A Midlands firm has launched a new scheme to help owners affected by the 40 year MOT exemption, which begins on 20th May 2018. Great Escape Workshop, part of hire specialist Great Escape Cars, now offers a Classic Health Check in conjunction with a local MOT test station.
The Classic Health Check has been created to help owners meet their obligation to ensure their cars are roadworthy and safe. It provides a professional, independent assessment giving a ‘pass’ or ‘fail’. This can then be used to demonstrate responsible maintenance or target remedial work. The Check looks at safety and structural issues just like a normal MOT, including lights, structural condition, steering, tyres and much more.
The new service is a result of Great Escape Cars’ own problems caused by the MOT roll-back. The Great Escape Workshop maintains the company’s fleet and realised that it needed an independent safety inspection to replace the MOT and demonstrate best practice to hirers. Working with a MOT tester they devised a comprehensive test, which is now available as the Classic Health Check for any owner.
Great Escape Workshop already maintains customer cars as well as the hire fleet. The new Check is available to owners for just £50. It takes about an hour and this price includes collection and return of cars within a 20 mile radius of Great Escape’s Redditch site.
Great Escape Workshop campaigned hard against the exemption on the grounds of safety through its popular Classic Car Stuff blog and Facebook pages. Once the Government decided to introduce the exemption the company has switched to helping educate owners about their responsibilities. The new Health Check is part of that commitment to assisting classic car owners.
“Whatever your view of the MOT exemption, it’s happening,” explains Graham Eason of Great Escape Workshop. “What isn’t exempted is the owner’s responsibility to ensure their car is safe and road legal. This really translates into a paper trail to prove regular maintenance and checks.
GEC1032 01527 893733
“Our new Classic Health Check is designed to help owners meet that obligation. It’s uses a test we already run for our own hire cars and is deliberately priced at no more than a MOT.
”Correctly assessing roadworthiness requires specialist equipment. We know that from our own experience with our hire cars. A car that looks safe isn’t necessarily safe. It’s also not enough for owners to argue they’ve checked their cars – insurers and the police won’t accept that as proof of maintenance.
“The Check provides an independent assessment of a car’s condition, which can be used to target maintenance or prove roadworthiness.”
To book the Classic Health Check call 01527 893733 or visit www.greatescapecars.co.uk. For a limited time until 20th May 2018 readers can get the check for just £35 instead of the usual £50.
