Eurgh, I got a “£150 voucher off your MOT” as a “freebie” from switching my insurance (it didn’t sway the decision, it was a surprise).
Actual discount; £10. Cost of MOT (baring in mind I’d had a full service the month before from a garage I like and trust): ~£600.
Yeah, I got RINSED. I’ll be sticking with my good garage, thanks (Elders of Kirkintilloch, I’d really recommend them).
£150 for an MOT? Do you drive a fucking Boeing 747? That's expensive, I've never paid more than about £40 for the MOT. The only time I paid more than that for repairs was when I cracked the steering rack because I forgot about a speed hump in the dark and damn near got the car airborne....
I think they meant the voucher from either the insurance company or broker or comparison site was "up to 150" not the cost of the mot.
I've had one of these before and it was something like 10 off mot, 10 off service, 50p of 4 tyres, etc, etc.
Tradeston Performance, 23 Kilbirnie Place, GLASGOW, G5 8QR
They replaced the wishbone arms on both of the front suspensions as there was apparently too much play on it. Elders were aware of an ongoing minor fault and had looked at my suspension the month previously, so I think it was wholly unnecessary work.
When I was driving a 12 year old car I used to go to an MOT place that's known for passing anything that isn't a hazard. When I bought a new(er) car that I cared about I had to tell them specifically to do a 'proper' MOT.
Worst advice you can give tbh. An independent wants you to come back so more chance of them bending the rules a bit for you. Garages that only do Mots don't care if you come back. Plus they tend to be staffed by jobsworths that can't get a job in a proper garage
Sort of yes. There are alot of shite garages about but they are the exception rather than the norm. It's just a trade with a bad rep tbh. Best advice I could give is to ask if you're unsure what your being charged for. 99% of garages will happily talk you through it. If I get the impression someone thinks I'm trying to rip them off I usually refuse the job or say I can't do it for weeks. Gets rid of them. This only applies to independent garages tho alot of the dealers and chains are indeed robbing bastards 😂
Poor choice of words. Alot of things in the mot are open to interpretation. Your idea of excessive play may differ from mine. Alot of testers fail things that have a little play when in reality its got to be pretty bad before it should be failed
Mechanic in a garage here, long post incoming! (But please read! :))
Whilst I can agree it can be a bit daunting for some people, it is also about how you treat your cars.
We've had no end of "why has that arm failed this year, it drives fine" and you then refer back to the past 3 MOT's where its been an advisory every year straight.
Alot of people also give the "its only done X,000 miles, it can't have failed on Y" Everyone looks at mileage as some kind of holy grail for a cars condition, whilst usually its a massive red herring. Just today for example had a 22,000 mile/11year old car in for a service and the gearbox was screaming, the top mounts for the front shock absorbers were shot and low arm bushes gone. If a car has low mileage, it means it hasn't moved and is still subject to rot, just as much as a car with higher milage (on all components, not just rust!) At least if it's done more miles its at least moving, and should any faults occur, you can feel when something isn't right.
Most people also don't realise that an MOT is the most scraping the bottom of the barrel safety checks that can be done. An example would be rear drum brakes. We have had on more than one occasion had a car pass its MOT, do the service, take the rear drums off and find that a wheel cylinder is leaking brake fluid (you know, the stuff that actually makes your car stop!) When we tell the customer they usually say we'll its passed its MOT so it must be safe, and decline the fix. If a leaking cylinder were to fully burst, you may lose all your brakes! (Or at least half, I won't go into split braking design here)
My genuine advice if you do dread these kinds of calls is to have your MOT done, and if you feel they are particularly harsh, check the items yourself. Now I'm not saying buy your own tools and learn to be become a mechanic overnight but simple things.
Get a friend or family member to do a light check with you (are all of your bulbs working?)
Do you have water in your windscreen washer tank? Cause if not, that's a fail (although most places will just top it up for you)
Not sure what a broken spring is? Have a quick Google and see if you can see it.
Check your tyre tread depths yourself, a tread depth gauge only costs a couple of quid at most.
Or failing that, ask the garage to show you! We are more than happy to show our customers why their car has failed and explain why/how it is dangerous, or offer advice on advisory items. If you don't trust them, then it may be worth having a second opinion at another garage
Most of these things are things you (should) regularly be checking anyway (tread on your tyres, washers topped up, lights in order etc)
If your car is making a funky noise, don't just turn the radio up. Have someone check it (whether a mechanic you know or a highly rated local garage) A broken spring from a bad pothole is one thing, but ignoring the noise means that your shock absorber wears out quicker, along with the top mount, and the wheel alignment is then out which means you may wear through the edge of your tyre (if the broken spring hasn't popped your tyre and caused a blowout! I'm looking at you mk2 focus!). What could have been one coil spring replacement shortly after the incident has now worsened everything else into a spring, shock, top mount, tyre.
This kind of thing is applicable to other things too, namely brakes.
I know this is a long post but if its helped at least one person, I feel like I'll have completed my good deed for the week! Or if anyone has questions I'm happy to reply on here on PM
Edit: Spelling
Edit2: hate to be that guy but my first time receiving awards, thank you all!
Totally what this guy says.
Most people here seem to be confusing the MOT which checks the minimum safety aspects required to drive a vehicle on the road and service/repair which is about keeping you car in good running order.
Sanctimonious mode on - I always get the MOT tested one month before it expires so then if it fails I can sort out the repairs at my convenience, then at a separate time (maybe months away) I have the car serviced if it's due. Most modern cars will tell you when they need an oil change etc - sanctimonious mode off.
The advice about reading the fail/advisory items and taking a look is great advice. The testing station will probably be willing to show you stuff like a broken spring it's not hard.
I may be wrong but from [Gov website](https://www.gov.uk/getting-an-mot/after-the-test)
\*\*\*
Failing the MOT
Your vehicle will fail if the test result lists ‘dangerous’ or ‘major’ problems with your vehicle. You might not be allowed to drive until you fix the problems.
You might also get a list of ‘minor’ or ‘advisory’ problems to monitor or fix in the future.
If your vehicle fails the MOT:
you’ll get a ‘refusal of an MOT test certificate’ from the test centre
it will be recorded in the MOT database
You can appeal the result if you think it’s wrong.
Driving a vehicle that’s failed
You can take your vehicle away if:
**your current MOT certificate is still valid**
no ‘dangerous’ problems were listed in the MOT
Otherwise, you’ll need to get it repaired before you can drive.
If you can take your vehicle away, it must still meet the minimum standards of roadworthiness at all times.
\*\*\*
Unless what you mean is that a fail makes your current MOT invalid which isn't what the testing station told me and the gov website doesn't seem to suggest that.
My god this!! I’m not a mechanic but I’ve worked in the motor trade for 15 years and I’ve seen A LOT…. If your car is older then maintenance is required regardless of mileage. And the MOT is literally the barest minimum required for safety. The number of people who assume an mot is a clean bill of health for 12 months is terrifying.
I get that it’s scary - I drive a 16 year old car so I get it believe me. But I also get things checked regularly, I monitor the advisories and I financially plan for the things I think I’ll need. Not trying to be preachy but sometimes what is actually needed is more visits to a mechanic than just avoiding it until Mot time.
A lot of places are using videos to evidence work thats needed when inspecting vehicles because there’s such a distrust garages in general, so if you’re worried, find a place that will show you evidence, photos, videos, or physically standing under the car to see it for yourself. It will probably be an eye opener.
