MOT

twiggyaddick

No not marching on together at Leeds. My car, bit of a old banger, 04 focus, failed it's MOT on Tuesday, its failed on a few things, mostly worn and corroded rear suspension mountings and a worn linkage ball joint, so it involves welding, which is fine, driving an older car it's expected and I'm hoping to get a newee one in the near future, however I've just moved into the area I'm now in.

Anyway, this isn't the problem, the problem is I took it in on Tuesday and had to call up to chase the result, then they said they would quote me for any work done by Wednesday, phoned Wednesday, said it would be Thursday, phoned Thursday, they said first thing Friday, phoned today lunchtime and got told they are putting it on the ramp now.

Is this not far too long to sort out a quote? I've never waited more than a couple of hours for a quote, I used these last year (on a family members recommendation) and it was all quick and easy and done in a day and I'm now unsure what to do as today's the last day of the existing MOT,l and I normally have this sorted at last a few days in advance, after today am I allowed to drive it to another garage if they are still taking a age to price the quote, I'm abit miffed it's taking them this long but am I being unreasonable in expecting a quote by now?

SuedeAdidas

They’re still adding it all up. 

DaveMehmet

The problem with rust is that what you see on the surface is often nowhere near the extent of the issue. Once you start poking around in a small hole (insert Kenneth Williams pic here), it can very quickly spread to a much larger area.

usetobunkin

They may have better “paying” jobs than welding your car up. Servicing and tyres and exhaust etc. Nice and simple pays well 

To weld properly is time consuming and a really skilled job. They may sub it out to a specialist welder. Or just weld it up to MOT standard. 

(Also the MOT, is a very basic check). 

Be aware that unless welding is done correctly you will be back to square one next MOT.
 

Perhaps as the car is 20 years old might be the time to trade it in or sell for spares or repair.

swords_alive

Poor service. I would take to another garage on principle if possible. Don't feel pressured just because the MOT has expired after today. Too many garages take advantage of owners not shopping around in my experience.

cafcfan

Surely you've just got to scrap it? Many years ago my Cortina got hit by a highly polished Austin 1300 and the Austin just disintegrated. Underneath the shine it was just 100% rust.

But don't buy a second hand Nissan Navarra.

BrentfordAddick

They don't want to do it. It will take ages to sort a quote then when they start it will be worse and it will be a nuisance. Sounds like it would be cheaper to get another car. A mate went up north to get a car, saved a few hundred quid. 

Covered End

Doesn't help twiggyaddick, but I get my car MOT'd as early as possible, ie 1 month before expiry to avoid this issue.

red10

Once the mot has expired you can only drive it to a booked mot appointment, also when a mate a long well back too his for an mot it was in poor shape and the response was you can't weld rust mate. They also had one mot guy who had a hook instead of a hand and used to use it to check out the levels of rust underneath and sills etc. Finally if you have no mot you probably will have no insurance cover.

Gillis

"If your vehicle doesn't have a current MOT certificate, you can only drive it to or from a pre-arranged MOT appointment or to or from a pre-arranged repair appointment to have defects remedied that were discovered on a previous test. You can also drive your vehicle on a road without road tax in these circumstances too but your vehicle must be insured. However, not having an MOT may have implications for the validity of your insurance - you would need to check this with your insurer."

https://www.westyorkshire.police.uk/ask-the-police/question/Q360

gringo

Covered End said:

Doesn't help twiggyaddick, but I get my car MOT'd as early as possible, ie 1 month before expiry to avoid this issue.

Its not commonly known that you can MOT a car up to (I think) a month before it expires and they can date it for a year from the expiry date so you don't shortchange yourself.

killerandflash

My pet hate, contractors stringing you along, rather than actually doing the work or declining it. 

Cracking cars Mk 1 Focuses, I sadly replaced my 2002 model last year, not because of MOT failures,  but because expensive bills were imminent. 

IdleHans

I've been in this position once or twice. If I were you I'd find a reputable local garage that does MoTs (Facebook reccos are usually good for this) and have a chat with them. Book it in for an MoT so that you can drive there legally, and get them to do the work before they test it. 

