I agree that some items should be notified to the presenter, but I also think there are occasions when too much info is given to the presenter, and some of that (MOT advisories included) could be looked at as a revenue generating move, rather than as a real information giving move.
With MOT advisories in general there is a lot of room for improvement to the current system.
Firstly you need to remember that advisory notices are a non-mandatory part of the MOT and it’s up to the individual tester to decide whether to advise on an item or not, I know many testers who will never issue any advisories.
If they are issued then the advisory must be useful to the vehicle owner for keeping their vehicle roadworthy, or to clarify a significant aspect of the vehicle, such as a missing passenger seat.
It’s important to remember that inappropriate advisories can reduce the resale value of a vehicle or result in unnecessary repair work, that can be seen as a revenue stream for the garage and could come across as money making, rather than purely informative.
Evidence shows that in many cases testable advisories have become overused, sometimes with the same advisory being used year after year.
We may be partly responsible for this due to the wording of some advisories; such as a component ‘slightly worn’ or ‘slightly corroded’, when they could be in perfectly usable condition and the corrosion or wear has zero to do with the items functionality.
Also it has to be considered that when a customer is presented with a list of advisories, most often the first questions are " how important are the items to be repaired?" "How much to repair this lot?"
When assessing worn or corroded items you should, before issuing an advisory for a ‘slightly’ worn or ‘slightly’ corroded component, consider whether it meets the guidance in the Manual; eg, "is near to, but has not yet reached the point of test failure".
If it is likely to reach the point of being a test failure item, before the next MOT (this point being well before actual item failure making vehicle dangerous of course) then put it as an advisory, if it will last a couple of years then it is not worth mentioning really.
Similarly, consider whether it is necessary to select items from the non-component advisory list such as “undertray's fitted obscuring some underside components” where they are known to be standard fitment on the model of vehicle tested, that kind of advisory is completely unnecessary in reality.
As part of MOT modernisation and the new EU directive we are currently reviewing advisories and their wording, and in fact reviewing the whole concept of advisories.
