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Variation in MOT test standard

Mate got a Groupon voucher for service and MOT on his 2002 Fiesta.

MOT failed on Rear offside amber indicator not sufficiently amber. Cut rear tyre showing to ply. Front to rear brake pipe nearside excessive corrosion. Front to rear brake pipe offside excessive corrosion. Rear brake pipe nearside excessive corrosion. Rear brake pipe offside excessive corrosion. Nearside rear suspension bush excessive movement. Offside rear suspension bush excessive movement.

Quoted, bulb ~£3, tyre ~£40 (had it done), brake pipes £180, bushes £180. Said they had to drill the bushes out and it was a nasty job.

OK so I could do the bake pipe for the cost of a length of copper tube maybe 1hr. Had a look at bushes ~£25. Manual says take rear suspension off. Piston heads says put car on rear stands, remove wheels, drop exhaust on to suspension, support torsion beam, undo bush bolts, lower beam on to blocks. Use a bush extractor ~£35 off E-bay or £120 for "pro" tool. I'd go for bit of heat from a blow torch before.

Then without doing any of the work except the tyre he took it to Halfords and it passed. Was advised to grease his brake pipes.

Reply to
Peter Hill
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This is why: when you find somewhere you trust you keep using them. I pay more and travel further than I could, but I get reliable tests (about 50 a year) without anything invented or misinterpreted. I found them by accident !!

Most of the things you mention are 'in the opinion of the tester' items.

Reply to
Mrcheerful

I used to use a local outfit called Just MoTs. They weren't a garage so they had no financial interest in any repair work that might be required to get a vehicle up to standard. This seemed to work well.

Reply to
D A Stocks

Do you have a view on local authorities with their own garages/MoT testers who have no motive to fail as they can't do any work to fix failures? I have driven c.8 miles to one for the past few years (since the closure of the local MoT place I'd used for c.20 years). They failed 'er indoors car last year but on that and on advisories have seemed spot on.

Reply to
Robin

I've used one, once. They made it very plain that they did not want me there, but they couldn't refuse me under the terms of being a test centre. They seemed to delight in trying to find as many minor irrelevances to fail or advise on as possible.

Frankly, never again.

Reply to
Adrian

That equates with the one my LA used to run: anyone other than council vehicles/employees equalled someone to try and alienate.

Reply to
Mrcheerful

MOT is always nerve wrecking time. Will I have a car to get to work? Will there be expensive rectification bills?

I try to anticipate. E.g. I fitted 120% light bulbs since headlamp MOT output can be a nightmare. Made sure all lights were working. Fitted new reg plate, since front one had a crack.

Failure: Invisible cut in rear tyre. The tyre shop actually said it was a small crack due to age of tyre. I have never thought of that. Doh! Still happy that problem was easily fixable.

Reply to
johannes

Many people regard the MoT as being on a par with a visit to the dentist !!

One of the reasons for always fitting new tyres to the rear of the car is to avoid the rear tyres cracking up before they are worn out. As to the MoT: surface cracks are not a failure unless they expose the cords of the tyre.

Reply to
Mrcheerful

Interesting. The one I use is happy enough to deal with the public that they now have an online system for booking MoTs. Plus armchairs and a machine with decent coffeee for use while chewing fingernails :)

Reply to
Robin

It's also a good idea to put new tyres on the rear cos they need to have the best grip

Many people regard the MoT as being on a par with a visit to the dentist !!

One of the reasons for always fitting new tyres to the rear of the car is to avoid the rear tyres cracking up before they are worn out. As to the MoT: surface cracks are not a failure unless they expose the cords of the tyre.

Reply to
bluefrom

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