Depends on the garage, if they repair it, they just test the fails.
If you take it away from the premises, they are "Supposed" to fully=20 retest it. Some do, some don't.
--=20 The poster formerly known as Skodapilot.
oo yeah, senators are great.
Job jobbed:
Booked for another MOT tomorrow. Wish me luck!
Douglas
Good luck! Out of interest, why did you keep on having to pay for retests? And why didn't they just re-test the failures?
Peter
Laziness.
I originally booked it at a garage a few miles away who has done some work on cars I've been driving in the past, but getting there for 8am and getting back to the flat is a bit of a PITA then getting back there to pick the bugger up is worse.
He failed it on a few points, fair cop, realised he slightly overstretched the mark when he asked for about £500 to sort it bearing in mind I only payed £350 for the car.
I called in some favours and had the work done elsehwere for nothing. His wording on the fail sheetwas a bit unclear which led to the next problem.
Took it back and asked him what he meant by "rust near rear seatbelt mount" which the garage that did that work had taken to mean the sill which they had sorted. Glad I asked him before the test started - he told me the wheelarch was the problem and an instant fail.
He gave me a bit of the runaround saying all sorts of "oh but I dont to bodywork welding" about the wheelarch. I was slightly pissed off cos what the f*ck was he going to charge me £500 for? He gave me details of a bloke nearby that does welding who gave me a vague approximation of an area where someone else who might not be so busy might be. Couldnt be arsed as I was working till 10:30pm the night before.
I asked another tester at another garage on the way home - he didn't think it to be all that serious and said he wouldn't fail it on the wheelarch, but was booked up for a week so I was a bit demoralised and went back to bed.
So I haven't technically had any retests yet and I was informed that failing on something structural would require a full test and appropriate fee.
Heading for my 3rd MOT but I am learning! (c:
Douglas
After all this talk of retesting I've just taken it to the place that failed it last (the one near my flat) and they are going to see if they can fit in a retest later this afternoon. If it fails I can try the booked full test at the other place tomorrow. You never know.
Douglas
Ah, I know it well!
Got a push-bike? If not, get one (any old cheap shit for £20 out of the local paper) and chuck it in the car. Make sure you've got a rope handy as you might not be able to shut the boot.
Erm....well I was going to say they've taken you for a ride, but if you got it done for nothing you can't complain. If it's a seatbelt mount then there should be something reasonably close to the seatbelt mount that obviously needs sorting!
Did it cost you much to get the wheel arch sorted? What was the extra bit they failed it on?
Well yes and no. It shouldn't if it hasn't left the garage who MOTd it, and even if it has, it's at their discretion whether or not they charge you for the full retest or not, but for certain things like structural failures they
*should* carry out a full retest. Doesn't neccessarily mean they will. Quite often if they remember testing the car, and remember certain aspects were fine, then they'll probably skip that bit of the test, and just concentrate on the dodgy bits.Heh! You taking it to the place that did the wheel arch? Are they charging you for the retest?
Peter
LOL, been there and done that. I rode the 15 miles from the "tame" garage to my parents house once in a headwind when my (then my mother's) 205 was having an MOT. Sufficed to say I now smoke and drink a lot more, and am a good bit lazier not that its a bad idea!
The seatbelt is bolted to a piece of metal nearly an inch thick, which is still OK, but the arch is within 12 inches. The tester whose opinion I sought said I should complain to the ministry and appeal. I couldnt really be arsed with that caper and fair enough it is pretty much the opinion of the tester as to whether or not its passable.
Extra bit was the chassis leg rust that nobody else had noticed (see original post for pic).
The wheelarch cost me £10 for a scrap bonnet to get some flat, bendable metal and £5 for some filler. My mate has recently bought a welder and is always game for a laugh. He did the wheelarch and the chassis leg patch for owt as long as I provided him with encouragement. I suspect I owe him a pint or 5.
I haven't paid anything for labour so far apart from 2 MOTs at seperate testing stations. The work has all been done away from MOT testing premises either at a garage where I called in a favour from my old boss or at my mate's driveway/single garage.
I have another post in this thread regarding retests, hopefully it'll all come to fruition and I'll be a happy Carlton driving pixie again later today. We shall see. I am a bit more hopeful this afternoon than I was this morning.
I never even thought of asking the 2nd garage for a free retest after the
1st one refused when I asked.My car has been without an MOT for about 6 weeks now. I just want the bloody thing road legal now.
Douglas
Epilogue: Followed advice re asking for an MOT retest, took it to the place round the corner and asked when they could fit it in, they told me it would be free but they were taking bookings for next thursday. I smiled sweetly and fluttered my eyelashes (or something) and they said they'd see what they could do. Went back at 4pm just to see if my car was still where I left it in the car park and it wasn't. Went inside and asked about my car, and the man gave me the keys and the certificate. Score!
My mate wasnt too proud of his welding as it wasnt the tidyest of jobs, I think he was more nervous than me.
Anyway, hurrah for free retests!
Douglas
Nice one. So how much did it cost all in all to get through the MOT, including test fees?
Peter
Here's a small timeline as well (c:
MOT 1: £40.75 - failed on structural rust on the sills and suchlike. Also told he would charge me for a full retest. Work 1: £0 - In exchange for a few days work here and there for my old boss I got: rear suspension bush, some welding, an anti-roll bar droplink and some more welding from the mechanic my boss uses, my boss pays and I work it off whenever I can. The bill was £200 - £300. MOT 2: £0 - took it back for full price retest, bloke told me wheelarch needed sorting before test started. Work 2: £15.49 - Sorted wheelarch with an old bonnet from the scrappy, some filler and my mate's welding ingenuity. We used some primer he had in his garage to stop it rusting straight away and I used some epoxy resin I had to stick the plastic wheelarch trim back to the top of the wheelarch - at this point I considered a lotus carlton curved rear wheelarch conversion, but bottled out: 9 inch grinders scare me. MOT 3: £36 - Different place this time and got a discount for being an AA member - failed on chassis leg rust. Work 3: £0 - me and mate welded patch on, painted with hammerite he had in his garage. MOT 4: £0 Simple retest, free (hurrah) and it passed. Cool huh?
This has taken since the 7th of april. I have been without a road legal means of transport since the MOT expired on the 14th of april, but price wise I have spent just under a £100 of my own money.
Douglas
The AA gargaes are OK aren't they, they are the ones that tested the=20 missuses Fabia, and My Saab.
failed both, but were happy to let me do the fixes on mine for a free=20 retest. Hers was a little more intensive and she needed it fixed same=20 day, so I let them do it.
--=20 The poster formerly known as Skodapilot.
"The AA gargaes are OK aren't they, they are the ones that tested the missuses Fabia, and My Saab.
failed both, but were happy to let me do the fixes on mine for a free retest. Hers was a little more intensive and she needed it fixed same day, so I let them do it."
Yeah, I was a bit wary of them because they fitted glow plugs to a 306 Diesel I was looking after and managed to break part of the injection pump. Not a serious bit, it was a switch that did something to the glowplugs when the throttle was opened past a certain point when the engine was cold - something emissions related I think.
Anyway, they have always been fairly honest at MOTing and pretty good about the free retest thing, that was about a week between it failing and me going back, and I didnt tell them I was planning to come back.
I'm just happy to be motoring again.
Douglas
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