MOT nightmare ...just been turned away from MOT centre ..

[Mervyn Boyd]

Can anyone help me with this ? ..
MOT centre wouldn't test my long wheelbase twin wheel transit minibus ..because
1 ...it still has 8 seats so not a van ( they said )
2..it has a load space so not a car or motor home
3..its 4.1 tonnes and needs to be 3.5 ! How do I downrate the weight?? MOT don't know! ..complete nightmare

 

[stevieturbo]

If it is a minibus, why would it be a problem ? And why would it be called a van ? Just test it as a minibus ?

It must be a twin wheel to be anything over 3.5T ?

 

[KevM]

Can anyone help me with this ? ..
MOT centre wouldn't test my long wheelbase twin wheel transit minibus ..because
1 ...it still has 8 seats so not a van ( they said )
2..it has a load space so not a car or motor home
3..its 4.1 tonnes and needs to be 3.5 ! How do I downrate the weight?? MOT don't know! ..complete nightmare

Surely it needs PSV'd?

 

[McFall1984]

Surely it needs PSV'd?

Just gonna say that, did you mot as a van? An not PSV as a mini bus?

 

[Mervyn Boyd]

If it is a minibus, why would it be a problem ? And why would it be called a van ? Just test it as a minibus ?

It must be a twin wheel to be anything over 3.5T ?

Yes I said its twin wheel ..
You can't ( according to MOT centre) test it as a minibus if it doesn't have the original number of seats AND can't have a load space which can be used as a van to carry goods

 

[stevieturbo]

What was it tested as last time around ?

And how many seats does it have ?

How are they defining a load space ? as surely any space that isn't a seat could be called a load space ? or on top of seats.

 

[McFall1984]

Yes I said its twin wheel ..
You can't ( according to MOT centre) test it as a minibus if it doesn't have the original number of seats AND can't have a load space which can be used as a van to carry goods

How many seats does a minibus have?

 

[KevM]

I think weight alone would put it into LGV territory.

Do you have the right Cat license to drive it?

 

[Mervyn Boyd]

I think weight alone would put it into LGV territory.

Do you have the right Cat license to drive it?

Yes it's not the licence that's the issue ..I can't get it tested

 

[Coog]

Could you whip a few seats out? Not ideal but would give you a year to figure out what to do lol

 

[Mervyn Boyd]

It's looking that way ..still no clue how to down rate the weight

 

[NI_Volvo_Nut]

Your fee will be refunded, they fact its the weekend nobody can rebook it for what it's meant to be as any of the options other than down plating require an addition fee on top ofbthe £30.50 you paid. It's either LPCV light passenger carrying vehicle or an LGV. If you want to down plate it to 3500kg you just engrave the plate. To MOT it, weight doesn't matter, remove enough seats so it's a max of 7 + driver. If you want to good test it, remove all the seats and book its as over 3500kg. Main difference is it will get a smoke test.

 

[Mervyn Boyd]

Your fee will be refunded, they fact its the weekend nobody can rebook it for what it's meant to be as any of the options other than down plating require an addition fee on top ofbthe £30.50 you paid. It's either LPCV light passenger carrying vehicle or an LGV. If you want to down plate it to 3500kg you just engrave the plate. To MOT it, weight doesn't matter, remove enough seats so it's a max of 7 + driver. If you want to good test it, remove all the seats and book its as over 3500kg. Main difference is it will get a smoke test.

I already have it down to 8 seats in total ..they said ..1 ..because there's a big load space it can still be used as a van so it's not a car ...2 ...its not a van because there are extra seats ...3 ..its over the weight to be a car/ van..
+ I already had it booked as a minibus with£41.50 fee yesterday and was turned away because half the seats had been removed ..rebooked today as motor home..on £30.50 fee ( on their advice and turned away again on reasons listed

 

[NI_Volvo_Nut]

Have you actually spoke to a centre manager?

 

[Mervyn Boyd]

Yes ..two of them ..

 

[stevieturbo]

And again...how was it tested before ?

 

[chrisd]

You've a number of issues here so I'll number them as you have

On point 1 indeed it's not a car It's a van derived minibus going by your profile picture

Point 2 a "van" can have extra seats fitted just like crew cab vans/welfare vans

Point 3 it's not overweight to be a van. There is many many twin wheel vans on the road.

I think your issue is the fact it was originally a minibus with a certain amount of seats stated on a plate in the minibus and id assume on their systems too and possibly the tax book without all seats fitted they will not conduct the test.

Therefore you've 2 options as I see it refit all seats and retest as minibus or leave it as is get the tax book and the plating on the van changed to reflect the amount of seats. And possibly have to do something with the rear panel windows to make it more "van" like

 

[Mervyn Boyd]

And again...how was it tested before ?

As a church minibus ...before I bought it

 

[chrisd]

A quick Google search anwsers every single point you've raised here so I'll summarise it you need to contact the dvla and see what you need to do to change the body type from a minibus to a van and if you want to downplate it to a lighter weight then you need a company that specialises in that and provide you with all the necessary certificates submit the required including v5 to the dvla and await your new v5.

Until you do that you won't be able to mot it unless you reinstate all seats and forget about doing the above

 

[Mervyn Boyd]

A quick Google search anwsers every single point you've raised here so I'll summarise it you need to contact the dvla and see what you need to do to change the body type from a minibus to a van and if you want to downplate it to a lighter weight then you need a company that specialises in that and provide you with all the necessary certificates submit the required including v5 to the dvla and await your new v5.

Until you do that you won't be able to mot it unless you reinstate all seats and forget about doing the above

OK thanks for that