Garage wrongly failed my MOT - justice needed!

cyclonebri1

goldspanners wrote: »

i think it would have been more the warning light that made them aware of your car needing pads, i doubt they would have stripped the pads out to measure the exact thickness left.

But don't forget most if not all calipers are visible enough to guage if the pads are well worn even without removing the wheel

datostar

almahadeus wrote: »

Free brake check is:

• Check the condition of friction materials and hydraulics
• Clean and remove dust from drums
• Adjust rear brakes
• Check hand brake
• Check brake fluids
• Test and report

In any case the car is having MOT today/tomorrow- which will confirm the MOT result.

That's very good for a free brake check. I watched the last one on mine. They certainly had the front wheels off but there was no check on the rears other than visual round the back and a light through the inspection holes. The rear hub bearings on my car are integral with the drums and sometimes need a puller to get them off, plus the mfr. recommendation is to replace the hub nuts every time they're removed. I keep a spare pair.

goldspanners

cyclonebri1 wrote: »

But don't forget most if not all calipers are visible enough to guage if the pads are well worn even without removing the wheel

i know bri,but not all are easy to see never mind measure.

goldspanners

datostar wrote: »

That's very good for a free brake check. I watched the last one on mine. They certainly had the front wheels off but there was no check on the rears other than visual round the back and a light through the inspection holes. The rear hub bearings on my car are integral with the drums and sometimes need a puller to get them off, plus the mfr. recommendation is to replace the hub nuts every time they're removed. I keep a spare pair.

a lot of hubs have a laminated nut (i think its just a fancy term for thread lock?) and when the hubs come off sometimes the rear wheel bearings can collapse with the pulling thats required.
it happened to me on my focus when i last took the rear hubs off, one of them came off fine the other one was tight and then the bearing collapsed. long story short i had to get myself a new rear brake drum with the bearing fitted to it. cost was £80.

mikey72

goldspanners wrote: »

you can get them here

They don't have the BS, suppliers name and postcode on.

goldspanners

mikey72 wrote: »

They don't have the BS, suppliers name and postcode on.

it says "All our plates are manufactured in store to BSAU145d legislation"

im sure you could ask them to stick thier postcode on the bottom of it and the british standard mark.
or alternatively you could use the ebay seach function yourself and find the lowest priced road legal number plate.
i didnt get mine from this seller. i actually found my local parts shop on ebay at the time were the cheapest on there so i ordered them online and collected them,thier postage was free so no saving made by doing that, it just meant i got them quicker.

mikey72

Last one I bought was £8 or £9 locally, needed to see the V5, and my driving licence as well. Seemed a lot less hassle than trying to wait in for a parcel I'd probably miss anyway.

goldspanners

mikey72 wrote: »

Last one I bought was £8 or £9 locally, needed to see the V5, and my driving licence as well. Seemed a lot less hassle than trying to wait in for a parcel I'd probably miss anyway.

im lucky enough to have a letter box big enough to accept a number plate so no waiting in for me.
well unless they post it the wrong way?
so no hassle of producing my v5 or licence to some shop monkey.

asbokid

goldspanners wrote: »

i dont know what kind of plates you fit to your car but the legal standard plates on mine cost £6 each and 10 minutes to fit them.
£400 for brakes that have only done 5000 miles and a year old is steep. cheap pads and discs can be got for buttons,good pads and discs can be got for little more and a few hours labour to fit.

i was thinking that... for £600, i would want new calipers all round, and enough change left over for a good holiday!

sounds like the brakes need bleeding, or a caliper or two is a bit seized.. maybe needing some new piston seals...

£50 tops for parts and labour...

asbokid

Anihilator wrote: »

Yes you fit them yourself

When will people get just because they get parts cheap, or can do it themselves or have a friend that does doesnt mean joe public can and thus they have to ask mechanics who charge at a good profit margin.

a moron can fit number plates. and in fact, i have done it countless times.

i pay £10 a pair, delivered, for plates in a standard, legitimate font size and typeface etc..

the last plate company i used was in the north of Ireland - check out ebay. the plates were delivered in a couple of days, complete with required fixings (yellow, black and white plasti-bolts)

they also offer lots of silly (illegal) options - italics, weird colours, logos, borders, anti-camera reflective surface, shadow fonts etc..

estimated fixing time: 3 to 5 minutes.