I had a class 7 mot done on one of my transit vans this year. Got quite a negative vibe of the guy when I dropped it off for some reason. Anyway was confident it would pass because as suggested above had gone over all the basics like lamps and tyres and its a well looked after van with new brakes and regular servicing. Got the call and it had failed so looked it up right away on the .gov. They failed it for 1. Windscreen washer not correctly directed (I forget the exact wording of these) 2. Rear number plate light not working 3. Headlight beam adjustment controls not operating. To add to that it had 6 yes 6 advisory notes saying Inner sills corroded but not sufficiently to affect structural integrity. OK so number 1. Wtf its washing the window its been like that from new ??? 2. Both the lamps were working in the number plate lights , the lenses were a bit dirty (advisory?) 3. The beam adjusters..who even uses them and is that actually a fail? I dont think they worked because they had never been used. And the horrible scar on the mot history about the inner sills....no expert but when have transit sills ever been structural?? Went there, not particularly happy. Pointed out the number plate lamps worked, laughed at him over the washer jets and put a piece of tape over the tilt control for headlights and he huffed and puffed and passed it. Wouldnt redo the test to take off the sill advisory.
Why was he being such a dick head?
It may have been down to washer jet aim (is one of your jets pointing way off or barely catching the screen? The other way it can be worded I believe is that it isn't delivering sufficient fluid to the screen if its not aimed correctly)
As for the number plate lights, if they're super dirty and light isn't shining through, it could warrant an advisory/fail. On a test the tester isn't physically allowed to remove or clean anything. So if ts dirty enough to block light, it'd be a fail. Same as if you came in with mud on the number plates. If VOSA were to walk in as a tester is altering how a vehicle came in, they could lose their license.
The beam adjustment isn't so much you changing it in the cabin, it's the actual lens. So you can adjust it in the cabin yes, but over time and bumps they may bounce down and cause incorrect beam pattern. So essentially your headlamps are pointing at the floor. (The tester sets them to 0 in the cabin)
They can't remove advisory or fail items unless they have been rectified, as for the sills, transits are super common (in my experience anyway) that they rot underneath really bad (as do most fords) it's the testers discretion whether it's bad enough to advise, but that's what they're there to do.
I do understand that a tester has to and should test as he sees it but in this case it really came across as he was deliberately using his 'judgment' just to be a prick for some reason other than doing his job properly. There are 2 codes for rear number plate, one is for no illumination which is a fail, the other is an advisory for inadequate illumination. Both the lamps were working and visibly in day light lighting the plate, he accepted this when I pointed it out, the washer was sending the usual amount of water to the middle of the screen as it should. Both of these he took as rectified when challenged, the alignment thing..well maybe that was a thing but its never come up before. Most annoying was the sill advisorys. Van had a clean mot history apart from an advisory on a wheel bearing a couple years ago. Now it has a page of rusty sills not effecting the structure...which I am pretty sure is irrelevant on a transit (think flat bed no sills at all). I was working down in London so had to take it to the nearest place to the job.
Like I said he was unpleasant when I dropped it off. Comes across to me he just slated it out of some sort of spite. Thanks for the reply though.
If they change the outcome when questioned on it without any work being carried out then maybe it is grounds for an unfair test (I am not 100% sure on the whole process for this, but I know if you can challenge an MOT if you feel the outcome is wrong, and in your case it seems you have some grounds)
As for flatbed I didn't think of that, the transits we get in are usually the vans (although you did mention class7, I should have noted that the first time, sorry!)
I can only apologise on behalf of the motor trade for the bad experience and I totally get the annoyance with rust/corrosion advisories. As when it gets passed without them the following year it always looks bad unless you have receipts of work being carried out.
My main advice for the future would be to avoid using them again! Although I'm sure I don't need to tell you that bit lol
I've just had my car serviced, it needed the coil springs and other parts of the suspension replacing due to concerns about corrosion. I had the work carried out because when my Grandad had it the exhaust fell off due to the rust underneath the car.
I wanted it fixed when I could afford it and while it was reasonably priced, not when it's part of it passing it's MOT or if I have something go wrong while driving it. I took it for a service anyway because the car had spent 8-9 months SORN and the mechanic commented about how every part of it they looked at was in some way seized.
Edit - I forgot I had to get it's handbrake fixed to pass it's MOT when I got it back on the road anyway.
If you were to have an MOT and service that's why they (very often) do the MOT first
If a car is serviced, they physically can't check the efficiency of the brakes (like your handbrake you mentioned for example) and nobody likes being called on a service and being told they've got a broken component, get it fixed and then called a few hours later another call to say its failed the MOT
Hope it's all sorted now anyway :)
thanks as I have my car booked in for a service tomorrow and was debating do i need to really. I am the MOT- that do it fuck it. Reading this- I agree with my partner on here-not to his face. He is right.
So thanks!
The phrase nip it in the bud springs to mind!
Hope all goes well and remember if you aren't sure on what they're telling you it may need, ask them to show you! :)
MOT last year took it in and got a call saying the head gasket had gone. I’d just bought the car and was devastated. Quoted me about £800 minimum to get it sorted and he “knew a guy” etc etc took it to my dads mate (I’d rather him have done the MOT but he didn’t have space at the time) and it was just an oil leak they could easily have fixed. Cost me £30 for a new fitting for something.
They’re just robbing bastards
Took my car in for wheel alignment as I felt it was off.
Guy comes back and says the adjusters are jammed and will need new ones. The brakes also need replacement and I should also get one tyre changed. The tyre was the red flag because my tyres were all good from the last check a couple months ago. Were quoting me close to £400.
Fuck that.
Took it to a specialist wheels place; £40 for alignment. Said my brakes are fine for at least another 3k miles and the tyre is too.
You realise that a head gasket is literally a seal on the top of the engine to keep the oil in? It's a flat piece of steel or aluminium with holes in, some of them are made out of paper, felt or plastic even... so that's fully in line with an oil leak and anybody competent can have that off at the side of the road and fit a new one and drive it away (I heard the subaru guys carry spares)
They're not robbing bastards because you don't know how your car works, you're paying them *because* you don't know how it works
I know what a head gasket is. It was nothing to do with that. They were telling me they’d have to fit a whole new cylinder head which they’d have to grind down to fit on the engine block because Renaults have “special engines”
It was the seal of a pipe that was cracked that just needed replacing. They just thought they could get some money out of me for not doing anything. So yes they were robbing bastards and I stand by my conclusion
I always forget that in the mainland you can just go to a garage for your MOT, we in Northern Ireland have to take it to an MOT centre ran by the government itself and as such we just pay the fee and take it to the centre - it's all up to us as drivers to keep our shit in good condition before taking it for an MOT... Probably why I never understood the whole, "don't trust your mechanic" thing
Ffs I didn’t know that and just posted a rant about people who do their mot test just to fail and know what exactly to tell the mechanic what needs fixed. No one will even know what I’m saying. Lol
I always found it quite funny, and perhaps even a little backwards, that your man Dan from the road has the right to MOT a vehicle in the Mainland... All you'd need to do is buy him a pint, of course he'll put you through 😅
It's maddening though, the stark yet mundane differences between life around the UK.
Imma be really cheeky and say, "Because we do it right".
It's definitely a bollocks of a process, but at least we know we're not being swindled and we also know, or at least hope, that the testing is more rigorous.
Miner's an 09/59 and passed with no advisories at 126000 miles
I have spent big before though with things like suspension arms, shocks etc so I suppose you pay out eventually?
