Worried about MOT, please advise?

boxerlover_2

Hi

My MOT is due at the end of August and I'm really worried that its going to fail and costs me loads. There were quite a few advisories last year. I will list them below.

The car is a Ford kA (X reg), I've had it a couple of years and its been fine, good on petrol, insurance etc. I started to save alittle for the MOT after last year and have now put aside around 1,000. I wonder if anybody can advise on the problems listed below what I should do.

Offside Front Lower Seat belt anchorage prescribed area is corroded but not considered excessive (5.2.6)
Nearside Front Macpherson strut has slight movement at the upper attachment (2.5.A.1c)
Offside Front Macpherson strut has slight movement at the upper attachment (2.5.A.1c)
Nearside Front Suspension arm rubber bush deteriorated but not resulting in excessive movement (2.4.G.3)
Offside Front Suspension arm rubber bush deteriorated but not resulting in excessive movement (2.4.G.3)
Nearside Front Brake hose slightly deteriorated (3.6.B.4d)
Offside Front Brake hose slightly deteriorated (3.6.B.4d)

Sounds like its going to cost a fortune to fix, is it worth it? I would like to keep the car and keep saving so I can afford a better one maybe next year.

Any ideas on roughly how much it will cost to fix the problems above?

Many thanks.

mcjordi

doesnt sound too bad tbh..

they are advisories mate.. might not fail this year may be advised again. i had a few advisories on my fiesta the year before ( when someone else owned it) and this year they passed fine.. you never know..
put it in asap for a mot.. then you can decide what to do should it fail

as for prices..

2 x upper mounting bushs' ( approx £20 for the two) -easy enough to replace
1x bottom arm ( about 20-30) again easy to do
2x brake hoses ( 11 each ) again easy if you can bleed brakes.

welding i cant do it so i entrust my neighbour so was cheap ( garages charge the earth)

iolanthe07

Advisories can be very subjective. One mechanic will advise that something will soon need replacing or repairing and the next year another one either doesn't think it important enough to mention.

benham3160

Normally I'd side on fixing it, but in this case just scrap it when the MOT runs out.

It'll be worse this year, they're all standard KA faults, and this year you're probably due some welding too.

Awful vehicles, I'm suprised more people haven't kicked up a fuss about the shoddy quality of these things. It's not worth £1k, so I would't bother spending that kind of money on it.

Regards,
Andy

boxerlover_2

mcjordi wrote: »

doesnt sound too bad tbh..

they are advisories mate.. might not fail this year may be advised again. i had a few advisories on my fiesta the year before ( when someone else owned it) and this year they passed fine.. you never know..
put it in asap for a mot.. then you can decide what to do should it fail

Thanks for that! I can't really put it in until the end of the month when I get paid! I really hope it doesn't cost to much to put right, I was told when I bought it that they are cheap to repair. Its a cracking little car, has now done 75,000 miles, FSH, nice interior, leathers, air con and I really like it!

I just have no clue about cars, I don't know if the problems listed are going to cost hundreds and hundreds!

flang

Offside Front Lower Seat belt anchorage prescribed area is corroded but not considered excessive (5.2.6) From experience I would guess the whole sill front to back needs welding £150/£200
Nearside Front Macpherson strut has slight movement at the upper attachment (2.5.A.1c) £60 inc parts
Offside Front Macpherson strut has slight movement at the upper attachment (2.5.A.1c) £60 inc parts
Nearside Front Suspension arm rubber bush deteriorated but not resulting in excessive movement (2.4.G.3) £10?
Offside Front Suspension arm rubber bush deteriorated but not resulting in excessive movement (2.4.G.3) £10
Nearside Front Brake hose slightly deteriorated (3.6.B.4d) £50 inc part
Offside Front Brake hose slightly deteriorated (3.6.B.4d)£50 inc part

In all probably looking at about £400

benham3160

flang wrote: »

Offside Front Lower Seat belt anchorage prescribed area is corroded but not considered excessive (5.2.6) From experience I would guess the whole sill front to back needs welding £150/£200
Nearside Front Macpherson strut has slight movement at the upper attachment (2.5.A.1c) £60 inc parts
Offside Front Macpherson strut has slight movement at the upper attachment (2.5.A.1c) £60 inc parts
Nearside Front Suspension arm rubber bush deteriorated but not resulting in excessive movement (2.4.G.3) £10?
Offside Front Suspension arm rubber bush deteriorated but not resulting in excessive movement (2.4.G.3) £10
Nearside Front Brake hose slightly deteriorated (3.6.B.4d) £50 inc part
Offside Front Brake hose slightly deteriorated (3.6.B.4d)£50 inc part

In all probably looking at about £400

Get it on the slow boat to China lol

That's working on it not needing any more work this year, which is highly, highly unlikely.

Regards,
Andy

cyclonebri1

mcjordi wrote: »

doesnt sound too bad tbh..

they are advisories mate.. might not fail this year may be advised again. i had a few advisories on my fiesta the year before ( when someone else owned it) and this year they passed fine.. you never know..
put it in asap for a mot.. then you can decide what to do should it fail

as for prices..

2 x upper mounting bushs' ( approx £20 for the two) -easy enough to replace
1x bottom arm ( about 20-30) again easy to do
2x brake hoses ( 11 each ) again easy if you can bleed brakes.

welding i cant do it so i entrust my neighbour so was cheap ( garages charge the earth)

As above, it does sound quite a list but apart from them seat belt issue sounds like 2 new MP struts a few bushes and several brake pipes. The welding, maybe £50?

You need to find a trusted local garage if you can't or don't know anyone who can do the repairs. Please please please don't go to a chain or similar or they will have your pants down.

But again, what value is an X reg Ka????

Time to ponder methinks. For me welding = replacement car time, and I can weld, ;););)

benham3160

cyclonebri1 wrote: »

Time to ponder methinks. For me welding = replacement car time, and I can weld, ;););)

Same here, I only weld other peoples cars. Whenever anything of mine needs welding, I know its a lost cause. Doubly so on a Ka.

It's a long, slipperly slope once they've had a plate or two, things are only going to go down hill quickly......

Regards,
Andy

boxerlover_2

benham3160 wrote: »

Get it on the slow boat to China lol

That's working on it not needing any more work this year, which is highly, highly unlikely.

Regards,
Andy

Why would it need more work doing this year after the repairs? I've had it 3 years this December and its passed all MOT's with no work required. I know they get a lot of stick, but I can't complain about mine!

benham3160

boxerlover wrote: »

Why would it need more work doing this year after the repairs? I've had it 3 years this December and its passed all MOT's with no work required. I know they get a lot of stick, but I can't complain about mine!

Because these things are renownd for quite considerable corrosion issues, and I've seen them rejected at their second MOT on prescribed corrosion?

Because the back bumpers eventually fall off because the rear hangers just turn to dust?

Because the inner wings are made of cardboard, and rot worse than mk2 Fiestas?

Many, many, many reasons one of these will need a lot of work with every passing MOT... and that's just the corrosion stuff.

Regards,
Andy