Toughened up Controle Technique effective 19 May

[minnie]

Most car owners will know that a new and tougher CT comes into force on May 19th (I actually thought that it was 1 May). What I didn't know was that the normal 2 months for getting jobs done as required for a valid CT has been abandoned. We took the car for its CT today and require a few minor jobs to be done. However, we were told that any work required had to be submitted for re-test before 19th May or else the new rules would apply. For us it's not a problem as we are having the work finalised within the week. Many people, however, may thin that they can take the car on 18th May and still have 2 months to comply with the requirements. This is not so. Just a point of information.

[Théière]

Same in the UK from May 20th.

[sid]

Not having been for an MoT in UK for over 25 years, I have no idea what the UK rules are.

So, what IS the new time limit (here in France) if it's not 2 months ?

[idun]

Depends what is wrong as from what I have read there is no time limit, for certain categories, the car has to pass. And they will not let you drive it off if it fails.

Some categories still have the the two months.

Others are up to the driver, just minor things.

We always had our car serviced, controle technique ready, before our controle. Was the best solution for us!?

If worried, look it up☺

[minnie]

The current 2 months has been ABANDONED. Any tests which are not completely passed before 19 May have to take the complete new style test.

[Théière]

[quote user="minnie"]The current 2 months has been ABANDONED. Any tests which are not completely passed before 19 May have to take the complete new style test.[/quote]

Again, same as UK, so is it safe to assume this is an EU mandate? Of course in the UK we say "how high" to Europe, whereas the tougher test is still only every two years en France?

[idun]

[quote user="minnie"]The current 2 months has been ABANDONED. Any tests which are not completely passed before 19 May have to take the complete new style test.[/quote]

That is not how I read the new rules, what I read, was that a dangerous car would be clouer au sol, and rather more minor problems still had the two months, and then there were actual minor things and they were left up to the vehicules owner to get them fixed if they want.

[minnie]

When we went to have our CT the other day we were told at the very start that ANY work required would have to be done and submitted for re-test by 19th May. I'm only going by what the station told us. Previously they'd put a 2 month sticker in the windscreen. This does not apply at present because we don't have 2 months! The only work we required were a couple of tyres and a shock absorber - nothing requiring the vehicle to be off the road immediately.

[NickP]

I think the CT/MoT is a good thing, and the stricter it is the better. After all, why would anybody want to drive a car that is not safe, or roadworthy? Like Idun, I have always had my cars serviced pre MOT, Although I did have to ask my lovely local French garage to check the suspension for leaks not just do what they said they do, push down on the wing.

[Patf]

Does that mean that you will have to have the car checked out and any repairs etc done before taking it for the CT?

[minnie]

I'm going by what I was told at the CT station and my French is good enough to understand that perfectly. All that it means is that if you need a CT soon and you want it before the rules toughen up then all the work must be completed and retested before 18 May. Otherwise you'll need a new test under the new rules. Simples

[EuroTrash]

Seems clear to me Minnie, and perfectly logical.

@NickP - yes but the issue is that some perfectly safe cars will become techically unroadworthy when really they're not. For instance my Saxo has a continually flashing airbag light because a previous owner in their wisdom decided to replace the front seats, and the new seats are not fitted with airbags whereas the previous ones were. OK you might say having airbags in the seats is a good safety feature, however the fact it doesn't have them, doesn't mean it is unsafe to drive. But because of the flashing airbag light it will never pass another CT.

I had a chat with my garage (main Renault dealer) when I had it serviced and my CT man when I took it for the test a few weeks ago and neither of them is at all happy about the new test. They both take the view the current test is sufficient to weed out dangerious vehicles. The CT man says he's never been in any doubt as to the safety of any car that he's issued a certificate to and the new test will simply put a lot of old but perfectly safe cars off the road on technicalities, He feels its main purpose is to boost car sales. The Renault dealer didn't go quite that far but he did agree it was a shame that mine will have to be scrapped in two years' time and he said he has a lot of customers in the same situation.

