MOT!!!

[laserblazer]

My car is 5 years old and has done 15,500 miles. I've just taken it in for MOT and service and they have phoned to say it failed because there is corrosion in the front disk. It will cost £225 and they can't get the parts until next week.

 

I wonder if the corrosion is partly down to the low mileage? The car's kept garaged overnight.

[maniac]

Blimy, only 5 years old and it failed on that, quite unusual. Corrosion on parts like that which is bad enough for the car to fail takes quite a bit to happen, normally only if the cars been parked up outside for a long time.

 

They don't make 'em like they used to, my car is 15 years old with 104,000 miles on the clock, and it flew through the last 2 MOT's with no problems at all - I seriously doubt it's going to obtain a 3rd one however.

[synaesthesia]

Not a toyota is it?

 

Corrosion on a disk though - £225? a pair of discs (might as well do both) will set you back an average of £60, might as well replace the pads too, £30 for a set (average) and £10 for a caliper tool. Well under half that price and if you don't mind getting your hands dirty can do it in half an hour, taking your time to do it correctly. Or better still pay a friend that can do it for you with a few beers. That's a silly price unless it's a souped up Nova with brake discs bigger than the original wheels and all sorts of tongues, grooves and sporty holes in them.

[mossj]

With disks you have to replace both at the same time.... but i agree with the above it shouldn't be that pricey.

[john]

That £225 might be the discs, pads and fitting etc and it doesn't say what type of garage its in, so it could be deemed "reasonable" if its a costly labour place. For example, just priced up front discs and pads for my car and it comes to £77 just for them without labour, so by the time a garage has sorted it that could be a potential figure. Edited May 1, 2010 by john

[K.C.Leblanc]

Is that a main dealer? What's the car, how long do you plan to keep it?

 

I've got front pads and disks, an MOT test and some repairs (not parts needed) to the rear brakes on my car for £190. Oh and I drive a Chysler, there parts are very expensive (the mechanic told me it would be 'roughly' £150 before he'd checked the price of the parts).

[Sirbendy]

One of the reasons that I take the car out before the MOT, and on the way I rag the bottom off it and give the brakes and catalyst a good hard workout..

[bodminman]

Just after xmas I replaced the front disks and front and rear pads on my Vectra.

 

Costs:

 

Front discs = £52

Front and rear pads = £29

Copper grease =£4

Locking compound for the bolts = £4

Haynes manual = £13

 

I had never done this before and it took me about 3 hours to do the lot. In between taking things appart and replacing I did take the time to scrub and Hammerrite the the calipers whilst they were loose!

 

Brakes work a treat and look clean too.

 

Most of all I'm glad I done it myself as I now feel more confident about attemping other things too. Haynes manual was the best investment for me and my car!

[synaesthesia]

Aye, they're good investments. Also you can often buy electronic service manuals which can be a lot more descriptive for many cars which will usually tickle the fancy of the average mechanical-electronic geek like me

I'm no mechanic but with the right documentation and good advice I've done head gasket replacements (yeah, had 2 Rovers), exhaust and manifold replacements, new brakes, ball joints, springs, the works. Easily saved well over 2 grand in garage labour fees Just always, always worth making sure you have the right tools first though - doing calipers without compression tools and springs without spring tensioners, gaskets without cam lockers etc can get dangerous and take AGES :|

[john]

...doing calipers without compression tools

G Clamps solve everything Thats what I've used many times and they are still working fine to this day, although saying that the fact you have to put pressure and rotate on the ones on my Golf does make that a bit harder to achieve so may just invest in the correct tool.....

[bodminman]

Yep, right tools for the right job!

[teejay]

Mine went in for its MOT last week, I'd had a rattle which I thought was just the back seat slightly loose, was a bit shocked when I found out it was actually the suspension broken! Along with other stuff like brakes, tyres etc total bill was just over £600, eek!

[36Degrees]

Worst brakes I ever replaced were on a Ford Fiesta. The disc had pretty much welded itself to the hub so it required a lot of brake cleaner (full can!) and some quite intense persuasion from a lump hammer. 2 hours later one side done, 30 mins after that both sides done!

 

Most annoying thing was that about a month later it got written off after a disagreement with an Isuzu Trooper...

[Sarconia]

Haynes manual was the best investment for me and my car!

 

So true, a while back my car had an oil leak that was caused by a paper gasket which had gone after 15years. I replaced it with a nice metal gasket (which cost me about £2) but that wasn't before I had to dismantle half the engine to get to it. I'd not really got a clue what I was doing, I just went to Halfords, bought a Haynes manual, followed that and borrowed half my dad's garage.

[Jamo]

For cheap car parts I use www.eurocarparts.com got my thermostat on there for 5 quid! I actually spent more on coolant than the thermostat

 

If you type in your reg number it finds the parts for you and you can then see if you are being had or not!!

[laserblazer]

The car is due to go back tomorrow for the new disks to be fitted but I had a premonition and gave Kwik Fit a call this afternoon. Guess what? They hadn't ordered the parts but have assured me that they will be in by mid-day tomorrow. This disrupts my plans but hopefully it will be sorted because the MOT expires next week.

 

I also renewed my car insurance with them yesterday. To pay monthly took it from £185 to £286. That's a 79% APR. I said I didn't want the legal cover at £37 because I have an annual insurance for hire car excess and that covers it. It took 5 minutes for him to get ito into his skull that I wasn't going to have it. As soon as he had my card details he started to push house insurance and wouldn't take no for an answer. I said he was pushing me close to cancelling my car insurance and he had the balls to say that would cost me £50. I put the phone down.

 

I just received a Customer Satisfaction survey email from them. I can't wait to complete it.

[laserblazer]

Just collected the car, I had to call them as it was getting late and the car had been ready some time, they just forgot to tell me. I looked at the job sheet as he was doing the paperwork and it said £274.50, so I was preparing myself for a big fight. He then tells me it is £247.50. When I said I had been quoted £225 he just accepted it and I got it for £201 with my 10% discount. Most of the staff use a local guy whose kids came here and he collects and returns the car, so makes life easier. Think I'll use him next time and to hell with the free MOT!

[bodminman]

Glad you go it all sorted mate. Keep tabs on eBay and get yourself a Hayes manual. For things like brake pad/disc changes, it'll save you loads of money.

 

So long as you spend a bit of time checking what you need to do and ensuring you have all the correct tools you'll save the dosh and probably enjoy the mechanic side of it too!

 

Have fun!