here, given CAs reputation.
I guess vehicles don’t have to be all that safe when they’re just sitting in traffic.
Here in my state, there’s no inspections. You can drive your car with the frame cracked in half. As long as the plate has up-to-date stickers, you’re good fam.
If it’s generally about emissions, remember to always go to a highway and drive the car in high revs (idk about automats but some of them at least have selectors or “at most first two/three gears”) for a few miles. Burns off a bit of excess that would show up when then inspector revs it.
Dad used to do it always and never got flagged for emissions. Other faults may have been there though.
Although this was on diesel idk how much it’d help on gasoline cars
Helps on gasoline if you have one that burns oil such as every GM (Opel/Saab) ecotec engine at one point.
In New Zealand, it’s a WOF (warrant of fitness)
This sounds more like your car is end-of-life and gets thrown into a big hole in the ground filled with lava. “We got to make a sacrifice to please the car god!”
No. Car god gets tiny mangled bodies. It’s very well fed.
Pink slip in NSW
Message Of The’Day
Nah, it’s a vehicle safety inspection all cars over a certain age must go through in the UK before they’re legally allowed to be on the road.
Ministry of Transport (inspection) 'd.
I love this movie! Here’s the scene:
https://youtu.be/3nGQLQF1b6I
Seen this before, but I really hope they tried to upsell all sorts of crap. And then got educated on cars.
I don’t think you can really upsell anything at an MOT place, they just have to tell you what you need to fix and you do it on your own time. At least that’s how it is with TÜV in my country, which is the equivalent
I think in the UK the mechanic usually does the testing and the fixing.
Ah, seems you’re right, turns out in the UK most garages do MOTs. Where I come from, that would mean every car could be passed without being roadworthy, as no garage would voluntarily declare a car they’ve been maintaining as unroadworthy, plus you could just throw your mate a 50 euro note. So instead, we have certifications and licenses for TÜV inspectors and they get taken away if you get caught. There have to be cameras for investigators to see what was checked on any particular car and what was not. They can catch you if you pass a car with something like a malfunctioning light bulb. There’s spot checks (rare tbh) and of course if a particular garage or inspector is being suspected, they’ll be under extra surveillance. Plus you need equipment like the suspension and brake testers, so it doesn’t make sense for every single garage to join the org (paid membership), invest thousands if not tens of thousands in equipment plus all the mechanics to get tested, as there just wouldn’t be enough demand.
I believe in Australia they have to meet a certain fail quota or the government gets suss.
Jesus. Yeah, here, I’d just throw a guy $50.
This was a huge problem here, to the point that people have died from cars simply not having any brakes and nobody giving a fuck because you could just give the inspection guy some money, so why bother fixing.
I used to live in Albuquerque NM which was one of the first places to impose emissions restrictions on cars. I took my '76 VW Rabbit in to be emissions-tested, and the mechanic spent half an hour trying to get the thing to pass. Finally he just stuck the sensor up the tailpipe of his own car and issued me my sticker. Lest any Albuquerquians get angry at me, I moved to Denver a week later.
This was common here in Estonia till they mandated the cameras. I’ve heard a story of one guy lighting matches to get some CO2 reading out of a completely perforated exhaust - though not sure if it’s true. My coursemate said that in his family, for about a decade, only the car’s registration papers visited the inspector, they didn’t bother driving there.
Where I come from, that would mean every car could be passed without being roadworthy, as no garage would voluntarily declare a car they’ve been maintaining as unroadworthy, plus you could just throw your mate a 50 euro note
Here in the Netherlands you can get your car MOT’d (APK in Dutch) at most garages. The person doing the inspection has to be licensed though and they can lose their license if found to be passing cars they shouldn’t.
After they enter a car into the system as passed they can get a random inspection by someone from the RDW (government service for road traffic) who will double-check their work.
Northern Ireland being the exception in the UK, we have government run test centres with dedicated inspectors. You the car there, you get it inspected and if it fails you take it to your mechanic. Honestly a much better system IMO, mechanics were always finding something that needed fixed when I was in England and that disappeared miraculously in NI.
That’s often the case, or for a smaller garage they will do (if you ask for it) a pre-inspection/service & then take it somewhere else to be tested. AFAIK It’s allowed to be driven on the road without a valid MOT if it’s on the way to or from an appointment at a testing centre, and a retest is free.
Any former chief mechanic of a formula one racing team want to try this with me? Sounds fun. Must be female-presenting.
I recently swapped out the starter solenoid on an old Ford truck (and it eventually worked)! And I feel I’d probably rock a dress if I tried. We can give it a shot, but no promises it goes like you imagine.
I’ve restored a few classics and like to think I know what I’m doing. I’ll put on a dress for you, but I’m not shaving my beard
Likewise, the beard is non-negotiable.