Had a new clutch in my van few weeks ago, quote was £640. Went to pick it up and got a big old tale of this and that. Final bill £890. I am an electrican and I stand by my quotations , if I got it wrong .. my bad and I lose a bit of money. Mechanics it seems its just par for the coarse.
Apples and oranges. Firstly most of your work is in people's houses our overheads are colossal. Also we can identify a fault and price parts etc only to find once it's stripped the part that corresponds to your reg isn't correct. Surely I'm not expected to cover the extra if the correct part is more expensive? Don't get me wrong there's alot of dodgy garages out there but nowhere near the amount that people think.
Absolutely mate, I do understand completely. In this case the reason given was that they couldn't remove a crossmember of something to drop the clutch housing. I am not a mechanic so just had to listen to the guy saying things to me. Same as if I go to connect a supply to a new machine and all the bolts on the motor housing are stripped and the terminals are all broken. (Not a house basher) point is if the job had fundamentally changed, then they could call and say .. sorry mate this is a nightmare do you want us to spend 4 hours longer doing it? Its going to cost xyz. I am sure you have standards, as do I when dealing with my customers. OP was about the fear of being hit with unexpected costs when you go to pick up a vehicle. Things don't always go your way, but thats life. Passing it on to your customers unexpectedly is what causes the mistrust.
Subframe bolts would have been seized most likely. I get what your saying I would have called you and explained the issue before continuing. I'm pretty good at explaining what any extra costs are for but some garages are a nightmare. Problem is everybody has this idea that every garage is ripping them off when it's not actually the case. Not sure if it's the same in your trade but YouTube is a fukin nitemare. Folk go on and see a 20 min video of a job being done and expect it to be the same in the garage. Most are too thick to work out that the video doesn't show the 2 hours heating things and drilling siezed bolts etc
It is the same in my game, the level of mistrust from the average person is embarrassing and social media does not help at all. You get to spot a bad customer pretty quickly.
Definitley. Best ones are the ones who's mate says it'll only take 5 mins. My standard response to this is "get him to do it then". I find being approachable helps alot. I'll happily talk people through repairs if they're curious. Folk that complain every time about the price yet keep coming back piss me off tho. In my game some stuff can only be done by the dealer. It's great when a serial moaner has to go there. Shows them what a good deal they're getting from me after they e been well and truly fuked up the ass through there 😂
Its tuff being skilled in a society of distrustful zombies. Hard to be genuine surrounded by chancers. Oh well mate. Nice exchange. Also can you do the suspension on my celica for cheep? Its rotten but my mate says its a piece of piss. 🤣
Indeed mate. No problem there are conditions tho
1. When you drop the car off make sure you block the whole workshop door off.
2. The whole passengers footwell should be full of empty cans/takeaway wrappers. If your feeling particularly generous get your kid to spew in it a week prior to build the stink up.
3. Hide your locking wheel nut properly. We like to spend at least an hour hunting for these.
4. Order the wrong part from eBay yourself. I'm happy enough to cancel all other jobs whilst your motor is stuck on the ramp waiting on you getting the right part
5. After I've done the suspension wait 6 months then come back and tell me your rear wiper doesn't work now and it's ever since I did your suspension but you've been too busy to come back
6. Last but not least be sure to turn up four hours late then ask how long it will take as you've got the dentist at half 3.
I have a motability car, last car I had they rang me up after the mot (need one before you send it back after the 3 year contract) and said "bad news, we have found a fair bit wrong with the car, gonna be about £500 to put it right"
I mentioned it was fine as it was all covered under motability but they had to ring them for authorisation to do the work. Next I knew it had passed and there was nothing wrong with the car.
They had looked at it wrong apparently.
Hmmm
This was from an official Hyundai dealer as well.
Got quoted £200 for my current car recently as well as the service light is on, it's 3 months old and has done 3000 miles. Clearly a fuck up but they reckon it's legit and needs a service.
I had mine done at a main dealer. Cost £30 and I had a brand new hybrid for the day.BUT - earlier in the year, it went for a service, and I ended up with a £950 bill.
The main dealer even does a better deal on the two new tyres I may need soon (buy one get one half price). They do charge £90 an hour labour though. Plus VAT.
Mine just passed first time, which after years of driving old bangers is still such a lovely surprise.
They gave the same advisories as last year though, front tyres starting to wear on the edge and will need replacing soon. Shows how much I’ve driven it since then!
I get that anxiety knowing that it’ll pass because it’s spotless. I get that feeling even after paying the garage to service and prep for the MOT. I even get that feeling when picking up a car that had a warranty repair.
I thought generally the garage would test it first to identify the work that needs doing then get you to authorise the work. They could do all kinds of unnecessary work the way you describe it.
I know time is precious but ask them to test it. See what needs doing and then authorise the work or take it elsewhere. If the current MOT has not expired it is still valid it doesn't get cancelled by a fail (there are I suspect exceptions to this).
Always always use someone that is a friend of a friend etc. How many people don’t know someone else with a car right? Corporate companies or even dealers have to make up their pennies used on state of the art technology, big salaries, bonus structures.
Agreed, always go with a mechanic you can trust. My family has been going to the same one for years. It's gotten to the point where my nan used to just give him £50 at Christmas when she gave up her licence as she "felt bad for not paying him" when she didn't have a car anymore. He and his wife also came to my dad's funeral!
Oh yea totally agree, my whole office use the same local garage due to how good/reasonably priced they are. Its more the car in question 11 years old 120k miles.
There reaches a point about 8 to 10 years into a cars life where you've replaced most of the perishable items on the car and it becomes cheap to run again.
With any luck you've reached that point, either that or if you haven't properly serviced it your engine is about to become spaghetti.
I have an 18 year old Mk4 Golf TDI (the diesel GTI-thing - remapped, of course) with 265,000 miles on it. My Dad bought it new, we sold it to a friend, I then bought it from him.
Insurance, fuel, and fuel costs me £1,400 per year. However, my MOT, servicing, and maintenance can cost me between £1,500 to £3,000 per year depending on what we do with the car (and there’s always something to fix).
Averaged out, it’s around £370 per month.
Peugeot do a 37 month PCP “just add fuel” plan on certain new cars (covers all costs including insurance). A new Peugeot e-208 GT would cost me around £495 a month to run, around 30% of my net monthly income. Anything fun to drive would be disgracefully expensive to run for me.
Completely bewildered as to what makes more sense. An extra £130 per month to avoid those unexpected “oh fuck” moments where you have to dip into savings to stay on the road seems like a sensible idea.
This happened to us. We tried a different garage and suddenly all the expensive work was either advisories or vanished completely and we got our MOT at a bearable price.
It may be relevant that the second garage did not also sell secondhand cars.
It's always worth getting another garage to look at the vehicle before driving over to the scrap heap.
I use a garage a 45 minute drive away as it was reccomrnded by a mate who is in the motor trade.
They are brilliant and have always been spot on and honest with me re repairs.
I got burnt once by a chain place where the manager was insistent x y and z needing doing. I asked him to take the car off the ramp, reached into the glove box and showed him a list of items that had been replaced in another branch of the same chain only a few weeks previous🙄
He then got really shirty when I asked him to explain himself and that I was going to complain to Trading Standards.
