Proposed changes to MOT regulations, outlined in a recent The Department for Transport’s (DfT) consultation, have been robustly rejected by the Retail Motor Industry Federation (RMI), on the grounds that the changes will not serve the consumer.

The proposed DfT changes centre on the issue of the age a vehicle gets its first MOT, with the government backing an increased from 3 to 4 years.

Stuart James, RMI Director comments, “This is an unnecessary consultation and there are a number of reasons why the benefits promoted by government are seriously outweighed by the pitfalls. At the three year period alone this change will see 400,000 unroadworthy cars on the road for another 12 months and no official mileage recorded until year 4.

“Although modern cars are better built than ever before, factors such as the condition of Britain’s roads combined with high mileages mean that modern cars should be checked more often but in many cases go for many months or even years without being seen by an industry professional. “This proposal would, without doubt, cost consumers more in repair costs, incentivise “clockers” and be detrimental to the UK’s excellent road safety record for no particular gain.”