Bought a car with dodgy MOT, do these brakes need replacing?
Discussion
Hi, I bought a used car on Saturday which had just passed an MOT with no advisories. I went to a garage to get it serviced and was advised that all brake pads and discs need to be replaced (£250 - £500 cost).
Looking at the MOT history of the vehicle, it actually had several advisory items about the brakes and pads on the first attempt to pass the MOT. But for some reason, these were ignored the second time around.
Long story short, already called the MOT center which said the brakes were rusty but didn't require changing. I think I can dispute that after 2 indy garages telling me they do. Just wanted to see what people on here think, photos below:
https://photos.app.goo.gl/EeSDjxQyTiXBSX7d6
Don't think brake pads are totally worn out but was advised they need to be changed along with the discs. Am I in my right to dispute the MOT or is this amount of rust okay?
Thanks in advance.
P.S. Make & Model: Vauxhall Astra SXi 1.4 Petrol 2008 Manual
Looking at the MOT history of the vehicle, it actually had several advisory items about the brakes and pads on the first attempt to pass the MOT. But for some reason, these were ignored the second time around.
Long story short, already called the MOT center which said the brakes were rusty but didn't require changing. I think I can dispute that after 2 indy garages telling me they do. Just wanted to see what people on here think, photos below:
https://photos.app.goo.gl/EeSDjxQyTiXBSX7d6
Don't think brake pads are totally worn out but was advised they need to be changed along with the discs. Am I in my right to dispute the MOT or is this amount of rust okay?
Thanks in advance.
P.S. Make & Model: Vauxhall Astra SXi 1.4 Petrol 2008 Manual
I would be changing them.
Full set of discs and pads are £85 from carparts4less
2 hours to fit maybe at most?
You would have to change them at some point, not worth the hassle arguing.
But if you insist:
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/complai...
"DVSA will offer you an appointment within 5 days to recheck your vehicle. You do not need to pay."
This will give you ammo to get a refund for the car from the supplier and get the MOT tester into hot water.
Full set of discs and pads are £85 from carparts4less
2 hours to fit maybe at most?
You would have to change them at some point, not worth the hassle arguing.
But if you insist:
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/complai...
"DVSA will offer you an appointment within 5 days to recheck your vehicle. You do not need to pay."
This will give you ammo to get a refund for the car from the supplier and get the MOT tester into hot water.
Company laptop won't allow me to see the pictures, but from the test alone I think the issue here is the difference between when you need to change brakes, and when brakes will fail an MOT. The requirements for a brake disc to pass an MOT are shocking low. Providing it is not structurally unsound in the opinion of the tester, and the brakes pass the efficiency test, then it will pass the MOT. Whether or not it is "serviceable", below manufacturer min thickness etc is not what they are checking.
IIRC testers do not need to add advisories, even if they notice something (I may be mistaken!), so this doesn't necessarily mean you have a dodgy MOT.
MOT tests are checking the bare minimum legal requirements of a vehicle at the time it is presented for testing . A tyre on 1.61mm should have been changed well before that point, and will very soon be illegal, but it is still legal, so will pass an MOT.
IIRC testers do not need to add advisories, even if they notice something (I may be mistaken!), so this doesn't necessarily mean you have a dodgy MOT.
MOT tests are checking the bare minimum legal requirements of a vehicle at the time it is presented for testing . A tyre on 1.61mm should have been changed well before that point, and will very soon be illegal, but it is still legal, so will pass an MOT.
it looks like the brakes on my Volvo, which until a few days ago hadnt moved for 3-4 years.
The discs will probably clean up in use, but depends on how bad the inner face is with regards overall condition.
IMO the brakes should be pulled apart and inspected and at a minimum the pads replaced even though some photos there do appear to have a decent amount of friction material.
Cars that sit about for brakes to get like that, often the pad material starts falling apart which will be clearly visible on removal, but not so when fitted.
The discs will probably clean up in use, but depends on how bad the inner face is with regards overall condition.