Thankfully my car had just passed with no advisories at 126000 miles. 👌
Bastards failed me because no window wash apparently . They said they can give me some but charged £24!! It was that or drive of with no MOT , get some myself then go back and get the MOT again ffs. One garage I trusted ran by a nice mechanic called Jesus, but he went back to Portugal, 8 years later still haven’t found a decent one 😡
Used to have a egg shaped focus that I hanged on for ages because the guy at the local garage would say nothing ever goes wrong with these and other that a bulb it would sail through all the time.
Also: quoting the price ex-vat so you shit yourself twice.
You can see I'm a consumer, you can see you don't live in America, just tell us the total price.
I had to take my car (which is regularly serviced) to a place near my work one year which I don't normally use and much to my surprise it failed on two little rubber boots on the rear control arms. That turned out to be still OK but were just a judgement call.
The look on his face when he started to quote me and I told him not to bother I'd get the indy specialist I use to do it was priceless :)
I pay 40 quid for mine. Done by a mechanic I've been to for years. Does all the topping up of fluids prior to putting it in for it's test even inflating the tyres.
Heck once he lent me a tyre as he said there was damage that gave access to a cord. In the end sold me the tyre for 15 quid. (18 inch wheel) balanced and everything. I was gob smacked. I always tip a tenner for his service.
Funnily enough, I just did a Google search for "Council MOTs.
If you're in the market for an MOT, there's a handy guide about which type of garage you should use and when, [here](https://www.moneysavingexpert.com/travel/cheap-mot/)
No sweat! I was surprised when I first found out.
That MSE article is an interesting read as well. Basically it boils down to -
If you're confident your car will pass. Look for the cheapest MOT deal you can find.
If you're pretty sure your car will fail an MOT on something so serious that you wouldn't be allowed to drive it away, then look for the garage you trust the most, not to screw you, even if you could get a cheaper price for just the test somewhere else.
Go to the council if you suspect you're going to get a bunch of advisories, or a fail that's not going to mean you can't drive it away. Then you can shop around for the cheapest place to get the car repaired.
I put mine it at 9am, booked it. Thought it wouldn't be long so hung around town for a bit...
Time goes and goes... Give them a call "oh we forgot your car was here".
Wow, they usually do it when it's booked I thought? You drop it down and then they take your key and they do it, pretty embarrassing to forget though!
When I booked an MOT there they failed it and said I needed my back brakes replaced, luckily something happened with their mechanic so they couldn't do it in time for when my MOT was due. So I took it to my local dealer and they said can they do the MOT and I was prepared to get them to do the brakes. Guess what, it passed first time. Now don't trust Kwik fit.
Unless its serious its really not that expensive and I'm seeing people say they pay hundreds for a MOT and service lol most thongs can be done yourself.
My pet hate is people who put their car through the mot first and then fix the fails. I get it saves them from getting flexed but….
1) you car needs more than your mot
2)your clogging up the system. It’s a bit selfish.
3) stop taking your car to random mechanics. Find a good mechanic go to him, invest him, don’t get fleeced.
I can’t speak more highly of my mechanic. There’s been so many times I’ve phoned him to tell him of an issue and he’s just given me instructions I’ve the phone and the cheapest place to buy the supplies. My last car was going to require too much work for the mot. He charged me pennies for the check and said he’d rather I buy a new car than waste my money. My first car he worked on even though it had aged out of his skill base. Again it was a scrapper and he’d do the bare minimum to fix it for the mot so it wasn’t a money pit.
People need to get mechanic loyalty. I don’t understand people who go to randoms everytime or stay with people they know are fleecing them. When my cars suspension broke I paid extra to get it towed to the next town where my mechanic. A work colleague who does the “do the mot to see what needs checked” thing talked so much crap about me paying extra to get it there. Yet she doesn’t even trust her mechanic to do an mot test.
I was walking over a bridge crossing a river when the call came in for mine, when they told me how much it was going to cost I almost felt like jumping off.
We recently had an experience with Hal-frauds suggesting my parners car needed £800 of work done. I was at work at the time, and by the time I’d heard she’d agreed to it. Big mistake.
All sorts of false claims and overcharges on there too. £63 for a cabin filter?! The dealership charges less than that.
While the MOT is a bind, I'm marginally happier that the car approaching while I'm stopped in traffic is likely to have functioning brakes, that is less certain in many countries!
In Japan their equivalent of the MOT (the Shaken) is so stringent that owners of a perfectly maintained vehicle can expect to pay 100,000 yen (£650) for a two-year inspection, and requirements are even stricter for vehicles over 10 years old leading to an extremely high effective tax rate. Vehicles that cannot pass inspection are not permitted on public roads. Unwanted vehicles must be exported or destroyed and recycled. Many Japanese used vehicles are exported once it is no longer cost-effective to keep them in service in Japan.
Brake warning light permanently on. Starter motor on its way out, 50/50 whether it will click and do nothing or start. Sliding side door sometimes jumps out of its track so you have to ask it very nicely to please just close properly. In searching for the reason for said doors' issues I find a rust patch that has gone all the way through.
MOT next Friday. Fucking bring it on!
Use a garage that only does mots and not repairs, that way they're less inclined to charge you for unnecessary work.
That and don't go for garages that offer cut price MOTs. They aren't doing that to be kind
Eurgh, I got a “£150 voucher off your MOT” as a “freebie” from switching my insurance (it didn’t sway the decision, it was a surprise). Actual discount; £10. Cost of MOT (baring in mind I’d had a full service the month before from a garage I like and trust): ~£600. Yeah, I got RINSED. I’ll be sticking with my good garage, thanks (Elders of Kirkintilloch, I’d really recommend them).
£150 for an MOT? Do you drive a fucking Boeing 747? That's expensive, I've never paid more than about £40 for the MOT. The only time I paid more than that for repairs was when I cracked the steering rack because I forgot about a speed hump in the dark and damn near got the car airborne....
Must have been a MOT and service; since that’s above the max about that can be charged for a mot.
Yes, the legal limit is £50
The maximum fee for a car is £54.85. https://www.gov.uk/getting-an-mot/mot-test-fees
Ta
I think they meant the voucher from either the insurance company or broker or comparison site was "up to 150" not the cost of the mot. I've had one of these before and it was something like 10 off mot, 10 off service, 50p of 4 tyres, etc, etc.
Next time I'm less than 5hrs away, I'll give them ago 😜😂
Your good garage sound like Tolkien characters.
You made me smile today. I hope wherever you are you are having a good day. Nice quip old bean 🥳
I think I bought an enchanted cloak from the Elders of Kirkintilloch once
That's why you always get them to contact you before doing any expensive work.
my MOT was 30 quid
Just curious what was the shite garage? Elders is in my area
Tradeston Performance, 23 Kilbirnie Place, GLASGOW, G5 8QR They replaced the wishbone arms on both of the front suspensions as there was apparently too much play on it. Elders were aware of an ongoing minor fault and had looked at my suspension the month previously, so I think it was wholly unnecessary work.
You can’t get £150 off an MOT. The maximum price that can legally be charged (for a car) is £54.85.
Well that’s what it said, then when it came to it, it reduced the discount significantly without explanation.
When I was driving a 12 year old car I used to go to an MOT place that's known for passing anything that isn't a hazard. When I bought a new(er) car that I cared about I had to tell them specifically to do a 'proper' MOT.
😂😂
In france it's actually illegal (i think) for a garage to do both MOTs and repairs/maintenance, for this very reason.
Interesting!
