Mega bill 5 weeks after major service and MOT

Backbiter

Having just forked out over £250 for the annual service and MOT at the main dealer on a car whose warranty expired at the end of August, my wife's car suddenly started to make horrendous noises. She took it to the local garage where she was told the brakes had seized, making it undriveable. Our main dealer is 25 miles away, so we couldn't get it there for repair, so we had no choice but to get it done locally.
The mechanic said the brake pads had worn down and the calipers and discs also needed replacing. The bill was a horrendous £468!!
We checked the service and MOT paperwork and everything was said to be absolutely fine. No advice on anything whatsoever, even though the brake pads must have been at the end of their lives.
I know brake pads and discs aren't covered by warranties, but the calipers were, and had they picked up on anything at the time of the service we'd have been covered.
Do we have any grounds at all for complaint against the main dealer? The local mechanic said the huge bill was 'avoidable', implying that had the car been properly maintained we'd have been spared a huge bill. And yet our servicing was totally up-to-date - the car has a FSH all at the same main dealer.
All advice gratefully received.

hewhoisnotintheknow

if you wore the pads down to the calipers thats yyour own fault

nod idea how you could acutally do that though

Backbiter

I don't see how they could have checked them as recently as 5 weeks ago and made no reference to any state of wear, when they have now 'worn down to the calipers' (if that's what happens when pads wear out).

Pew_Pew_Pew_Lasers!

Why would the calipers be damaged? They don't move against the disc. Unless the pistons were !!!!!!ed.

RegWorts

Backbiter wrote: »

I don't see how they could have checked them as recently as 5 weeks ago and made no reference to any state of wear, when they have now 'worn down to the calipers' (if that's what happens when pads wear out).

Did the garage let you have the brake pads + calipers for inspection + evidence.

In the past I`ve had a horrendous noise from my brakes ...and all it was was a piece of road chipping caught up in the brake pad/calipers.

I would have been very surprised if your Main Dealer didn`t spot worn disc pads on an MOT. It`s one of the bread-and-butter failures they tend to find as it is an easy + lucrative little earner.

Backbiter

Sadly, no - my wife dealt with it and didn't think to claim any evidence.

Conor_3

RegWorts wrote: »

I would have been very surprised if your Main Dealer didn`t spot worn disc pads on an MOT.

Someone else without a clue of what an MOT is. It is a visual inspection with no dismantling allowed. It is not a service. If the brakepads cannot be seen, they cannot be inspected. The only requirement for the MOT is that the brakes pass the brake test and that the visible components meet criteria for wear. If they're hidden by the wheel and cannot be seen, they cannot be noted down.

A service should have notified the customer if there was under 3mm of pad material left HOWEVER if it was one of those "basic service and MOT" jobs, usually the wheels never get taken off and it's nothing more than a glorified oil and filter change. There is no legal requirement for them to notify of low pads in a service.

AdrianHi

Pew_Pew_Pew_Lasers! wrote: »

Why would the calipers be damaged? They don't move against the disc. Unless the pistons were !!!!!!ed.

I don't see how the callipers could be damaged either.
My wife foolishly kept driving her car recently when the brakes were "a bit noisy". She was so busy with work she kept driving it, until I drove it, heard the noise, confiscated the car and took it a to the nearest tyre and brake place. A pair of new rear disks and a new set of pads later and all was well. I did see the state of the old disks, but the noise was enough to tell be the disks were damaged.

ZootHornRollo

Conor wrote: »

Someone else without a clue of what an MOT is. It is a visual inspection with no dismantling allowed. It is not a service. If the brakepads cannot be seen, they cannot be inspected. The only requirement for the MOT is that the brakes pass the brake test and that the visible components meet criteria for wear. If they're hidden by the wheel and cannot be seen, they cannot be noted down.

A service should have notified the customer if there was under 3mm of pad material left HOWEVER if it was one of those "basic service and MOT" jobs, usually the wheels never get taken off and it's nothing more than a glorified oil and filter change. There is no legal requirement for them to notify of low pads in a service.

unless they state in the blurb about the service that they check <insert list of components here>...


for example http://www.arnoldclark.com/servicing/servicing_repairs/servicing/_32_point_service.html

markelock

the dealer will check the brakes in the service, did they mention anything about the state of them?

what does the repair bill from the other garage list as being replaced?

Backbiter

The service and MOT paperwork made no mention of any thing at all. It was given a completely clean bill of health. The service checksheet has three tick-boxes: OK, not OK and 'Corrected'. Every single item was ticked under 'Corrected', and there were no ticks under 'OK' or 'Not OK'.
The service schedule covered Power brake unit and hoses, brake lines, hoses and connections, parking brake, brake fluid , brake pedals, disc brake/ drumbrake. The latter said 'Check, if necessary renew', and the 'Corrected' box was ticked.
The space for 'Technicians comments' was left blank.
The service also included a 'Vehicle health check'.
Parts and labour were £93 and £132 respectively.

The repairs were carried out 5 weeks later at a cost of £465. These involved supply and fit of Rear brake discs (£122) and pads (£18), and new brake calipers (£181). Labour was £70.