Conference terri::cars_uk

    
    MOT's seem to be becoming a very lucrative business for dodgy garages.
    
    I took my Marcos to Garage A (We'll call it) 3 weeks ago and it failed.
    Fair enough there was a lot of rust in some of the chassis and some
    other things were iffy.
    
    I had all the work done to correct all the failures on the car and took
    it to a different garage (it only got taken to the original one because
    they were the only place open in a reasonable area at the time), this
    morning.
    
    Garage B (as they shall be known) passed all the work I'd had done BUT
    failed it on 4 completely different and unrelated points!!! One was a
    spilt steering rack gaiter which I'm almost certain has not been
    damaged since the original MOT. Another was perished rubber bushes (In 
    3 weeks? RIGHT!). Also the first garage had failed it for having no
    rubbers on the pedals (It never has had and has passed for the last 4 
    years), whereas the second merely recorded it as an advise.
    
    Seems to me that Garage A either did a dubious job of testing or
    deliberately didn't note those in the hope of charging me for a second
    failed MOT test!!! 
    
    Also it is quite clear that MOT testing stations have little
    consistency between them (Something that the MOT testing centre in 
    Newbury state that there should be).
    
    Needless to say (in case you hadn't guessed!) I'm bloody annoyed at
    garage A, in particular and with the whole MOT system in general.
    
    Mark

    
    Why would a car fail an MOT becuase of no rubber on the pedals? Is it
    part of the checklist?
    
    I take the rubber off the clutch pedal because it sticks to the sole
    of my trainers. Maybe I should wear more appropriate footwear when
    driving. When the car was in for a service (merely to keep up the
    warranty) Ford even phoned me to ask if I wanted a new one putting
    on, but no mention of it causing the car to be unroadworthy.
    
    On the subject of MOTs my family always take our cars to the same local
    testing station which we have always found to be fair. There is a lot
    to be said for knowing the staff of a garage.
    
    Note: I am not suggesting that a certificate is always given because you
    know the tester. It works along the lines of - the tester knows you are
    competent and responsoible enough to fix a problem which would have
    caused a failure but doesn't require you to go back for a retest.
    
    Chris
    

    
    I don't know what the exact rule is on pedal rubbers.
    
    It just seems as if various garages make up the rules as the go along.
    
    It didn't occur to me for one second that one garage could pass
    something and another (supposedly working to the same standard) fail
    it.
    
    Had they said "The welding's not up to standard" or "The handbrakes
    still ineffective" I'd've been a bit dissapointed, but would've thought 
    it fair enough. However, to find I'm now effectively barred from
    attending the Owner's club rally because the first garage failed to
    note a number of points is really getting me annoyed.
    
    Newbury Testing centre asked me to provide them with the two garages'
    names, but I don't really know if I can be bothered. I don't dispute in
    any way most of the second garage's findings and there's no way now
    that I can fix all the problems they found before the weekend (This
    particular garage will only do a full re-test on Saturdays - I did book
    it in for a retest on Saturday at 9, but I'll have to pay �21 again,
    and that's assuming I could get the parts I need today, which I know I
    can't) to get an MOT. 
    
    I'm just stuck and there's nothing I can do about. 
    
    Mark

    I agreed totally that MOT's are a RIP OFF!! When I purchased my Astra
    back in '89 from a garage, they got it MOT'd before I picked it up. By
    the time I had travelled 50 miles from Wickham to Reading, the drive
    shaft gaiter had spilt. The point is the car should have failed it's
    MOT for having perished gaiters, because they don't just split.
    Needless to say the car was back with them the following Monday.
    
    Neil

    Mark,
    
    All sounds rather depressing.
    Are you able to take the car back to garage A, as they are likely
    to pass the car as you have fixed the problems they detected ?
    (even though you need a full test from them again).
    
    Re. pedal rubbers
    
    You could stick some 'grip tape' to the surface of the pedals.
    
    You cannot be required to have rubbers on the throttle pedal, can you ?
    
    J.R.

	Some garages make very arbitrary remarks when faced with a
	kit car.  Mind you, I've never been told that my pedals 
	needed rubber (none of them have any).  So far, the MOT
	places I've been to have been pretty fair...
	
	Dave

As far as I know 2CVs have never had rubbers on the throttle pedal and mine has 
never failed an MOT test, come to think of it my 308gt4 doesn't have rubber on
its throttle pedal but that did fail a MOT at a nameless Ferrari garage - that
was for a blowing exhaust but strangely when I took the car in the same condition
to a nameless Fiat garage I was told that the exhaust was probably on the way out
but should give me another year if I go careful. 

Tony.

ps. I have since had the exhaust system replaced but I had to do some hard saving
    first.

    My spitty hasnt got rubber on the throttle and it didnt fail......well
    it did but not on that !!
    
    Barry
    

    
    My BMW has rubber on the throttle and it failed the mot. But normally
    bikes do have rubber on the throttle. I was really put out by it
    failing, the break light had died, ok I know thats a failure. But most
    places will offer to put one in and save you the hassel. I thought that
    was being Bloody minded. Never the less I went and paid the man ,
    bought a light bulb and replaced with the bike still in the MOT bay.
    The guy who tested it was a bit put out buy that , but I plain refused
    to go home or roll it out for 2 mins while I put the bulb in. Needless
    to say he passed it about 2 mins after he failed it. How stupid!!!!
    I think he tried to rub salt in the wound by telling me the abs was not
    working. But I got my own back, and asked if the rolling road went
    above 1.2 mph, "no, doesn't do 1 mph" . I explained that it dosn't
    initialize below 1.2 , "so you won't be making that mistake again".
    
    	Garry

    
    break light?
    
    Batteries low on the Ghetto blaster, or can BMW tell you when you are
    about to become kerb-bound nowadays???

I managed four different garages for one MOT.

Garage A fails the car on headlight bulb, remould tyre on one side non-remould on
other , split bushes and  corroded brake pipes.

I take the car to garage B for repairs as they claimed to have the bushes in 
stock. It turns out the remould is not a fail, they find no faults with the
brakes, but refuse to MOT as it was failed by another garage. They lied about the
parts as well so I had to go elsewhere as I needed the car fixed.

Garage C fix the bushes, and headlight. No problem with the brake pipes but the
compensator valve is leaking to excess. How the other two garages never noticed
this is unbelievable as this was genuinely leaking to excess .Garage C also
commented on a differrent tyre, and fail it on a frayed seatbelt.

Eventually I fix the brakes and seatbelt myself and garage D passes it.

Seems like you need to shop around if you want an MOT. I won't even trust garages
when they pass the car now.

Gordy (Who hates garages, and will have to stop being lazy)