MOT tomorrow, what are they going to try and scam me with?

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FrankScorpio

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01 1.8Ts, serviced Jan, 2k miles since, new brakes all round last month, what are the odds of anything being picked up?

Are there any borderline things they may push to have replaced or repaired that may not be necessary that I need to look out for?

Dealer tried to tell me my (two week old) wiper blades needed replacing so always a bit wary of bigger things as I'm not the most mechanical person around!
 
Check Tyres, lights, wipers. All the easy bits, the rest you'll have to just hope for the best. A decent MOT station won't fail on anything that does'nt need sorting, anything that is borderline or nearly nackered you will just get an advisory.
 
Not tryin to be funny mate but it all depends on the condition of ur car - and if its failing an mot on anything other than the stupid little things ie bulbs etc id be worrying.

an 01 plate a3 thats been looked after i wouldnt be worrying too much
 
Depends on the tester also, and what type of day he's having. On a good day, they can be a hero, on a bad day, they will be an ********... again, they won't fail you on something minor as mentioned above, even tyres 0.1mm from the limiters can be advisory... Anti roll bar bushes are a common thing to fail A3's on.
 
Yes, bushes are a definate as unless they're practically brand new there will always be some play in them. Also my A4 got failed for "dangerously perished brake pipes" which was total garbage, the car had only done 5k miles since the last successful MOT, where there wasn't even an advisory on them. How they got so dangerously perished in just 5k miles is anyones guess. Unfortunately with the new computerised system you can't even take it somewhere else for a second opinion as they can't override the first failure unless the works been done. MOT's are a joke when you see the state of some of the commercial vehicles on the road, not to mention cars.
 
Thanks chaps. Car is solid, garaged, well serviced, only 50k so I'm not overly concerned but when people start talking about AR bushes and such, I'm not in a position to confirm.
Despite being a mug, I don't want to be taken for one!!

A mate of mine goes to the local commercial place as they are obliged to carry out the MOT for the class but as they don't want to do any work on it he feels he gets a really honest test.
 
If youve taken any bumps with speed (read: hump backed bridge at 80 mph) then the guy who tested my car said the shock springs go fairly regularly on a3 but thats about a £90 job so not bad! My car on last MOT failed on that and got an advisory on leaking fluid from power steering resivoir. Better than my mates advisory which was for warped brake discs, no idea how he done that considering he has a rover 25 :moa:

Oh if anyones looking for a decent garage/tester i can wholly recommend moorlands in hertfordshire/hatfield, very up front guys who know what they are talking about and dont mess you around.
 
Just be nice to them and they usually advise of anything that needs doing and pass your car. If your a regular customer then that usually helps too.
Dont worry about it too much.
Worse thing to worry about would be the emissions test in my opinion
 
AndyMac said:
Yes, bushes are a definate as unless they're practically brand new there will always be some play in them. Also my A4 got failed for "dangerously perished brake pipes" which was total garbage, the car had only done 5k miles since the last successful MOT, where there wasn't even an advisory on them. How they got so dangerously perished in just 5k miles is anyones guess. Unfortunately with the new computerised system you can't even take it somewhere else for a second opinion as they can't override the first failure unless the works been done. MOT's are a joke when you see the state of some of the commercial vehicles on the road, not to mention cars.
Click to expand...

Pipes perishing is'nt really mileage related, its still a year. Things can perish in a year to be fair.
 
Well, not too bad - a pass.

Two advisory -
Nail in offside rear tyre (grr, I consistently have trouble with tyres)
Offside front inner driveshaft gaiter grease leak (bloke seemed surprised there weren't any clips...? But the other side was the same with no leak. That make any sense to anyone?)

Emissions were absolutely fine.
Fast idle - 0.01% CO, 14 ppm HC, Lambda 1.00
Idle - 0.00% CO

And over 50 quid as well!!!
 
Mo-S3 said:
Worse thing to worry about would be the emissions test in my opinion
Click to expand...

Always helpful to give your car a good blast on the way to MOT station, to clear things up a little, any MOT tester worth his salt should give the car a good revving before inserting the exhaust probe for the emmisions test.
 
FrankScorpio said:
And over 50 quid as well!!!
Click to expand...

MOT stations that only do MOT's and no other work will usually charge you the maximum amount, something like 52 quid IIRC... garages which offer additional services like adjusting headlamps, or changing a blown bulb(and charging a fiver for the privilege) will offer MOT's at a lesser rate say £40-45, but are generally more strict with the test in my opinion...
 
jojo said:
MOT stations that only do MOT's and no other work will usually charge you the maximum amount, something like 52 quid IIRC... garages which offer additional services like adjusting headlamps, or changing a blown bulb(and charging a fiver for the privilege) will offer MOT's at a lesser rate say £40-45, but are generally more strict with the test in my opinion...
Click to expand...

Got mine for £20 :icon_thumright:
 
MOT stations that only do MOT's and no other work will usually charge you the maximum amount, something like 52 quid IIRC
Click to expand...

I'm an MOT tester, the max you can be charged at the minute is £50.35p :icon_thumright:
 
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