MOT concern

Jul 18, 2017
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Our Jeep went in for its annual service and MOT on Wednesday past at the Jeep dealership as we have a service plan for the Jeep. Got phone to say it eas ready and collected it from dealership. Got home and checked paperwork and no mention of MOT. Checked Online at gov.uk and it stated MOT expiring next month. A bit of a sleepless night worrying about it.

Contacted dealership first thing in the morning and they then blamed me for not mentioning the MOT when I brought it in. I had booked the servicing and MOT in early July as per my service plan which they are aware of as it is on record. The service plan covers up to £70 for a MOT failure. Jeep told me that Jeep would get the MOT that day which was yesterday so another return trip.

Now the very strange part. When Jeep did the service they stated that there was fluid leaking from the rear shock absorber, a slight leak from gearbox and also that the rear pads were 90% word and the rear discs themselves were corroded. Of course I got quoted some silly price for the repairs. Also last year advisory that Offside Front Inner Steering linkage ball joint has slight play and Nearside Rear Shock absorbers light misting of oil or has limited damping effect. Surely with the latter it should be one or the other?

However regarding both strange issues when it went through the MOT this year no advisories. Surely pads worn at 90% is a failure? Also wondering why no advisories on the two issues that had not been repaired. I had dropped the vehicle off at about 9.30am and by 1pm it had gone through the MOT and it was all recorded on the gov.uk website.

Vehicle is now booked for a second MOT check at a local Inde that we have been using for years and we trust implicity. I think the result of their investigation is going to be interesting. Unfortunately earliest it can be done is 15th Oct, but luckily we have no trips booked.
 
Nov 6, 2005
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Our Jeep went in for its annual service and MOT on Wednesday past at the Jeep dealership as we have a service plan for the Jeep. Got phone to say it eas ready and collected it from dealership. Got home and checked paperwork and no mention of MOT. Checked Online at gov.uk and it stated MOT expiring next month. A bit of a sleepless night worrying about it.

Contacted dealership first thing in the morning and they then blamed me for not mentioning the MOT when I brought it in. I had booked the servicing and MOT in early July as per my service plan which they are aware of as it is on record. The service plan covers up to £70 for a MOT failure. Jeep told me that Jeep would get the MOT that day which was yesterday so another return trip.

Now the very strange part. When Jeep did the service they stated that there was fluid leaking from the rear shock absorber, a slight leak from gearbox and also that the rear pads were 90% word and the rear discs themselves were corroded. Of course I got quoted some silly price for the repairs. Also last year advisory that Offside Front Inner Steering linkage ball joint has slight play and Nearside Rear Shock absorbers light misting of oil or has limited damping effect. Surely with the latter it should be one or the other?

However regarding both strange issues when it went through the MOT this year no advisories. Surely pads worn at 90% is a failure? Also wondering why no advisories on the two issues that had not been repaired. I had dropped the vehicle off at about 9.30am and by 1pm it had gone through the MOT and it was all recorded on the gov.uk website.

Vehicle is now booked for a second MOT check at a local Inde that we have been using for years and we trust implicity. I think the result of their investigation is going to be interesting. Unfortunately earliest it can be done is 15th Oct, but luckily we have no trips booked.
That's why I never use the selling dealer or franchised dealer for MoT test, always using my local trusted independent - franchised dealers may apply two dissimilar standards, as your experience shows.
 
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That's why I never use the selling dealer or franchised dealer for MoT test, always using my local trusted independent - franchised dealers may apply two dissimilar standards, as your experience shows.
I use a Subaru dealer which in the mid 80s were Skoda. We bought an Estelle 105 from them, they serviced our Superb and five years ago took on the Subaru franchise whilst retaining the Skoda authorised service Center status. I’ve known the service manager since he was an apprentice. Always had good service and no concerns. But it’s always been a small family business.

Advisories can be a difficult one particularly in large dealerships where one technicians opinion may not be mirrored by another. They probably don’t see, or might not have access to the previous years result. But where it is a clear cut thing like brake or tyre wear there’s normally consistency.
 