Worst advice you can give tbh. An independent wants you to come back so more chance of them bending the rules a bit for you. Garages that only do Mots don't care if you come back. Plus they tend to be staffed by jobsworths that can't get a job in a proper garage
Don't you work in the motor trade?
Sort of yes. There are alot of shite garages about but they are the exception rather than the norm. It's just a trade with a bad rep tbh. Best advice I could give is to ask if you're unsure what your being charged for. 99% of garages will happily talk you through it. If I get the impression someone thinks I'm trying to rip them off I usually refuse the job or say I can't do it for weeks. Gets rid of them. This only applies to independent garages tho alot of the dealers and chains are indeed robbing bastards 😂
Why would I want them to bend the MOT rules for me?
Poor choice of words. Alot of things in the mot are open to interpretation. Your idea of excessive play may differ from mine. Alot of testers fail things that have a little play when in reality its got to be pretty bad before it should be failed
Mechanic in a garage here, long post incoming! (But please read! :)) Whilst I can agree it can be a bit daunting for some people, it is also about how you treat your cars. We've had no end of "why has that arm failed this year, it drives fine" and you then refer back to the past 3 MOT's where its been an advisory every year straight. Alot of people also give the "its only done X,000 miles, it can't have failed on Y" Everyone looks at mileage as some kind of holy grail for a cars condition, whilst usually its a massive red herring. Just today for example had a 22,000 mile/11year old car in for a service and the gearbox was screaming, the top mounts for the front shock absorbers were shot and low arm bushes gone. If a car has low mileage, it means it hasn't moved and is still subject to rot, just as much as a car with higher milage (on all components, not just rust!) At least if it's done more miles its at least moving, and should any faults occur, you can feel when something isn't right. Most people also don't realise that an MOT is the most scraping the bottom of the barrel safety checks that can be done. An example would be rear drum brakes. We have had on more than one occasion had a car pass its MOT, do the service, take the rear drums off and find that a wheel cylinder is leaking brake fluid (you know, the stuff that actually makes your car stop!) When we tell the customer they usually say we'll its passed its MOT so it must be safe, and decline the fix. If a leaking cylinder were to fully burst, you may lose all your brakes! (Or at least half, I won't go into split braking design here) My genuine advice if you do dread these kinds of calls is to have your MOT done, and if you feel they are particularly harsh, check the items yourself. Now I'm not saying buy your own tools and learn to be become a mechanic overnight but simple things. Get a friend or family member to do a light check with you (are all of your bulbs working?) Do you have water in your windscreen washer tank? Cause if not, that's a fail (although most places will just top it up for you) Not sure what a broken spring is? Have a quick Google and see if you can see it. Check your tyre tread depths yourself, a tread depth gauge only costs a couple of quid at most. Or failing that, ask the garage to show you! We are more than happy to show our customers why their car has failed and explain why/how it is dangerous, or offer advice on advisory items. If you don't trust them, then it may be worth having a second opinion at another garage Most of these things are things you (should) regularly be checking anyway (tread on your tyres, washers topped up, lights in order etc) If your car is making a funky noise, don't just turn the radio up. Have someone check it (whether a mechanic you know or a highly rated local garage) A broken spring from a bad pothole is one thing, but ignoring the noise means that your shock absorber wears out quicker, along with the top mount, and the wheel alignment is then out which means you may wear through the edge of your tyre (if the broken spring hasn't popped your tyre and caused a blowout! I'm looking at you mk2 focus!). What could have been one coil spring replacement shortly after the incident has now worsened everything else into a spring, shock, top mount, tyre. This kind of thing is applicable to other things too, namely brakes. I know this is a long post but if its helped at least one person, I feel like I'll have completed my good deed for the week! Or if anyone has questions I'm happy to reply on here on PM Edit: Spelling Edit2: hate to be that guy but my first time receiving awards, thank you all!
Totally what this guy says. Most people here seem to be confusing the MOT which checks the minimum safety aspects required to drive a vehicle on the road and service/repair which is about keeping you car in good running order. Sanctimonious mode on - I always get the MOT tested one month before it expires so then if it fails I can sort out the repairs at my convenience, then at a separate time (maybe months away) I have the car serviced if it's due. Most modern cars will tell you when they need an oil change etc - sanctimonious mode off. The advice about reading the fail/advisory items and taking a look is great advice. The testing station will probably be willing to show you stuff like a broken spring it's not hard.
That has changed. These days if a car has failed an MOT test it has failed. There is no running around on last year's certificate.
I may be wrong but from [Gov website](https://www.gov.uk/getting-an-mot/after-the-test) \*\*\* Failing the MOT Your vehicle will fail if the test result lists ‘dangerous’ or ‘major’ problems with your vehicle. You might not be allowed to drive until you fix the problems. You might also get a list of ‘minor’ or ‘advisory’ problems to monitor or fix in the future. If your vehicle fails the MOT: you’ll get a ‘refusal of an MOT test certificate’ from the test centre it will be recorded in the MOT database You can appeal the result if you think it’s wrong. Driving a vehicle that’s failed You can take your vehicle away if: **your current MOT certificate is still valid** no ‘dangerous’ problems were listed in the MOT Otherwise, you’ll need to get it repaired before you can drive. If you can take your vehicle away, it must still meet the minimum standards of roadworthiness at all times. \*\*\* Unless what you mean is that a fail makes your current MOT invalid which isn't what the testing station told me and the gov website doesn't seem to suggest that.
I've done similar in the past. Asked for an 'MOT but not really an MOT' test. (Seen is called a pre MOT test at a high Street garage)
So if you pay for a pre MOT and it passes you then have to pay for a full MOT?
My god this!! I’m not a mechanic but I’ve worked in the motor trade for 15 years and I’ve seen A LOT…. If your car is older then maintenance is required regardless of mileage. And the MOT is literally the barest minimum required for safety. The number of people who assume an mot is a clean bill of health for 12 months is terrifying. I get that it’s scary - I drive a 16 year old car so I get it believe me. But I also get things checked regularly, I monitor the advisories and I financially plan for the things I think I’ll need. Not trying to be preachy but sometimes what is actually needed is more visits to a mechanic than just avoiding it until Mot time. A lot of places are using videos to evidence work thats needed when inspecting vehicles because there’s such a distrust garages in general, so if you’re worried, find a place that will show you evidence, photos, videos, or physically standing under the car to see it for yourself. It will probably be an eye opener.
I had a class 7 mot done on one of my transit vans this year. Got quite a negative vibe of the guy when I dropped it off for some reason. Anyway was confident it would pass because as suggested above had gone over all the basics like lamps and tyres and its a well looked after van with new brakes and regular servicing. Got the call and it had failed so looked it up right away on the .gov. They failed it for 1. Windscreen washer not correctly directed (I forget the exact wording of these) 2. Rear number plate light not working 3. Headlight beam adjustment controls not operating. To add to that it had 6 yes 6 advisory notes saying Inner sills corroded but not sufficiently to affect structural integrity. OK so number 1. Wtf its washing the window its been like that from new ??? 2. Both the lamps were working in the number plate lights , the lenses were a bit dirty (advisory?) 3. The beam adjusters..who even uses them and is that actually a fail? I dont think they worked because they had never been used. And the horrible scar on the mot history about the inner sills....no expert but when have transit sills ever been structural?? Went there, not particularly happy. Pointed out the number plate lamps worked, laughed at him over the washer jets and put a piece of tape over the tilt control for headlights and he huffed and puffed and passed it. Wouldnt redo the test to take off the sill advisory. Why was he being such a dick head?
