MOT Failure - was I ripped off?

Strider590

anntargett wrote: »

Regarding the fail sheet I haven't got it at the moment as they still have my car - they phoned me and told me about the contamination and said it would pass if the brake fluid was changed so I agreed to them doing it.

But had it actually failed on test?

If they tested it and it failed, then fair enough, but if they hadn't tested it, then they had no way of knowing..... They wouldn't put the car into the MOT test bay to test the brakes without running the full MOT. Most garages can't afford to have an MOT bay taken up my a car that's not being tested.

vax2002

So they decided it needed to be changed pre- mot ?
Bit of a jump that, as it is a service schedule task, are you sure it has actually been changed and they have just not added it on for a round of drinks.
A million and one things could probably be changed to prevent MOT failure, this sounds a very bizarre one to pick and one that is impossible to prove.
If you had water in brake fluid, you certainly would have know about it.

colino

Yes you have been ripped off, as you have said they told you your car failed on a non-testable item, report them to VOSA.
As an aside to a good service, its easy with a handheld checker to see if your brake fluid is past its best (apart from the silicon ones, brake fluid is hygroscopic - it absorbs water from the air) and as an add on to the service, could have recommended you change the brake fluid.
Frankly I doubt if it was duff in the first place and they have taken you for a ride.

s_b

you cant change the brake fluid on a modern 3 year old car for £45 you have been robbed
ask them if they used a basic multimeter type test to check or a full check which involves boiling a part of the fluid to check for water contamination

theres a bit of a scare story at the moment with a major manufacturer asking for basic brake fluid testers to be made illegal to use in a garage enviroment

http://www.brakefluidtester.com/new.htm

Alias_Omega

Obviously changing the brake fluid involves removing all 4 wheels, putting the machine on the resivour (spelling?) and opening each bleed nipple on the brake callipers.

If you get the car and it looks like the wheels have not been off, then you can ask questions. I would also check the brake fluid level yourself.

I once purchased a car with 12,000 miles from a renault dealer. To find on the way home that the "Brake & Stop" lights flashed when on the motorway sliproad (it banked over). The fluid went below the sensor level line.

Notmyrealname

s_b wrote: »

you cant change the brake fluid on a modern 3 year old car for £45 you have been robbed

Rubbish. My local independent charge £30.

And you don't use a multimeter to check brake fluid....

I really do wish you'd stop "contributing" to threads on this board because you have yet to make one single post that is actually correct.

Notmyrealname

vax2002 wrote: »

So they decided it needed to be changed pre- mot ?

The car had a service as well.

Bit of a jump that, as it is a service schedule task, are you sure it has actually been changed and they have just not added it on for a round of drinks.

Virtually no dealers do a brake fluid change as part of a standard service. It is usually an item that has to be asked for.

If you had water in brake fluid, you certainly would have know about it.

Not necessarily if all you do is potter around town. I've watched people drive down the road with completely flat tyres for miles completely oblivious to it. I doubt they'd notice a bit of brake fade.

pinkteapot

s_b wrote: »

you cant change the brake fluid on a modern 3 year old car for £45 you have been robbed

Eh? As I said, I just booked our car in for its second service at the main dealer. They said the brake fluid should be changed as the car is two years old and that it would cost £40.

Are you suggesting that they'd charge me the money and not actually change the brake fluid? :rotfl:

s_b

pinkteapot wrote: »

Eh? As I said, I just booked our car in for its second service at the main dealer. They said the brake fluid should be changed as the car is two years old and that it would cost £40.

Are you suggesting that they'd charge me the money and not actually change the brake fluid? :rotfl:

ask to watch as they do it
then roll your eyes

s_b

Notmyrealname wrote: »

Rubbish. My local independent charge £30.

And you don't use a multimeter to check brake fluid....

I really do wish you'd stop "contributing" to threads on this board because you have yet to make one single post that is actually correct.

you cannot do a purge of brake fluid for £30 are you serious

a lot of garages use the machine with the lights which is a multimeter under its skin

talk sense dont talk rubbish keep to selling flowers pal