wrote
Rod Speed wrote

the mechanic I now use couldn't care less and just checks the obvious
stuff
like the tyres and lights and does the mandatory brakes check with the
meter they put on the front passengers seat floor and go for a drive etc.

that's crude.

Perfectly adequate to check if the car can stop properly. It has a printer
built
in that prints out the results it got and that gets attached to the report.

In Canberra way back in the 60s there was just one testing station
'manned' by govt employees that had you drive over a pit with
at least one monkey in it who checked under the car and then
you charged down the very long shed and hit the brakes while
on the thing that measured the braking performance.

We've had mandatory separate 4 wheel checks for decades.

Pointless unnecessary expense.