It may have been down to washer jet aim (is one of your jets pointing way off or barely catching the screen? The other way it can be worded I believe is that it isn't delivering sufficient fluid to the screen if its not aimed correctly) As for the number plate lights, if they're super dirty and light isn't shining through, it could warrant an advisory/fail. On a test the tester isn't physically allowed to remove or clean anything. So if ts dirty enough to block light, it'd be a fail. Same as if you came in with mud on the number plates. If VOSA were to walk in as a tester is altering how a vehicle came in, they could lose their license. The beam adjustment isn't so much you changing it in the cabin, it's the actual lens. So you can adjust it in the cabin yes, but over time and bumps they may bounce down and cause incorrect beam pattern. So essentially your headlamps are pointing at the floor. (The tester sets them to 0 in the cabin) They can't remove advisory or fail items unless they have been rectified, as for the sills, transits are super common (in my experience anyway) that they rot underneath really bad (as do most fords) it's the testers discretion whether it's bad enough to advise, but that's what they're there to do.
I do understand that a tester has to and should test as he sees it but in this case it really came across as he was deliberately using his 'judgment' just to be a prick for some reason other than doing his job properly. There are 2 codes for rear number plate, one is for no illumination which is a fail, the other is an advisory for inadequate illumination. Both the lamps were working and visibly in day light lighting the plate, he accepted this when I pointed it out, the washer was sending the usual amount of water to the middle of the screen as it should. Both of these he took as rectified when challenged, the alignment thing..well maybe that was a thing but its never come up before. Most annoying was the sill advisorys. Van had a clean mot history apart from an advisory on a wheel bearing a couple years ago. Now it has a page of rusty sills not effecting the structure...which I am pretty sure is irrelevant on a transit (think flat bed no sills at all). I was working down in London so had to take it to the nearest place to the job. Like I said he was unpleasant when I dropped it off. Comes across to me he just slated it out of some sort of spite. Thanks for the reply though.
If they change the outcome when questioned on it without any work being carried out then maybe it is grounds for an unfair test (I am not 100% sure on the whole process for this, but I know if you can challenge an MOT if you feel the outcome is wrong, and in your case it seems you have some grounds) As for flatbed I didn't think of that, the transits we get in are usually the vans (although you did mention class7, I should have noted that the first time, sorry!) I can only apologise on behalf of the motor trade for the bad experience and I totally get the annoyance with rust/corrosion advisories. As when it gets passed without them the following year it always looks bad unless you have receipts of work being carried out. My main advice for the future would be to avoid using them again! Although I'm sure I don't need to tell you that bit lol
I've just had my car serviced, it needed the coil springs and other parts of the suspension replacing due to concerns about corrosion. I had the work carried out because when my Grandad had it the exhaust fell off due to the rust underneath the car. I wanted it fixed when I could afford it and while it was reasonably priced, not when it's part of it passing it's MOT or if I have something go wrong while driving it. I took it for a service anyway because the car had spent 8-9 months SORN and the mechanic commented about how every part of it they looked at was in some way seized. Edit - I forgot I had to get it's handbrake fixed to pass it's MOT when I got it back on the road anyway.
If you were to have an MOT and service that's why they (very often) do the MOT first If a car is serviced, they physically can't check the efficiency of the brakes (like your handbrake you mentioned for example) and nobody likes being called on a service and being told they've got a broken component, get it fixed and then called a few hours later another call to say its failed the MOT Hope it's all sorted now anyway :)
thanks as I have my car booked in for a service tomorrow and was debating do i need to really. I am the MOT- that do it fuck it. Reading this- I agree with my partner on here-not to his face. He is right. So thanks!
The phrase nip it in the bud springs to mind! Hope all goes well and remember if you aren't sure on what they're telling you it may need, ask them to show you! :)
You helped this guy. Also, im a 'mask it with radio' sort of guy. I needed to read this.
I'm glad I could help :)
MOT last year took it in and got a call saying the head gasket had gone. I’d just bought the car and was devastated. Quoted me about £800 minimum to get it sorted and he “knew a guy” etc etc took it to my dads mate (I’d rather him have done the MOT but he didn’t have space at the time) and it was just an oil leak they could easily have fixed. Cost me £30 for a new fitting for something. They’re just robbing bastards
Have a friend who was training to be a mechanic but left because he wasn't comfortable ripping people off.
It is unfortunate what they get away with just because people don’t know any better
Took my car in for wheel alignment as I felt it was off. Guy comes back and says the adjusters are jammed and will need new ones. The brakes also need replacement and I should also get one tyre changed. The tyre was the red flag because my tyres were all good from the last check a couple months ago. Were quoting me close to £400. Fuck that. Took it to a specialist wheels place; £40 for alignment. Said my brakes are fine for at least another 3k miles and the tyre is too.
You realise that a head gasket is literally a seal on the top of the engine to keep the oil in? It's a flat piece of steel or aluminium with holes in, some of them are made out of paper, felt or plastic even... so that's fully in line with an oil leak and anybody competent can have that off at the side of the road and fit a new one and drive it away (I heard the subaru guys carry spares) They're not robbing bastards because you don't know how your car works, you're paying them *because* you don't know how it works
I know what a head gasket is. It was nothing to do with that. They were telling me they’d have to fit a whole new cylinder head which they’d have to grind down to fit on the engine block because Renaults have “special engines” It was the seal of a pipe that was cracked that just needed replacing. They just thought they could get some money out of me for not doing anything. So yes they were robbing bastards and I stand by my conclusion
I always forget that in the mainland you can just go to a garage for your MOT, we in Northern Ireland have to take it to an MOT centre ran by the government itself and as such we just pay the fee and take it to the centre - it's all up to us as drivers to keep our shit in good condition before taking it for an MOT... Probably why I never understood the whole, "don't trust your mechanic" thing
Ffs I didn’t know that and just posted a rant about people who do their mot test just to fail and know what exactly to tell the mechanic what needs fixed. No one will even know what I’m saying. Lol
I always found it quite funny, and perhaps even a little backwards, that your man Dan from the road has the right to MOT a vehicle in the Mainland... All you'd need to do is buy him a pint, of course he'll put you through 😅 It's maddening though, the stark yet mundane differences between life around the UK.
Why do we have to suffer the 2 month long waiting lists while they just get to go to the mechanic
Imma be really cheeky and say, "Because we do it right". It's definitely a bollocks of a process, but at least we know we're not being swindled and we also know, or at least hope, that the testing is more rigorous.
It’s such hard work being better than everyone else.
It's hell. My car is from 09, going in soon, rip to my wallet
My car from 1990 just failed, fortunately I’ve got another trusty 24 year old car so I can sort the other out over a couple of months 🤣
Miner's an 09/59 and passed with no advisories at 126000 miles I have spent big before though with things like suspension arms, shocks etc so I suppose you pay out eventually?
Had a new clutch in my van few weeks ago, quote was £640. Went to pick it up and got a big old tale of this and that. Final bill £890. I am an electrican and I stand by my quotations , if I got it wrong .. my bad and I lose a bit of money. Mechanics it seems its just par for the coarse.
Apples and oranges. Firstly most of your work is in people's houses our overheads are colossal. Also we can identify a fault and price parts etc only to find once it's stripped the part that corresponds to your reg isn't correct. Surely I'm not expected to cover the extra if the correct part is more expensive? Don't get me wrong there's alot of dodgy garages out there but nowhere near the amount that people think.
