MOT sorted in one place for Old Catton (NR6) drivers - we arrange the test at a trusted DVSA-approved centre and carry out every check and repair ourselves. Our Ber Street garage is about 3 miles away, via Spixworth Road.
The perimeter roads by Catton Park get used for informal parking all week, and parking tight to a kerb is quietly expensive. Every nose-in manoeuvre scrubs the sidewall against a concrete edge under the weight of the car. Sidewalls cannot be repaired. A bulge in one is an immediate failure, and so is a cut deep enough to expose the cords. Rim damage is more nuanced: a kerbed alloy is not a failure for being scruffy, but damage sharp enough to be a hazard, or bad enough to disturb how the tyre seats on the bead, will be marked.
The catch is that the worst of it is usually on the inner sidewall, where you never see it from the pavement. We take the wheels off, inspect both faces of every tyre, check the bead area and rebalance anything that has taken a hard hit. A firm kerb strike also knocks tracking out, so we check that at the same time rather than sending you away with a fresh tyre that starts wearing unevenly from day one.
Driver visibility is one of the categories that catches out otherwise sound cars, and Old Catton's short winter runs into the city are exactly the pattern that causes it. Scraping frost off with grit still on the glass wrecks wiper blades, and a blade that smears rather than clears is a failure. So is an empty washer bottle, which costs nothing to fix and still ends tests. Windscreen chips have hard limits: anything over 10mm in the 290mm-wide strip directly in front of the driver fails, and anything over 40mm elsewhere in the wiped area fails.
The same trips hide lighting and signalling faults, because if you are only out for 10 minutes at each end of the day, nobody is behind you to mention a dead brake light. We do a full lamp check as part of the pre-test inspection: dipped and main beam, indicators front and rear, brake lights, reversing lamps, fogs, the number plate lamp and headlight aim. Bulbs and blades we replace on the spot, so those items are dealt with before the car ever goes for its test.
Three miles is close enough that the logistics stop being a problem. Bring the car south down Spixworth Road or Catton Grove Road first thing, hand over the keys and go. We carry out the pre-test inspection, ring you with a clear quote if anything needs doing, do the work with your say-so, take the car to the DVSA-approved test centre for the test itself and have it back with you the same day on most jobs. You make one trip, not three, and you never have to chase two separate businesses for an answer.
The other thing that helps is that we are open seven days. Monday to Saturday runs 08:00 to 18:00 and Sunday 10:00 to 16:00, which matters if your working week leaves no room for garage appointments. Sunday is the quietest time to bring a car in from Catton. There is free parking on site, a waiting area if the job is short, and every repair we carry out is covered by our 3-month or 3,000-mile workmanship guarantee.
Most MOT failures are predictable. We go over the items that actually fail cars - lighting and signalling, brakes, suspension, tyres and driver visibility - before the car is presented, so problems get found on our ramp rather than on the test sheet. For Old Catton drivers that is the difference between one trip and two.
We arrange the test itself at a DVSA-approved test centre; our Ber Street workshop is not a test station and we do not claim to be one. What we do is everything either side of it. Free parking on site, a waiting area if you would rather stay, and a 3-month / 3,000-mile guarantee on the work. Call 07933 900901.
Somewhere else, and we would rather say so plainly. We are not a DVSA-approved test station, so the test itself is carried out at a trusted DVSA-approved centre that we book and take your car to. Everything else happens with us at Ber Street: the pre-test inspection, any repairs you approve, and the retest afterwards. You get one point of contact and one quote. The government caps the test fee for a car at £54.85, which is a DVSA statutory maximum on the test alone and nothing to do with what we charge for repairs.
The drive is about three miles and normally 10 to 12 minutes each way, straight down Spixworth Road or Catton Grove Road into Ber Street. Outside the morning school traffic it is quicker than that. Most Old Catton customers drop the car in the morning and collect the same afternoon rather than waiting, because the prep, any repairs and the trip to the test centre all happen in one block. If the job is small, there is a waiting area and free parking on site and you can sit it out.
Cosmetic kerb rash on the face of an alloy is not a failure. It becomes a problem in two situations: if the damage is sharp or protruding enough to be a hazard, or if the rim is deformed near the bead so the tyre no longer seats and seals properly. The bigger risk is the tyre itself. A kerb strike hard enough to mark a rim can also cut or bulge the sidewall, and that is a failure. We check the wheel and both tyre faces together before the test.
It depends where it is. The strip directly in front of the driver, 290mm wide within the wiped area, has a 10mm limit, so a chip larger than that fails. Anywhere else within the area swept by the wipers the limit is 40mm. Chips outside the wiped area are not assessed. Bear in mind damage spreads in cold weather, so a chip that is legal in October may not be by the time your test comes round. We will tell you honestly where yours sits before you book.
Yes. The repairs behind almost every failure - lighting, brakes, tyres, suspension, exhaust - are done here at Ber Street, and we arrange the retest afterwards. You collect a car that has passed rather than chasing a test station and a repairer separately.
Nationally the biggest categories are lighting and signalling, suspension, brakes, tyres, and driver visibility such as wipers and washers. Our pre-MOT check works through exactly those items, which is why a check beforehand is usually cheaper than a failure and a retest.
Serving Old Catton (NR6) and all of Norwich & Norfolk
07933 900901 Get a QuoteAddress:
100-106 Ber Street
Norwich NR1 3ES
Opening Hours:
Mon-Sat: 8:00am - 6:00pm
Sun: 10:00am - 4:00pm
From Old Catton:
About 3 miles via Spixworth Road
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We also provide mot for drivers near Old Catton in:
"Highly recommend this business. I had a puncture and the team did a tyre repair very quickly and got me back on the road. Very reasonable price."
"Straightforward and upfront about what work needed doing and how much it would cost. Two tyres changed quickly and tracking done. Would definitely recommend."
"Popped in on a Sunday for a puncture on my motorhome. They had me back on the road within 15 minutes. Great service, friendly professional guys."
"Professional, efficient, courteous and knowledgeable. Thank you for helping me out at such short notice - all very much appreciated."
About 3 miles from Old Catton on 100-106 Ber Street, Norwich NR1 3ES. Call 07933 900901 to book your appointment or get a free quote today.
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