[Théière]

Any flashing dashboard lamp should already have been a fail, it is in the UK.  All the safe ideals mentioned sounds fine but with the gap between CT's at 2 years it kind of drives a coach and horses through the real idea of safety.  Any UK tester can tell you how quickly the situation can alter.

Then we have the smoke test, any smoke and it's a fail. Now you can make most cars smoke by throttling hard, backing off and throttling again, it's like the little puff when you change gears.  This is not an exact test, it's down to the testers interpretation.  I am already buying diesel stop smoke just in case!

[minnie]

Eurotrash made some very valid points. Our car is a 17 year old Citroen C5 estate, regularly serviced and maintained by the local Citroen dealer. It is comfortable and runs very well and we have no reason to change it. However in 2 years time we might have to as there are some minor issues which currently pass the CT but would not under the revised rules. Still we're happy if we can have 2 years by which time it will be 19 years old and owes us nothing!

[richard51]

Minnie - technology has advance quite a long way in 17 years!!!

Saw a 02 reg UK car this afternoon in our part of france and thought - "mmmmmm".

Am thinking that our car will owe us nothing in 10 years - another 5 yrs to go.

[minnie]

All I want from a car is comfort and reliability whatever its age. I know all about technological advances as we hire cars annually when we go to New Zealand. Why waste money on newer cars when I find ours perfectly acceptable. Have no desire whatsoever to keep up with others by spending money unnecessarily. It's all a case of priorities.

[idun]

[quote user="minnie"]Most car owners will know that a new and tougher CT comes into force on May 19th (I actually thought that it was 1 May). What I didn't know was that the normal 2 months for getting jobs done as required for a valid CT has been abandoned. We took the car for its CT today and require a few minor jobs to be done. However, we were told that any work required had to be submitted for re-test before 19th May or else the new rules would apply. For us it's not a problem as we are having the work finalised within the week. Many people, however, may thin that they can take the car on 18th May and still have 2 months to comply with the requirements. This is not so. Just a point of information.[/quote]

Right back to the first post, which is not really accurate.

I didn't ask my good friend who has run a controle technique garage since they started having them. I looked on the Service-Public website and it linked in to the legi france site.

As I said, there are three categories. That is correct.

The first, one can drive away and get minor stuff done at one's leisure, the second, there is a two month breathing space, and the third the vehicle is unfit to be on the road, and why any one would want to drive such a vehicle is beyond me.

So for those who don't get a pre test service, then basically nothing has changed and the worst that should happen to a responsible motorist is a two month delay in getting repairs done.

[EuroTrash]

I took the point to be that if your car is tested on 18 May and gets a contre visite, you can't take it back on or after 19 May and get a pass. Because the new test replaces the old test on that date, so ahy certificate issued on or after 19 May would relate to the new test. You can't get a contra visit under the old regs and then take it back and get a pass certificate under the new regs, without it being retested under the new regs, at the new fee.

Have I misunderstood what Minnie was saying?

[idun]

Oh boy, how complicated that would be for the controle technique garages.

Something NOT to ask my friend when I speak to her. She may bring it up and knowing her, will use plenty of expletives about the changes.

[minnie]

Eurotrash - You have understood what I was saying and summarised it perfectly. Thank you.

[EuroTrash]

I don't see why it's complicated, all they need to know is what date it is. Up to and including 18th, old test.Starting on 19th, new test. And even if they forget the date, I'm sure the computer will do it all correctly for them.

[mogs]

Our CT is due in August but can we get it done in May before the 18th?

[mint]

Yes, but make sure you have a RV in case everyone else has the same idea and getting their CT done earlier!

[Théière]

Could you really take it 3 months earlier just to get around the new regs?

[mint]

AFAIK, yes.  If you were selling the car, for example, you would need to get it CT'd because it has to have minimum 6 months on it prior to selling.

I know that once my husband made an error with reading the ticket on the screen and took it in in Sept instead of Dec and the man pointed this out to him but said he'd do it if it was what OH wanted.