Is this a Rip Off Garage

Axel

My Chrysler Ypsilon has been in today for its 4 year service and MOT to a large Arnold Clark franchise. 20,000 miles on the clock.

Service and MOT cost quoted as £520.

Garage just phoned MOT passed BUT the following "advisory repairs" are required, three of them SAFETY CRITICAL at a cost of around a further £1,000.

1. Exhaust corroded.
2. Handbrake cable frayed.
3. Shock absorber bushes split.
4. Brake discs totally corroded.

However it PASSED its MOT. I will get the list and exact quotes in writing and I think I will send it in to Watchdog.

Any comments appreciated.

Axel

Car_54

What exactly do you think is wrong?

The advisory items are precisely that. Things which will need attention in the near future, but were not bad enough to fail the test on the day.

lincroft1710

You do know that Arnold Clark are known on these boards as "Arnold Shark"?

facade

Get the handbrake cable fixed, worry about the rest at the next MOT, (or if they break before, my "corroded" exhaust was an advisory for 3 years before it finally started leaking and had to be changed).

maninthestreet

Brake disks 'totally corroded', but the car passed the MOT test???

worried_jim

Mate- you've just been proper spanked!

Joe_Horner

If they're saying the advisories are "safety critical" and "must be done" then don't mess about with watchdog.

Put in an inverted appeal against the test pass and explain that your reason for believing the pass was wrong is that the garage who just passed it has told you the advisories are dangerous and you need to spend over £1k with them now to make it safe.

DVSA will absolutely LOVE that

mrmot

maninthestreet wrote: »

Brake disks 'totally corroded', but the car passed the MOT test???

I tested a car the other week, all four discs were badly corroded on both faces, except for the inner face of one where it looked freshly machined, complete with iron filings as the pad had no friction material left on it.

As the disks weren't about to fall apart, I couldn't fail them, in 6 years I have yet to fail a car directly on brake discs. If the brakes showed judder or grabbing on the brake test then a fail on that would necessitate replacing the disks.

The MOT standard is really low, much lower than a standard that a servicing technician would use.

Joe_Horner

mrmot wrote: »

The MOT standard is really low, much lower than a standard that a servicing technician would use.

Yep, there used to be some really interesting VOSA training / refresher videos on youtube including one that showed examples of "pass and advise" brake disks. Personally I've got nothing against a little scoring - it increases the cooling area like fins on a heatsink - but their examples were a bit beyond that :eek:

All the same, advising things then giving the customer the impression (directly or by implication) that "you need to get it done now or you'll die" is out of order because if they're that bad they're fails & I'm pretty sure there's a rule in the scheme somewhere about using the test to scare people into having work done.

facade

mrmot wrote: »

I tested a car the other week, all four discs were badly corroded on both faces, except for the inner face of one where it looked freshly machined, complete with iron filings as the pad had no friction material left on it.

I take it that you failed it though under section 3.5

g.
a brake lining or pad insecure or less than 1.5 mm thick at any point

salubrious

The pads can fail if metal to metal but the discs will not - I think that's the point mrmot is making.

True fact, we used to be able to fail corroded brake discs, but certain fast fit depots where abusing it.