I’ve replaced a headlight bulb once and otherwise always take the car to the shop for literally everything else. But I will put on a dress for you and shave my beard!
There’s a Formula One racing team that had a woman for a chief mechanic? I don’t really follow F1, but I feel like I’d have heard about this.
Maybe he means Hannah Schmitz who has been Principal Strategy Engineer for Red Bull since 2021 (and was Senior Strategy Engineer for ten years before that).
If my friend told me the were senior strategy engineer I could well imagine remembering that as ‘chief engineer’ or ‘senior mechanic’. Also, she’s British, which would fit with MOT.
haha, that would be hilarious! If that is true and you could actually identify here by the mere fact that there is only one possible woman - that would be so amazing (and of course bleak, but also fun!)
I got a chance to meet her at Zandvoort right before the 2022 GP (and the ensuing mess that happened if F1 fans remember). She is such a cool lady, and was very easy to talk to regarding the nitty gritty of F1 strat and behind-the-scenes stuff.
As a male, I’ve also experience similar many times. But I don’t know anything about cars. I am not interested in anything to do with cars. I have never owned a car of my own. I don’t drive. I’ve even let my license lapse because I don’t care to drive even when given the chance. Still I am usually addressed instead of my (fem) partner if I happen to tag along to some Car Thing.
You’re baiting the mechanic.
If an old guy turns up with middle aged daughter they’ll assume she’s there to help and deal with the daughter. If somebody has gone to the lengths of bringing a friend to the MOT (it’s not somewhere you go for a date after all) it’s probably because they’re wanting help.
If she turned up by herself they would assume a more general knowledge of cars, which is still far below what she has but wouldn’t be dismissive.
I think the ways it’s setup does make it sound baity (“we do it every year”). But it’s not that uncommon to bring a friend or family member to an MOT in Britain. You’ve got to leave your car at the garage, usually for a few hours and sometimes much longer. So, it’s pretty useful to have a friend pick you up or drive you back to collect your car, to save you the hassle of walking or public transport.
If I turned up to collect my car with my same-age friend, and the mechanic spent the whole time describing the problems he’d found to my friend I’d find it pretty weird. But I don’t find it unbelievable that lots of women experience that if they go with a male friend. And I could imagine finding that pretty patronising if I was knowledgeable about cars.
If the mechanic is walking past her and talking to the guy waiting for her in his car outside, then I think you’ve got a point.
I’ve done what you’re describing for a bunch of female friends / partners. A lift back from the MOT means arriving in a different car. Even if I do get out of the car (which I probably wouldn’t) I’m not even engaging in the conversation because it’s nothing to do with me.
Now…buying cars with a friend. There’s a situation which can go very wrong!
I think the bait only works on sexist mechanics who make the assumption. It’s not that hard to just ask who wants the bulk of the information, or to address two people as a small group.
Car haver. Retired from customer service.
Can you see how that might be fun, though?
Yes. It feels fun to make other people look stupid because you’ve misled them.
It’s not very nice though.
I think you’re assuming something that is not even implied in the text. There’s no misleading or presumption of feeling stupid.
Have you never made this kind of mistake? The cops don’t come out of the walls, you just get schooled for your snap judgement lol. You cop to it, blush, and try to be better. It’s funny.
Serious question: why do a lot of people lose their shit when someone uses the word “female” and sometimes it’s okay?
Adjective ✅
Noun ❌
Verb?
Let’s female this.
One of my favorite features of English is the possibility of verbing any word.
Imma female all over their face!
Usually you gotta add an ing to verbify it, but I think it works just fine on its own.
Femaling, amirite? 🙄
Stop Englishing me!
Mooooooom they’re turning the word “verb” into a verb
You possibilised verbing!
Adverb : Let’s verb it femalely
Ferengi ❎
Honestly very helpful
What are you, some kind of female lover?
Ever since that meme I’m stuck reading Female pronounced like Tamale and it’s the best thing ever
I need a video of this tbh
Press (x) for doubt
Wow, people see that things happen a certain way 99 times out of 100 and adjust behavior accordingly. How terrible
It isn’t terribly hard to just address both and see who answers.
Also the same logic would apply to racial profiling so while I’d agree that which person is addressed first is a pretty minor issue, it’s important to also consider the impact on the people involved.
Well, typically you should at least initially address the actual owner of the vehicle.
Got 99 problems but none of them are the 99 sexist mechanics burried on the front 40.
Oh no, the shop guy made an assumption based on the prevailing and mostly accurate generalization that men are more likely to like cars. THE HORROR!
Yes. Stop assuming things and making an ass of yourself.
Nah. Y’all are annoying everyone into fascism.
It’s not accurate though?*
So it sounds REALLY stupid and super mean-spirited.
- At least not since some decades afrer women could have credit without a certifiedpenishaver to cosign, iow, the legalization of women’s free access to cars.
