Potential MOT based ripoff
Discussion
timskipper said:
It turns out there was no MOT failure document, it passed. The work was completely un-necessary at that time.
There won't be one, they check the car before it gets MOT'd and fix anything that needs doing so it passes. My old mechanic used to do that, never had a failure sheet for all the year i used him. Nickyboy said:
timskipper said:
It turns out there was no MOT failure document, it passed. The work was completely un-necessary at that time.
There won't be one, they check the car before it gets MOT'd and fix anything that needs doing so it passes. My old mechanic used to do that, never had a failure sheet for all the year i used him. It makes sense, as otherwise the published failure figures would become a nonsense, as nothing should fail if it was pre-checked and fixed first.
However I've also seen it said that it simply means as presented for the test itself.
Sheepshanks said:
I've seen different interpretations of this, but I've been told by a couple of garages that they're supposed to test cars "as presented" - as in "as presented to the garage" as that gives the Government an indication of the state of cars on the road.
It makes sense, as otherwise the published failure figures would become a nonsense, as nothing should fail if it was pre-checked and fixed first.....
Years ago I put My E30 BMW in for an MOT at My local BMW Dealership and asked them to replace the rear tyres before doing the MOT as they were just below the limit and would not pass the test.It makes sense, as otherwise the published failure figures would become a nonsense, as nothing should fail if it was pre-checked and fixed first.....
"No problem Sir, we'll take care of that for you."
Later that day I got a call at work to tell Me that the car had failed the MOT as the rear tyres were below the bottom limit and required replacing! Other than the tyres, everything else was fine with the car.
When I went to collect the car (slightly p
ssed off!), I asked them why they'd not done what I'd asked and replaced the tyres first before doing the MOT to avoid getting a failure against it?"Oh yes, I suppose that would have made more sense!"
"I take it you have to put the car in for the test first to register any issues with it before doing any repairs?" I enquired.
"Not really, we just thought it would be quicker to carry out the MOT test first!"
So did you just replace the tyres and sign the MOT off then?"
"No, it had a full second test carried out."
It was quite unbelievable!
They couldn't understand why I was so upset as the car had passed second time around with the new tyres fitted until I told them that I was proud of the fact that My car had passed every MOT it had ever had first time round and had never failed an MOT, but because they didn't do what I'd specifically asked, that record was now broken unnecessarily!
(Yes, in the grand scheme of things it was not that important, but to Me it was disappointing!)
Corroded brake pipes seems to be the new 'pitted discs' money earner for the unscrupulous garages.
Had an Aygo fail for corroded brake lines when I got it home it had the lightest amount of surface rust on one elbow. Wire brushed, no pitting evident, coated them in underseal. This was not good enough for them so took it somewhere else and had it retested rather than give them any more money.
Had an Aygo fail for corroded brake lines when I got it home it had the lightest amount of surface rust on one elbow. Wire brushed, no pitting evident, coated them in underseal. This was not good enough for them so took it somewhere else and had it retested rather than give them any more money.
TooMany2cvs said:
4rephill said:
Years ago I put My E30 BMW in for an MOT at My local BMW Dealership and asked them to replace the rear tyres before doing the MOT as they were just below the limit and would not pass the test.
So you needed the MOT to prompt you to replace illegal tyres...?Just to put your mind at rest (although I'm sure it wont and you'll still want Me to hung from a public gallows!), this occurred in the middle of July and at the time the car was only driven in stop-start rush hour traffic to and from work, rarely getting up to 25mph due to the s
tty traffic management where I live. Let Me emphatically state that no children or fluffy bunny rabbits were killed at the time!
These days I f
k the tyres off the car at 3mm (as recommended by BMW), but I must confess that I have run over a fluffy bunny rabbit since doing that! (I'm pretty certain I still haven't run down any children still though!).I have to say that the difference between driving on 1.5mm tread in stop-start rush hour traffic and driving on 3mm tread is incredible!
I would estimate that My stopping distances are @ a full 10mm shorter at our usual crawling 5mph than they used to be, and I can now take corners at 11mph in slow moving traffic rather than the old 10mph! (Watch out kids! - It's almost touring car racing style driving now!)
Thank you for your concerns though!
AndyS2 said:
For £250 I'd want more than just 'a bit' of pipe replacing.
Depends how big a b'stard they are to get to...£250 isn't a lot of labour if the tank has to be dropped and the unions are seized and round off.
4rephill said:
TooMany2cvs said:
4rephill said:
Years ago I put My E30 BMW in for an MOT at My local BMW Dealership and asked them to replace the rear tyres before doing the MOT as they were just below the limit and would not pass the test.
So you needed the MOT to prompt you to replace illegal tyres...?Just to put your mind at rest (although I'm sure it wont and you'll still want Me to hung from a public gallows!), this occurred in the middle of July and at the time the car was only driven in stop-start rush hour traffic to and from work, rarely getting up to 25mph due to the s
tty traffic management where I live. Let Me emphatically state that no children or fluffy bunny rabbits were killed at the time!
These days I f
k the tyres off the car at 3mm (as recommended by BMW), but I must confess that I have run over a fluffy bunny rabbit since doing that! (I'm pretty certain I still haven't run down any children still though!).I have to say that the difference between driving on 1.5mm tread in stop-start rush hour traffic and driving on 3mm tread is incredible!
I would estimate that My stopping distances are @ a full 10mm shorter at our usual crawling 5mph than they used to be, and I can now take corners at 11mph in slow moving traffic rather than the old 10mph! (Watch out kids! - It's almost touring car racing style driving now!)
Thank you for your concerns though!
ChocolateFrog said:
Corroded brake pipes seems to be the new 'pitted discs' money earner for the unscrupulous garages.
Had an Aygo fail for corroded brake lines when I got it home it had the lightest amount of surface rust on one elbow. Wire brushed, no pitting evident, coated them in underseal. This was not good enough for them so took it somewhere else and had it retested rather than give them any more money.
I'd ask them why it wasn't good enough for them and then ask for an appeals form.Had an Aygo fail for corroded brake lines when I got it home it had the lightest amount of surface rust on one elbow. Wire brushed, no pitting evident, coated them in underseal. This was not good enough for them so took it somewhere else and had it retested rather than give them any more money.
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