Car repairs reasonable - welding and shock absorbers

jeffsmith

Just failed my MOT at Kwik Fit

- The OSF fluid suspension unit is leaking. KW have quoted
270 for replacing both front shock absorbers. 45 for geo-align of the front tyres.
- Corrosion in OSR and NSR wheel arch and seal that requires welding. A local garage (not VAT registered) has quoted 200 for this as it requires time to take the car apart to get access.

Do these prices sound reasonable?

attila_

What car is it?

315 for a shock is a lot for any car. But can't be more specific as don't know the car.

200 for weld seems ok, but again i would doubt this is really an mot fail. Wheel arch corrosion? Sure someone will correct

jeffsmith

Mazda 323 2001

AdrianC

attila_ wrote: »

315 for a shock is a lot for any car. But can't be more specific as don't know the car.

Components such as dampers - like springs and brakes - should always be replaced as a pair.

A quick check on just one parts site that I've found very reasonable in the past gives a pair of front dampers for an '01 323 (I guessed as to the engine, it may depend) as £140 for the parts. Stripping the struts off and replacing the dampers is not a quick job, so £60ish per side doesn't sound ridiculous. £45 for alignment is about right.

I'd get the local garage to do the dampers, though.

200 for weld seems ok, but again i would doubt this is really an mot fail. Wheel arch corrosion? Sure someone will correct

Rear arches are structural, as are the sills - and they're well within the MOT's 30cm of seatbelt/suspension mounts. Welding either will require a reasonable amount of interior and probably exterior trim to being stripped out and refitted. I don't think a ton a side is unreasonable - but be prepared for it to go up if the rot they can see proves to be the tip of the iceberg.

This might be the time to question the future of this car...

vaio

AdrianC wrote: »

...... ..... be prepared for it to go up if the rot they can see proves to be the tip of the iceberg.

This might be the time to question the future of this car...

and certainly get the welding done before the shocks

colino

While it's not a fortune to get an MOT, once you start welding up a 323, it's going to be an annual event. Maybe time to call a halt and look for something else? The mechanicals will still be as good as gold, but surrounded by a creaking frame of rust.

Westmead_Fan

really those prices sound excessive.

have you seen the shock leaking? clean the shock off & if its not leaked over the next couple of days if you are getting the welding done then they can't fail it.

on the welding, how many welding patches are there, also how big are they? is this non VAT garage a proper garage or a 1 man band you can trust?

if you are planning on keeping the vehicle for a couple more years, getting underneath and any patches of rust brush it off using a wire brush & buy some black underseal, spray or bush it over to help protect from excessive corrosion.

AdrianC

Westmead_Fan wrote: »

have you seen the shock leaking? clean the shock off & if its not leaked over the next couple of days if you are getting the welding done then they can't fail it.

It's replies like this that make me wish fervently for the MOT to introduce a test for actual damper function, rather than merely "is it actively leaking?"...

if you are planning on keeping the vehicle for a couple more years, getting underneath and any patches of rust brush it off using a wire brush & buy some black underseal, spray or bush it over to help protect from excessive corrosion.

Won't help one bit. The corrosion won't be coming from the outside in, it'll be coming from the inside out. At best (more like worst, tbh) all you'll do is hide the structural rot and massively weakened suspension and seatbelt mounts from view for a little bit longer. Woo.

The MOT is not a once-a-year highpoint of vehicle condition, it's a baseline for acceptable roadworthiness.

Westmead_Fan

AdrianC wrote: »

It's replies like this that make me wish fervently for the MOT to introduce a test for actual damper function, rather than merely "is it actively leaking?"...

did you read where he got the mot done???

famous old kwik fit who only care about numbers, how do you know the shock ain't just damp which is a pass & advise but the tester needed to increase his sales.

Won't help one bit. The corrosion won't be coming from the outside in, it'll be coming from the inside out. At best (more like worst, tbh) all you'll do is hide the structural rot and massively weakened suspension and seatbelt mounts from view for a little bit longer. Woo.

The MOT is not a once-a-year highpoint of vehicle condition, it's a baseline for acceptable roadworthiness.

did you not read the post properly, to help it not cure it, of course we would like to live in the perfect world fix everything before its too late but in reality not everyone can do this.

AdrianC

Westmead_Fan wrote: »

did you read where he got the mot done???

I did. And I certainly won't defend KF's reputation in the slightest. That's what a VOSA appeal is for.

did you not read the post properly, to help it not cure it

I did. Which is why I said it won't _help_ one bit. Because it won't. All it will do is disguise the problem. It won't even slow the advance of the problem one jot, because all it will do is mask the symptoms.

And let's hope that the problem doesn't get undisguised by an impact in which a seatbelt rips out of the rotten mount, eh? Or a suspension mount come adrift?

but in reality not everyone can do this.

If you can't afford to maintain a car to a state of basic roadworthiness, you can't afford to run a car. It's not a basic human right, y'know.

Prothet_of_Doom

jeffsmith wrote: »

Just failed my MOT at Kwik Fit

- The OSF fluid suspension unit is leaking. KW have quoted
270 for replacing both front shock absorbers. 45 for geo-align of the front tyres.
- Corrosion in OSR and NSR wheel arch and seal that requires welding. A local garage (not VAT registered) has quoted 200 for this as it requires time to take the car apart to get access.

Do these prices sound reasonable?

No and yes.

You can phone up 1001 Motor factors, and find out the price of a pair of shocks, but the labour time is unlikely to be greater than 2 hours, and probably half that. I would think that KF are overpricing it by 100%.

The welding sounds reasonable. Depends how big the hole.