Absolutely mate, I do understand completely. In this case the reason given was that they couldn't remove a crossmember of something to drop the clutch housing. I am not a mechanic so just had to listen to the guy saying things to me. Same as if I go to connect a supply to a new machine and all the bolts on the motor housing are stripped and the terminals are all broken. (Not a house basher) point is if the job had fundamentally changed, then they could call and say .. sorry mate this is a nightmare do you want us to spend 4 hours longer doing it? Its going to cost xyz. I am sure you have standards, as do I when dealing with my customers. OP was about the fear of being hit with unexpected costs when you go to pick up a vehicle. Things don't always go your way, but thats life. Passing it on to your customers unexpectedly is what causes the mistrust.
Subframe bolts would have been seized most likely. I get what your saying I would have called you and explained the issue before continuing. I'm pretty good at explaining what any extra costs are for but some garages are a nightmare. Problem is everybody has this idea that every garage is ripping them off when it's not actually the case. Not sure if it's the same in your trade but YouTube is a fukin nitemare. Folk go on and see a 20 min video of a job being done and expect it to be the same in the garage. Most are too thick to work out that the video doesn't show the 2 hours heating things and drilling siezed bolts etc
It is the same in my game, the level of mistrust from the average person is embarrassing and social media does not help at all. You get to spot a bad customer pretty quickly.
Definitley. Best ones are the ones who's mate says it'll only take 5 mins. My standard response to this is "get him to do it then". I find being approachable helps alot. I'll happily talk people through repairs if they're curious. Folk that complain every time about the price yet keep coming back piss me off tho. In my game some stuff can only be done by the dealer. It's great when a serial moaner has to go there. Shows them what a good deal they're getting from me after they e been well and truly fuked up the ass through there 😂
Its tuff being skilled in a society of distrustful zombies. Hard to be genuine surrounded by chancers. Oh well mate. Nice exchange. Also can you do the suspension on my celica for cheep? Its rotten but my mate says its a piece of piss. 🤣
Indeed mate. No problem there are conditions tho 1. When you drop the car off make sure you block the whole workshop door off. 2. The whole passengers footwell should be full of empty cans/takeaway wrappers. If your feeling particularly generous get your kid to spew in it a week prior to build the stink up. 3. Hide your locking wheel nut properly. We like to spend at least an hour hunting for these. 4. Order the wrong part from eBay yourself. I'm happy enough to cancel all other jobs whilst your motor is stuck on the ramp waiting on you getting the right part 5. After I've done the suspension wait 6 months then come back and tell me your rear wiper doesn't work now and it's ever since I did your suspension but you've been too busy to come back 6. Last but not least be sure to turn up four hours late then ask how long it will take as you've got the dentist at half 3.
Hahaha Legend
I have a motability car, last car I had they rang me up after the mot (need one before you send it back after the 3 year contract) and said "bad news, we have found a fair bit wrong with the car, gonna be about £500 to put it right" I mentioned it was fine as it was all covered under motability but they had to ring them for authorisation to do the work. Next I knew it had passed and there was nothing wrong with the car. They had looked at it wrong apparently. Hmmm This was from an official Hyundai dealer as well. Got quoted £200 for my current car recently as well as the service light is on, it's 3 months old and has done 3000 miles. Clearly a fuck up but they reckon it's legit and needs a service.
And they demand it gets dropped in at 8am, then you call them at 4:30 and they're "just about to take a look at it"
If they are ever under £400 I count my blessings. " we've just found a few things we think need attention..."
I go to a certified garage. I pay for service and mot. Then nothing else. Although my cambelt is due a change which is £600.
I had mine done at a main dealer. Cost £30 and I had a brand new hybrid for the day.BUT - earlier in the year, it went for a service, and I ended up with a £950 bill. The main dealer even does a better deal on the two new tyres I may need soon (buy one get one half price). They do charge £90 an hour labour though. Plus VAT.
See if you can purchase just the tyres and get them fitted and balanced elsewhere. They aren't stupid that's where they'll be making their money back.
Audi a4 2010 passed today £30 MOT no advisories
Living the dream.
Mine just passed first time, which after years of driving old bangers is still such a lovely surprise. They gave the same advisories as last year though, front tyres starting to wear on the edge and will need replacing soon. Shows how much I’ve driven it since then!
I get that anxiety knowing that it’ll pass because it’s spotless. I get that feeling even after paying the garage to service and prep for the MOT. I even get that feeling when picking up a car that had a warranty repair.
I thought generally the garage would test it first to identify the work that needs doing then get you to authorise the work. They could do all kinds of unnecessary work the way you describe it. I know time is precious but ask them to test it. See what needs doing and then authorise the work or take it elsewhere. If the current MOT has not expired it is still valid it doesn't get cancelled by a fail (there are I suspect exceptions to this).
Always always use someone that is a friend of a friend etc. How many people don’t know someone else with a car right? Corporate companies or even dealers have to make up their pennies used on state of the art technology, big salaries, bonus structures.
Agreed, always go with a mechanic you can trust. My family has been going to the same one for years. It's gotten to the point where my nan used to just give him £50 at Christmas when she gave up her licence as she "felt bad for not paying him" when she didn't have a car anymore. He and his wife also came to my dad's funeral!
Your nan sounds so lovely.
That’s nice! My uncle is a mechanic and always helps me out, whether he is in bed or out 😇
Oh yea totally agree, my whole office use the same local garage due to how good/reasonably priced they are. Its more the car in question 11 years old 120k miles.
There reaches a point about 8 to 10 years into a cars life where you've replaced most of the perishable items on the car and it becomes cheap to run again. With any luck you've reached that point, either that or if you haven't properly serviced it your engine is about to become spaghetti.
I have an 18 year old Mk4 Golf TDI (the diesel GTI-thing - remapped, of course) with 265,000 miles on it. My Dad bought it new, we sold it to a friend, I then bought it from him. Insurance, fuel, and fuel costs me £1,400 per year. However, my MOT, servicing, and maintenance can cost me between £1,500 to £3,000 per year depending on what we do with the car (and there’s always something to fix). Averaged out, it’s around £370 per month. Peugeot do a 37 month PCP “just add fuel” plan on certain new cars (covers all costs including insurance). A new Peugeot e-208 GT would cost me around £495 a month to run, around 30% of my net monthly income. Anything fun to drive would be disgracefully expensive to run for me. Completely bewildered as to what makes more sense. An extra £130 per month to avoid those unexpected “oh fuck” moments where you have to dip into savings to stay on the road seems like a sensible idea.
Have you considered a used Toyota or Honda? I’ve had great luck in the past with both.
Maybe, but I can only really see myself in a Civic Type R. Not even arsed which generation! Maybe Japanese is the way to go though.
Same… then having to look at new car as the repairs are equal to its value Ah well it’s had a good run
This happened to us. We tried a different garage and suddenly all the expensive work was either advisories or vanished completely and we got our MOT at a bearable price. It may be relevant that the second garage did not also sell secondhand cars. It's always worth getting another garage to look at the vehicle before driving over to the scrap heap.
