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Lotus in the Peak
27th - 29th June 2025

M.o.t - Leave It To Lotus?


John lad

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Posted

Hello there people!

 

My 53' plate Elise 111S is due for a MOT this October. I'm just wondering what the general recommendation is. Do I take it to a normal garage that have dealt with my previous cars, i.e. Peugeots and the like or go to a Lotus specialist? If so would the cost be a lot more? I’d only expect to pay £40 for an MOT on a “normal” car.

 

All comments appreciated.

 

John lad.

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Posted

An MOT test is a set price wherever you go.

 

Any work carried out on your car by the garage is charged at their set rates.

Posted

If you tell us where you are we can tell you if any garages nearby have been used by any of us :clap:

Posted

I'm based in Coventry, bought from Stratstone Lotus in Leicester.

 

Would you trust a random MOT guy to do the test on a Lotus? Or am i being too pretentious?

 

Whats actually involved in a MOT - just a general look over the engine, brakes, wheels....?

 

 

Cheers.

Posted

I'd say that any garage should be ok for doing an MOT on your car, only thing you may have to watch out for is the ground clearance at the front if you need to drive up any ramps or over a pit etc for the inspections they'll need to do.

 

Only slight problem I can think of may be if something like your headlights need adjusting and they've never seen one before so don't know how to do it, everything else is pretty straightforward.

Posted

I took mine to a local garage with no problems at all.

Posted

From experience with a car i owned ages ago...which was just a Polo...i had a lovely retired local chap to my parents who looked after all our cars...but one time i took it to my local garage to MOT...3 doors down the road from where i live...and they failed it on one split brake hose...and i had to use them to put a new one on or they would charge me for another MOT!!! My man said that he would have charged me about £5 to fit it...my local garage charged me for an hours labour at £40ish + VAT!!! I had no choice...and i am not doing that again...especially with my Lotty.

Posted
Whats actually involved in a MOT - just a general look over the engine, brakes, wheels....?

Cheers.

 

Full list is here.

Linky

 

The MOT is a safety check, and you don't need to be a Lotus specialist to check that the horn works and the wheels are all fastened on tight, so really any MOT garage you trust will do (but that may be a list of none!).

 

I believe MOT rules have changed recently, so if you take it away to fix it yourself, you only have one working day to take it back for free. You used to get 2 weeks. :(

 

Steve

Posted

You are joking...my local garage never told me that i could whisk it away to fix!!! They told me that i would be billed again for the MOT...bast*rds if what you say is correct!

Posted

IMO, go to someone who has worked on Elises, because sometimes they can fail on the emmissions, unless rev'ed in a certain way, etc

Before I picked mine up, it kept failing, they put in a new oxygen sensor/lambda sensor (£200) then still kept failing, sent it to dealer, passed no probs.

I don't think the car is complicated to work on, but choose someone who you trust to be tinkering with your lady!

 

Dealer prices are only going to be another £10 or so, and if it passes no probs, IMO thats worth it.

Posted
You are joking...my local garage never told me that i could whisk it away to fix!!! They told me that i would be billed again for the MOT...bast*rds if what you say is correct!

 

It's not straightforward - depends what it fails on. There's a list of things you can fix for free. More details here

Linky

Posted
Dealer prices are only going to be another £10 or so, and if it passes no probs, IMO thats worth it.

 

MoT price is set - dealer are NOT allowed to charge more !

Posted

Mine went in for its MOT today.

 

 

IT FAILED!!!!!!!

 

 

Due to a 3/4 front plate and a slightly different font on the rear - bloody Hell!!!

 

Normally you get a warning and 'make sure you get some other plates'

 

But

 

NO! - a **30 VOSA Fail form instead!

 

so I had to do a 20 mile round trip to Halfords to buy some new plates and £70 later it passed :)

Posted
Mine went in for its MOT today.

 

 

IT FAILED!!!!!!!

 

 

Due to a 3/4 front plate and a slightly different font on the rear - bloody Hell!!!

 

Normally you get a warning and 'make sure you get some other plates'

 

Mine failed on front number plate too... but I did actually forget to put it on! D'oh! Luckily the guy is a fellow Elise owner so I got the warning option. :)

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