Astra 1st MOT = Massive Failure

jonuk7

took my 03 reg astra for its first MOT yesterday thought id start it well and use vauxhall that way when i sell it this year the new owner has the choice to continue its Vauxhall SH or change, so took it in i knew it would fail on the front tyre hence the reason i made sure they had one on the day so they could fit it however after waiting with a crappy machine coffee he came out with a list of failures, the car has only just turned 3 years old and he has managed to rack up £800 repairs to pass it ranging from a steering rack to wheel bearings etc etc..
has anybody else had such a shock on their 1st MOT with an Astra mk4?
needless to say im taking the ar to another garage later as managed to sweet talk him into having a quick look to justify vauxhall's crazy figures.

Quinny_2

Am I to take it that the car is out of warranty then?

If you do take it to another garage,don't tell him that you've been to VX,and see if he fails it on the same things.

Also,you don't say what mileage is on the car,as it may have 100,000+ on it,despite the fact it's 3 years old.

Ken.

vansboy

You dont say if the rack is worn/damaged or failed.

If it's the failed & you've an average mileage, Vauxhall would want to know & more than likely help towards costs.

Is it the rack problem that caused the tyre to wear - & if it was known to be worn, it might have helped, getting it sorted before warranty expired!

Not sure of the wheel bearings - again a bit more info would help.

But best chat to the dealer BEFORE undertaking hefty repairs - some MIGHT just be cautious 'advisory' points & not urgent to get a pass.

VB

jonuk7

sorry about the limited post, well got the car back from the local garage and he hasnt even mentioned the steering rack problem,

its a 03 plate on 32000 miles (average) i would of had the steering rack sorted but i had no idea it was damged or faulty here has been no noise or diffrence in drive and the tyre wear is is just one tyre which i think is old and is fairly worn, not just inside or outside, the warranty ran out 2 weeks before the MOT and that was the soonest i could get it in again didnt realise it was going to find these "apparent" problems, but im a little unsure now as to, do i tell vauxhall it has been seen elsewhere and they didnt find a problem or do i take it to the little garage/another garage and ask them to look at the rack specifically (only concern with that is if im telling them to look there they might say its knackered anyway), he never said if it was just damaged, worn or completly knackered. as for the bearings apparently they go every few years anyway and its not too much expense.

and as to vansboy: if you mean it would have been an idea to sort the tyre before the warranty expires why?? tyres are not covered under warranty, same as brake disks and pads etc as they are perishable by fair wear.

Jorgan_2

I think Vansboy is suggesting that the worn tyre, assuming uneven wear, could indicate a problem other than tracking being out, therefore it would have been to your advantage to take it back to VX before the warranty expired to get things checked over.

I have had cars that have had parts wear out before the warranty has expired, its not uncommon. Last year I had a car fail on the suspension top mounts & were repalced, this year same car had the same failure after covering 8000 miles.

MarkyMarkD

There's certainly a lesson in this, for other people, which is that they should have their first MOT slightly before the car is three years old, so that the warranty will sort out anything which it covers.

If the car is only a few weeks out of warranty, and it's been main dealer serviced throughout, Vauxhall should be prepared to do something on a goodwill basis particularly where it's evident that the fault was there during the three years.

I don't understand, by the way, why the warranty ran out 2 weeks before the MOT - surely the two dates should coincide?

1jim

MarkyMarkD wrote:

There's certainly a lesson in this, for other people, which is that they should have their first MOT slightly before the car is three years old, so that the warranty will sort out anything which it covers.

Thats a cracking idea, was reading this post lastnight and was thinking the same but didnt know if they did the mot and found faults that they would try and find a way of getting out of repairing them

espresso

MarkyMarkD wrote:

I don't understand, by the way, why the warranty ran out 2 weeks before the MOT - surely the two dates should coincide?

I suppose that the car could have been pre-registered but remember that an MOT can be done one full month before and it will be forward dated.

MarkyMarkD

If it was pre-registered, then the MOT would be due 3 years after the pre-registration date and so would the warranty, wouldn't it?

jonuk7

basically because there was no obvious sign of any major problems i.e no uneven tyre wear etc... i didnt see a reason to have it done the whole month before and when the date was nearly upon us i rang to book it in and they couldnt do it untill just after the warranty had expired (they didnt know this though)

alanshave

Had my VX Astra 1.6 SXI in on friday for it's second service and MOT, first service was done when i purchased the car 2 years ago and it had 13,000 on the clock. Like yours mine went in with 33,000 miles done now. The only real thing different would be that mine needed an LPG service as well with it being duel fuel.

Anyway it failed it's MOT, but only on one tyre. The other three are close though so i'll be looking through blackcircles etc to get them changed. Brake pads only have another 3000 or so left but thats fair enough. Total cost for all the services, MOT, and one new tyre was £314.05.

Presume that to get 33,000 miles out of a set of tyres is quite good going? This is my first car so i'm still a bit inexperienced with regards to how long things should last?