Failed MOT, am I being overcharged on these items?

puddy

the things it failed on are not 'unsafe' as such, in fact im surprised that the headlamps have failed as the lights look normal to me when i look at them, they're nice and bright, not clouded at all

when i asked if i can pick it up tomorrow as its too late to get the bus now, i said i needed it tomorrow as i need to go to croydon, the bloke didnt say anything, surely he woudl have said, 'oh you cant drive it'

wouldnt he??

Quentin

Yes.

As already posted, ignore charlie, he is acting like a troll!

Sgt_Pepper_2

Is there a problem with the brakes or is it a wheel bearing?

puddy

no, its a bearing, he said i should have heard a 'hum' when driving, but i havent

Should_be_out_gardening

puddy wrote: »

he bought the price for the headlamps and labour down to 212 when i told him i found lamps 'e approved' on headlampsdirect for 69.50 each

still got to pay full price for the bearing though due to the labour, the bearing is only 20 pound anyway he said

Sounds more reasonable, the problem is most garages charge +10% on parts and around £30+ per hour labour with no part hours. It's either that or the go out of business I suppose.

The only thing for folk to do is to go on recommendation and build a rapport with the local garage, always asking for best prices etc and once they know if they do a good job you'll come back you'll be able to trust them to do their best.

of course if the car is MOT'd at a place that doesn't do repairs then they have nothing to gain by failing things - of course then you have to take it and get it repaired. I do all my own work and use a local MOT garage a week before so giving me time to sort it out.

Do you have the skills to do perhaps the headlamps?

EdGasket

There are YouTube videos that show how to polish dulled plastic headlights. You use wet n' dry grades 1500 to 3000 and then a rubbing compound like G3 to complete the polish and they are like new. Cost of wet n'dry and G3 about £10 from eBay; time about 30 mins by hand only; no power tools. Take your pick.
I've fixed two cars with MoT fail headlights using this method; they really do look like new when you're finished.

Joe_Horner

The prices don't sound bad for main dealer work but do highlight one of the dangers of using a main dealer in the first place.

The only applicable fails would be either:

1.7.5(a) An obligatory headlamp inoperative, excessively damaged or deteriorated or has a product on the lens or light source so that the light output is well below that required to illuminate the road ahead or:

1.8.2 Projected beam image obviously incorrect, e.g. where the headlamp bulb is incorrectly fitted or the reflector is seriously corroded.

In both cases there's a certain amount of tester discretion needed, especially in the case of the first on (which I suspect is what your VT30 will show). Note that the way that section is worded it can be read as if the deterioration (in your case misting) must be bad enough to seriously affect the light output OR simply that it must be "excessive" regardless of whether the light output is affected or not.

Ie: does it mean:

[inoperative, excessively damaged or deteriorated or has a product on the lens or light source] so that the light output is well below that required....

or:

[ inoperative, excessively damaged or deteriorated] or [has a product on the lens or light source so that the light output is well below that required]

Given that others are producing and selling these lights (at a profit) for around £60 and the dealer is charging over £300 including (maybe) half an hour fitting, it doesn't take much cynicism to see which interpretation they're likely to apply!