MOT Advice please

Laura_Drummond

Do all garages have the same MOT guidelines? Or could one garage say it depends on who ‘checked’ it over? 

My car was due it’s service & MOT and it failed it’s MOT on rear axel bushes & emissions.

I had 10 days to get it fixed and return it to the Ford garage for a free re-test, under my service/Mot plan. I felt the price they quoted seemed in excess (and this was the cars first MOT....because it’s age).......
I wanted to think about it (and speak to my Dad☺️).

He took it to a small local garage the next day. They checked the rear axel bushes and said there was nothing wrong with them. (And the back wheels were difficult to come off, so he didn’t think they’d been taken off, for even the brakes etc to be checked)...... 🤔
I left the car with them and they added the fuel cleaner and ran the car. Emissions were re-tested and the car passed it’s MOT. 

Why have Ford failed it? 

I feel they were trying to scam me ....... into thinking I wouldn’t question the work needing carried out and therefore tell them to go ahead. 

(They quoted me £295 initially, for replacement rear axel bushes, but then said they would do them for £250). 

But as I explained, I took the car away and said I’d get back to them. 

It’s booked for it’s re-test tomorrow (but the car has now passed it’s MOT)! 

I’d like to take my car back to Ford (as arranged) tomorrow for its ‘MOT’ Re-test...... just to see if it’s passed this time! 

(Given that it’s not needed any work done on it)! 

Thoughts please? 

williamgriffin

There would be no reason to take the wheels off for the mot and it's unlikely they do it for service.

If you've had it retested by another garage and it's passed why are you going back to Ford?

Scrapit

A mot test is a bloke (or lady) having a look. They don't take wheels off. They have a look then decide. Imagine two blokes (or ladies) looking at something and giving a opinion. Do you imagine that's occasionally sometimes gonna be a bit different? Why take your motor for a mot when it already has one?especially in a time of covid when you're not supposed to go out, not withstanding the fact the mot is registered online, they'll probably know its passed.
And yes they all have the same guidelines, MOT stands for ministry of transport.

Scrapit

Also a 3-4 year old car shouldn't fail on emissions if its been serviced. Next time before your mot take it for a longish fast run and blow the cobwebs away-or in this case soot etc.

Car_54

As above, there is no point in going back.

I'd suggest you look carefully at your service/MOT plan, and consider whether it still gives you value for money. Your car is now (presumably) out of warranty, so there are likely more cost-effective ways of having it maintained.

It can't do any harm to write to the dealership for their comments on the MOT story, and asking them to pay your second MOT fee. They'll probably say no, but "Don't ask, don't get".

AdrianC

Laura_Drummond said:

Do all garages have the same MOT guidelines?

Yes.
https://www.gov.uk/guidance/mot-inspection-manual-for-private-passenger-and-light-commercial-vehicles

Or could one garage say it depends on who ‘checked’ it over?

Yes...
Because many of the thresholds between pass and fail are in the tester's opinion and judgement, rather than being some kind of explicit, tangible measurement.

My car was due it’s service & MOT and it failed it’s MOT on rear axel bushes & emissions.

I had 10 days to get it fixed and return it to the Ford garage for a free re-test, under my service/Mot plan. I felt the price they quoted seemed in excess (and this was the cars first MOT....because it’s age).......
I wanted to think about it (and speak to my Dad☺️).

He took it to a small local garage the next day. They checked the rear axel bushes and said there was nothing wrong with them.

This is the section that deals with suspension bushes.
https://www.gov.uk/guidance/mot-inspection-manual-for-private-passenger-and-light-commercial-vehicles/5-axles-wheels-tyres-and-suspension#section-5-3-4

I suspect your fail is 5-3-4-a-i
(a) A suspension pin, bush, joint or bearing:
(i) excessively worn

See how loose that is? Who says what's "excessively"? The tester. Somebody who's spent years working on cars, and has passed exams to be an MOT tester. 

The tester will probably be using an automated test lane, which has the wheel sat on a vibrating plate that gives the wheel a bloody good jiggle.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7HGbICps3as
He then watches for movement that shouldn't be there between various suspension components. The guy in the workshop won't have that. He'll probably just have had a look to see if it looks knackered, maybe get a bar in there to see if he can get any movement.

So, yes, there's some degree of opinion, and there's also some degree of what they can see using different equipment.

A "bush" is a rubber block between suspension components - they're under all sorts of strains and stresses, and are designed to wear - they're a routine consumable. They're there to take a lot of the harshness and vibration out of the tyre's interaction with the bumps and hollows and imperfections of the road.

Your suspension might not look quite like this or have as many different bushes - the theory's the same.

(And the back wheels were difficult to come off, so he didn’t think they’d been taken off, for even the brakes etc to be checked)...... 🤔

Wheels don't come off for the MOT. The tester isn't allowed to remove them. He's not even allowed to remove wheel trims to check if the bolts are all there...

Should they come off for a "service"? Depends... You'd like to think rear pads would be checked for wear, but it may actually be possible to do that with the wheels on, on some designs of wheel. But, ultimately, the word "service" means a whole raft of things from just an oil change upwards.

Why have Ford failed it?

Ford haven't. Ford UK do not run dealerships. You've taken your car into a totally different business, who just happen to have a franchise with Ford - and, probably, with other manufacturers, too.

But, when it comes to the test, everybody has to test to the same standard... within a degree of interpretation.

Car_54

AdrianC said:

Ford UK do not run dealerships.

Well, they do. They own Ford Retail, which run 65 dealerships branded TrustFord.

Gsaver1

Owned a couple of Fords, however was told that Ford stands for Forever Off-road Repaired Daily. My mondeo had a silly mechanism to get under the bonnet, swivel the badge over and unlock it. Well I had to get a new lock as my one seized and had to be drilled out. Much prefer the lever under the dash.

williamgriffin

Gsaver1 said:

Owned a couple of Fords, however was told that Ford stands for Forever Off-road Repaired Daily. My mondeo had a silly mechanism to get under the bonnet, swivel the badge over and unlock it. Well I had to get a new lock as my one seized and had to be drilled out. Much prefer the lever under the dash.

Fixed Or Repaired Daily.

AdrianC

Car_54 said:

AdrianC said:

Ford UK do not run dealerships.

Well, they do. They own Ford Retail, which run 65 dealerships branded TrustFord.

I happily sit corrected.
So 65 out of c.400 are Ford-owned, the other c.84% are not.

Scrapit

AdrianC said:

Car_54 said:

AdrianC said:

Ford UK do not run dealerships.

Well, they do. They own Ford Retail, which run 65 dealerships branded TrustFord.

I happily sit corrected.
So 65 out of c.400 are Ford-owned, the other c.84% are not.

But importantly, they still do which is a world away from not running dealerships isn't it?