National auto centre MOT TEST...problem

hewhoisnotintheknow

oldagetraveller wrote: »

You took your car for an MOT without first doing a basic check yourself? Of course, these must have become defective on the way to the test centre because you check the function of all your lights daily?
The car had safety defects and was quite correctly failed, it was not road legal!

Heheh, i check all my lights daily by looking at the reflection at home infront and behind the car, when i was taking my first car to its first mot, i had dad stood infront and behind the car double checking everything, dad followed me down to the mot station on the way one of my bulbs blew. I carried spares so it was no biggy!

Rowan1946

oldagetraveller wrote: »

You took your car for an MOT without first doing a basic check yourself? Of course, these must have become defective on the way to the test centre because you check the function of all your lights daily?
The car had safety defects and was quite correctly failed, it was not road legal!

No, i new the lights were unservicable, told them the near side brake light, off side tail light & number plate lights were needing looked at, i did check fuses and change bulbs but made no differance, may of been intermitant fault.

My concern was not with the validity of the faults but the mothod of correction that seemed to be long winded and costly to myself

gsmmad

The tyre is legal thread limit, we checked it out after it was replaced.

Rowan1946

gsmmad wrote: »

The tyre is legal thread limit, we checked it out after it was replaced.

I also agree that as long as the tyre is legal at the time of checking it has passed, the "its on its way out" is a personal opinion that has no place in an MOT, theres guidelines that have to be followed,,

Did not matter that it was say 1mm untill legal min limit, as long as its legal at the time of test, thats the way i was trained.

Daytona_nev

I worked for an MoT testing place years ago when i first left uni. A well-known national brand at the time which also carried out services and sold parts.

I saw many many dodgy things whilst there and hence i never take my car to a chain branch. I always take to a local garage.

The managers at the national chains are expected to hit sales targets daily and get put under a great deal of pressure to do so.

Fabrication of 'worked required' was an almost guaranteed occurance on days when business was slow and it looked like targets would not be met.

My advice, find a busy little garage where they have work coming out of their ears. The incentive to make up work isn't there as they have enough legitimate work to get on with.

gsmmad

LOl i agree with daytona.

I took the car in to a garage got the mot done. passed and i didnt even get any advisorys. I showed the guy the CV boot which was preserved. He told me that it should not have been on the fail but it is a advisory. Reason for this is because its not split or ripped. If it was either then its a fail, apart from that anything else is a advisory.

He's advice to me was that i should have asked for a appeal form. If i had done this apparently there face expressions would have changed as the car will be retested on everything with some one from VOSA which mot test centre do not want or like.

cheers for the imput guys, and sorry if i was rude.

anewman

gsmmad wrote: »

cheers for the imput guys, and sorry if i was rude.

Forums bring out the worst in us

Good to know you're all legal now :beer:

Leonie

My OH took his car to Nationwide last weekend for an MOT test, 2 weeks before the previous MOT ran out. He was using Tesco Vouchers to pay for it. Maybe Nationwide don't appreciate Tesco vouchers or something, but they failed his car on leaking shock absorbers front and back, and on the brakes. Cost for repair when VAT was added was around £700 - the car is probably not worth much more than that. Nationwide told him he should have it repaired there as the failed MOT invalidated his previous one and he shouldn't drive it.

If it had been my car, I would just have scrapped it and put that money towards another one. The OH has appreciated this car though - he travels long distances regularly and it hasn't ever let him down. He'd had it checked at his usual garage the week before, & been advised he only needed to replace one tyre, which he did. So he told Nationwide he couldn't afford the repairs , took it back to where he'd had it checked, and they put it back in for MOT elsewhere.

It passed

How many other people are getting ripped off like this? Should the OH pursue this, or just write it off to experience and do as Martin says in future - take it to the council MOT testing place, as they have no axe to grind?

I think that's what I'll do with mine.

maniac886

Leonie wrote: »

My OH took his car to Nationwide last weekend for an MOT test, 2 weeks before the previous MOT ran out. He was using Tesco Vouchers to pay for it. Maybe Nationwide don't appreciate Tesco vouchers or something, but they failed his car on leaking shock absorbers front and back, and on the brakes. Cost for repair when VAT was added was around £700 - the car is probably not worth much more than that. Nationwide told him he should have it repaired there as the failed MOT invalidated his previous one and he shouldn't drive it.

If it had been my car, I would just have scrapped it and put that money towards another one. The OH has appreciated this car though - he travels long distances regularly and it hasn't ever let him down. He'd had it checked at his usual garage the week before, & been advised he only needed to replace one tyre, which he did. So he told Nationwide he couldn't afford the repairs , took it back to where he'd had it checked, and they put it back in for MOT elsewhere.

It passed

How many other people are getting ripped off like this? Should the OH pursue this, or just write it off to experience and do as Martin says in future - take it to the council MOT testing place, as they have no axe to grind?

I think that's what I'll do with mine.

Yes unfortunately most branches are like this and try and fleece you.

Keep using your local garage that you trust and hopefully you should have no problems.

MX5huggy

Contact trading standards, funny how cars taken to Nationwide fail on things Nationwide fix! Never need a bit of welding or new seat belts.