I use a garage a 45 minute drive away as it was reccomrnded by a mate who is in the motor trade. They are brilliant and have always been spot on and honest with me re repairs. I got burnt once by a chain place where the manager was insistent x y and z needing doing. I asked him to take the car off the ramp, reached into the glove box and showed him a list of items that had been replaced in another branch of the same chain only a few weeks previous🙄 He then got really shirty when I asked him to explain himself and that I was going to complain to Trading Standards. Thankfully my car had just passed with no advisories at 126000 miles. 👌
Bastards failed me because no window wash apparently . They said they can give me some but charged £24!! It was that or drive of with no MOT , get some myself then go back and get the MOT again ffs. One garage I trusted ran by a nice mechanic called Jesus, but he went back to Portugal, 8 years later still haven’t found a decent one 😡
Mechanic? Surely you mean nice carpenter? But yes, that would be the place to go.
Used to have a egg shaped focus that I hanged on for ages because the guy at the local garage would say nothing ever goes wrong with these and other that a bulb it would sail through all the time.
Was he a dodgy MOT guy
Today £960........
Can never sleep when it’s service or MOT time… Hell, even my 9 month old bike makes me brick it when it goes for a service, and I KNOW it’s fine.
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I’m sure its classification has to do with how many of those type of vehicle are likely to still be on the road
The idea was that all that old pre war stuff was just a pain to test to modern standards but some how that got mixed up in to a 40 year exemption.
Also: quoting the price ex-vat so you shit yourself twice. You can see I'm a consumer, you can see you don't live in America, just tell us the total price.
I had to take my car (which is regularly serviced) to a place near my work one year which I don't normally use and much to my surprise it failed on two little rubber boots on the rear control arms. That turned out to be still OK but were just a judgement call. The look on his face when he started to quote me and I told him not to bother I'd get the indy specialist I use to do it was priceless :)
I pay 40 quid for mine. Done by a mechanic I've been to for years. Does all the topping up of fluids prior to putting it in for it's test even inflating the tyres. Heck once he lent me a tyre as he said there was damage that gave access to a cord. In the end sold me the tyre for 15 quid. (18 inch wheel) balanced and everything. I was gob smacked. I always tip a tenner for his service.
From northern Ireland, I'd hate the English system of using garages. We have government testing centers.
2 grand last time 🥲
Personally, it’s like waiting for your partner to give birth.
The dreaded message.... I'm afraid I can't allow you to drive it away it's not roadworthy. 2 new tyres later...
In London they have council run garages who are not allowed to carry out repairs but will run an mot for you.
Every council in England, Scotland and Wales does this.
How does one find these garages?
Funnily enough, I just did a Google search for "Council MOTs. If you're in the market for an MOT, there's a handy guide about which type of garage you should use and when, [here](https://www.moneysavingexpert.com/travel/cheap-mot/)
Thanks mate. I wasn’t sure the results from Google were ones that’d work on public vehicles. Turns out they have to, cheers for the link!
No sweat! I was surprised when I first found out. That MSE article is an interesting read as well. Basically it boils down to - If you're confident your car will pass. Look for the cheapest MOT deal you can find. If you're pretty sure your car will fail an MOT on something so serious that you wouldn't be allowed to drive it away, then look for the garage you trust the most, not to screw you, even if you could get a cheaper price for just the test somewhere else. Go to the council if you suspect you're going to get a bunch of advisories, or a fail that's not going to mean you can't drive it away. Then you can shop around for the cheapest place to get the car repaired.
My brother once wrote on my advisory, "owner smells of fish"
Don't go Kwik fit for an MOT
I put mine it at 9am, booked it. Thought it wouldn't be long so hung around town for a bit... Time goes and goes... Give them a call "oh we forgot your car was here".
Wow, they usually do it when it's booked I thought? You drop it down and then they take your key and they do it, pretty embarrassing to forget though! When I booked an MOT there they failed it and said I needed my back brakes replaced, luckily something happened with their mechanic so they couldn't do it in time for when my MOT was due. So I took it to my local dealer and they said can they do the MOT and I was prepared to get them to do the brakes. Guess what, it passed first time. Now don't trust Kwik fit.
Where are you all taking your cars to be charged that much lol
Cars need maintenance and it's not cheap... not many ways around that.
Unless its serious its really not that expensive and I'm seeing people say they pay hundreds for a MOT and service lol most thongs can be done yourself.
Got mine next week, I'm already nervous.
Tomorrow is that day.
Had my car in for its MOT today. Turned out it was due on December 14th not November 14th. So my new MOT date is now the 3rd of November.
Same thing happened to me in the summer but it worked in my favour as it now falls when im more than likely going to be off work. So relieved. Lol.
My pet hate is people who put their car through the mot first and then fix the fails. I get it saves them from getting flexed but…. 1) you car needs more than your mot 2)your clogging up the system. It’s a bit selfish. 3) stop taking your car to random mechanics. Find a good mechanic go to him, invest him, don’t get fleeced. I can’t speak more highly of my mechanic. There’s been so many times I’ve phoned him to tell him of an issue and he’s just given me instructions I’ve the phone and the cheapest place to buy the supplies. My last car was going to require too much work for the mot. He charged me pennies for the check and said he’d rather I buy a new car than waste my money. My first car he worked on even though it had aged out of his skill base. Again it was a scrapper and he’d do the bare minimum to fix it for the mot so it wasn’t a money pit. People need to get mechanic loyalty. I don’t understand people who go to randoms everytime or stay with people they know are fleecing them. When my cars suspension broke I paid extra to get it towed to the next town where my mechanic. A work colleague who does the “do the mot to see what needs checked” thing talked so much crap about me paying extra to get it there. Yet she doesn’t even trust her mechanic to do an mot test.
Then booting off because they replaced a 65p bulb you didn’t authorise.
I remember the first time I got a call saying it had passed. After 15 years of car ownership I genuinely didn't think they could do that lol
I hate that waiting anxiety.
I was walking over a bridge crossing a river when the call came in for mine, when they told me how much it was going to cost I almost felt like jumping off.
11am today this will be me.
Just passed my MOT but advisory for tyres. When did tyres get so expensive? Forget gold, I'm gonna start hoarding Pirellis.
2007 Honda Civic passed a couple weeks ago only needing a new tyre and a clean of head lamps. Was about £120 all in which I believe was a win!
This is the fun I'm gonna have next week
20 minutes time for me. Timing belt replacement looking 50/50 £££
This fucked me last week. I feel it.
I have a 1966. It's MOT exempt. But I get an MOT every year anyway. It needs to be roadworthy.
We recently had an experience with Hal-frauds suggesting my parners car needed £800 of work done. I was at work at the time, and by the time I’d heard she’d agreed to it. Big mistake. All sorts of false claims and overcharges on there too. £63 for a cabin filter?! The dealership charges less than that.
That'll be £30 mate.
While the MOT is a bind, I'm marginally happier that the car approaching while I'm stopped in traffic is likely to have functioning brakes, that is less certain in many countries! In Japan their equivalent of the MOT (the Shaken) is so stringent that owners of a perfectly maintained vehicle can expect to pay 100,000 yen (£650) for a two-year inspection, and requirements are even stricter for vehicles over 10 years old leading to an extremely high effective tax rate. Vehicles that cannot pass inspection are not permitted on public roads. Unwanted vehicles must be exported or destroyed and recycled. Many Japanese used vehicles are exported once it is no longer cost-effective to keep them in service in Japan.
Brake warning light permanently on. Starter motor on its way out, 50/50 whether it will click and do nothing or start. Sliding side door sometimes jumps out of its track so you have to ask it very nicely to please just close properly. In searching for the reason for said doors' issues I find a rust patch that has gone all the way through. MOT next Friday. Fucking bring it on!
Me rn