IMO the brakes should be pulled apart and inspected and at a minimum the pads replaced even though some photos there do appear to have a decent amount of friction material.
Cars that sit about for brakes to get like that, often the pad material starts falling apart which will be clearly visible on removal, but not so when fitted.
You're wasting your time chasing the MOT tester (assuming it's a different garage to the one that sold you the car), as already has been said above, the standard for passing an MOT on brakes is very low. The main thing with brakes is as long as they pass the efficiency test and are structurally sound, they'll pass.
hasaiko said:
Thanks to everyone for the replies.
I went to the MOT center and they had a second look. While the brakes would pass an MOT, they compensated me with £120 which is fair enough IMO.
So in case someone else is in this situation, you should try and reach some agreement if you can.
Assuming this 'MOT center' isn't part of the garage where you bought the car from I find that very hard to believe. If the brakes would pass an MOT then they have nothing to compensate or refund you for.I went to the MOT center and they had a second look. While the brakes would pass an MOT, they compensated me with £120 which is fair enough IMO.
So in case someone else is in this situation, you should try and reach some agreement if you can.
Edited by paintman on Friday 18th January 11:16
That's shocking, report the MOT centre to VOSA, no I'm not being a tool when I say that but I drive on the road, my Mrs. and the baby are often passengers in vehicles that are driving on the road, garages like that are putting their lives at risk, end of!!!
Full set of discs and pads are cheap and will take you a day at home on the drive to fit front and rears, if you went genuine they will be more but aftermarket from the motorfactors or even from Amazon will be fine, and a heck of a lot better than those.
If you want to see for yourself exactly how bad those discs are then get the factory minimum thickness and take them to a machine shop and get them machined back to perfect faces both sides to see if they are think enough once they're done, I'll bet they wouldn't meet minimum thickness.
Full set of discs and pads are cheap and will take you a day at home on the drive to fit front and rears, if you went genuine they will be more but aftermarket from the motorfactors or even from Amazon will be fine, and a heck of a lot better than those.
If you want to see for yourself exactly how bad those discs are then get the factory minimum thickness and take them to a machine shop and get them machined back to perfect faces both sides to see if they are think enough once they're done, I'll bet they wouldn't meet minimum thickness.
hasaiko said:
Hi, I bought a used car on Saturday which had just passed an MOT with no advisories. I went to a garage to get it serviced and was advised that all brake pads and discs need to be replaced (£250 - £500 cost).
Looking at the MOT history of the vehicle, it actually had several advisory items about the brakes and pads on the first attempt to pass the MOT. But for some reason, these were ignored the second time around.
Long story short, already called the MOT center which said the brakes were rusty but didn't require changing. I think I can dispute that after 2 indy garages telling me they do. Just wanted to see what people on here think, photos below:
https://photos.app.goo.gl/EeSDjxQyTiXBSX7d6
Don't think brake pads are totally worn out but was advised they need to be changed along with the discs. Am I in my right to dispute the MOT or is this amount of rust okay?
Thanks in advance.
P.S. Make & Model: Vauxhall Astra SXi 1.4 Petrol 2008 Manual
Tap your reg into Amazon and see what prices you get, I had a look and for sub £60 it looks like you'll get front discs and pads for an Astra.Looking at the MOT history of the vehicle, it actually had several advisory items about the brakes and pads on the first attempt to pass the MOT. But for some reason, these were ignored the second time around.
Long story short, already called the MOT center which said the brakes were rusty but didn't require changing. I think I can dispute that after 2 indy garages telling me they do. Just wanted to see what people on here think, photos below:
https://photos.app.goo.gl/EeSDjxQyTiXBSX7d6
Don't think brake pads are totally worn out but was advised they need to be changed along with the discs. Am I in my right to dispute the MOT or is this amount of rust okay?
Thanks in advance.
P.S. Make & Model: Vauxhall Astra SXi 1.4 Petrol 2008 Manual
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