Dansk_Red

gringo said:

Covered End said:

Doesn't help twiggyaddick, but I get my car MOT'd as early as possible, ie 1 month before expiry to avoid this issue.

Its not commonly known that you can MOT a car up to (I think) a month before it expires and they can date it for a year from the expiry date so you don't shortchange yourself.

But if it fails you will not be able to drive it on the road, altough the previous MOT has a month to run, if the police check with DVLA it wiil come up as MOT failed.   

Chizz

twiggyaddick said:

No not marching on together at Leeds. My car, bit of a old banger, 04 focus, failed it's MOT on Tuesday, its failed on a few things, mostly worn and corroded rear suspension mountings and a worn linkage ball joint, so it involves welding, which is fine, driving an older car it's expected and I'm hoping to get a newee one in the near future, however I've just moved into the area I'm now in.

Anyway, this isn't the problem, the problem is I took it in on Tuesday and had to call up to chase the result, then they said they would quote me for any work done by Wednesday, phoned Wednesday, said it would be Thursday, phoned Thursday, they said first thing Friday, phoned today lunchtime and got told they are putting it on the ramp now.

Is this not far too long to sort out a quote? I've never waited more than a couple of hours for a quote, I used these last year (on a family members recommendation) and it was all quick and easy and done in a day and I'm now unsure what to do as today's the last day of the existing MOT,l and I normally have this sorted at last a few days in advance, after today am I allowed to drive it to another garage if they are still taking a age to price the quote, I'm abit miffed it's taking them this long but am I being unreasonable in expecting a quote by now?

To answer your question about driving to another garage, yes, as long as you have booked an MOT at the other garage, or if you have booked the actual repair you need. 

The fact your car failed its MOT means it's no longer fit to be driven, other than these exceptions. 

Justin20474

My Tesla just failed its first MOT due to excessive wear on the suspension arm pin/bush. I put it in three weeks before it was due, not expecting a failure. Took it to Tesla for repair, but they said they couldn’t book it in for 4–6 weeks, and would charge £797 for the work. Because it’s classed as a major issue, the car shouldn’t be driven.

Honestly, the car is absolute dog shit, I hate it.

Thankfully, it’s a company car, so work has had to hire me a replacement to keep me on the road.

red10

Justin20474 said:

My Tesla just failed its first MOT due to excessive wear on the suspension arm pin/bush. I put it in three weeks before it was due, not expecting a failure. Took it to Tesla for repair, but they said they couldn’t book it in for 4–6 weeks, and would charge £797 for the work. Because it’s classed as a major issue, the car shouldn’t be driven.

Honestly, the car is absolute dog shit, I hate it.

Thankfully, it’s a company car, so work has had to hire me a replacement to keep me on the road.

Christ on a bike, 3 years old and it's suspension can't hold out. I had an issue with my Alfa which had the engine dismantled to to fit a new part and that was only 1300 quid. Was described as my specialist Alfa garage as major surgery!!!!!!

gringo

Chizz said:

twiggyaddick said:

No not marching on together at Leeds. My car, bit of a old banger, 04 focus, failed it's MOT on Tuesday, its failed on a few things, mostly worn and corroded rear suspension mountings and a worn linkage ball joint, so it involves welding, which is fine, driving an older car it's expected and I'm hoping to get a newee one in the near future, however I've just moved into the area I'm now in.

Anyway, this isn't the problem, the problem is I took it in on Tuesday and had to call up to chase the result, then they said they would quote me for any work done by Wednesday, phoned Wednesday, said it would be Thursday, phoned Thursday, they said first thing Friday, phoned today lunchtime and got told they are putting it on the ramp now.

Is this not far too long to sort out a quote? I've never waited more than a couple of hours for a quote, I used these last year (on a family members recommendation) and it was all quick and easy and done in a day and I'm now unsure what to do as today's the last day of the existing MOT,l and I normally have this sorted at last a few days in advance, after today am I allowed to drive it to another garage if they are still taking a age to price the quote, I'm abit miffed it's taking them this long but am I being unreasonable in expecting a quote by now?

To answer your question about driving to another garage, yes, as long as you have booked an MOT at the other garage, or if you have booked the actual repair you need. 

The fact your car failed its MOT means it's no longer fit to be driven, other than these exceptions.