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90% worn is not a fail- below 1.5 MM. is,but how can you tell,you have to give the customer the benefit of the doubt.How much time and money do you have,if you trust them to service it let them mot it,you got a pass. When you get the caravan serviced do you then get it serviced by someone else just to make sure the first person did it correctly? Thought not.
 
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That's why I never use the selling dealer or franchised dealer for MoT test, always using my local trusted independent - franchised dealers may apply two dissimilar standards, as your experience shows.
Jeep dealer uses a third party to do the MOT as they do not do it themselves.

90% worn is not a fail- below 1.5 MM. is,but how can you tell,you have to give the customer the benefit of the doubt.How much time and money do you have,if you trust them to service it let them mot it,you got a pass. When you get the caravan serviced do you then get it serviced by someone else just to make sure the first person did it correctly? Thought not.
I expected some advisories to be flagged up, but there were none. The 3 year service plan included MOT repairs up to £750 which makes me wonder about why no advisories. Service plan has now ended so probably will not be using that Jeep stealer dealer again.
The prices they wanted to charge for changing one shock absorber was nearly £400. The same shock imported from the US would cost me about £120 after customs etc. I was always under the impression that shocks should be changed in pairs?
Just to add insult to injury last year they did the basic service instead of the main service and the vehicle had to go back. Also for the MOT there was an error message that would have resulted in a Fail. This disappeared for the MOT but came back a day after collecting the Jeep from them. The proverbial stuff hit the fan and I told them that I was happy to see them in court. They then did the repair to clear the error message.
The service plan signed by their representative and myself included a free loan car and they told me there is a charge of £25 but out of the goodness of their heart they will waive the charge!
Never trust a car dealer! :mad:
 
Nov 11, 2009
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Jeep dealer uses a third party to do the MOT as they do not do it themselves.


I expected some advisories to be flagged up, but there were none. The 3 year service plan included MOT repairs up to £750 which makes me wonder about why no advisories. Service plan has now ended so probably will not be using that Jeep stealer dealer again.
The prices they wanted to charge for changing one shock absorber was nearly £400. The same shock imported from the US would cost me about £120 after customs etc. I was always under the impression that shocks should be changed in pairs?
Just to add insult to injury last year they did the basic service instead of the main service and the vehicle had to go back. Also for the MOT there was an error message that would have resulted in a Fail. This disappeared for the MOT but came back a day after collecting the Jeep from them. The proverbial stuff hit the fan and I told them that I was happy to see them in court. They then did the repair to clear the error message.
The service plan signed by their representative and myself included a free loan car and they told me there is a charge of £25 but out of the goodness of their heart they will waive the charge!
Never trust a car dealer! :mad:

Would your service plan actually cover repairs to advisories as they are not faults, or mot failures?
I cannot ever recall my cars being mot at a different place to the servicing. I’ve used main dealers and independents too but all have had their own mot facilities. I cannot agree with such a wide sweeping statement ” as never trust a dealer”. My Subaru, and it’s predecessors have been looked after by franchises and independents as they got older, but the franchises were mainly smaller local ones. The exception is that our Kia’s are looked after by a large multi franchise dealership. Again no complaints.
 
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Doesn’t sound great service at all Buckman.
Our Shogun is due service and MOT early next month, trusted independent every time for me, the owner I’ve known for years and he always gives the option of using genuine or aftermarket filters etc (if you need to save some pennies)

Kev
 
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Would your service plan actually cover repairs to advisories as they are not faults, or mot failures?
I cannot ever recall my cars being mot at a different place to the servicing. I’ve used main dealers and independents too but all have had their own mot facilities. I cannot agree with such a wide sweeping statement ” as never trust a dealer”. My Subaru, and it’s predecessors have been looked after by franchises and independents as they got older, but the franchises were mainly smaller local ones. The exception is that our Kia’s are looked after by a large multi franchise dealership. Again no complaints.
Service plan does not cover advisories only failures. No issue there. However the question is about advisories last year not being advisories this year? The rear brakes is a bit of a concern because I would have thought that at 90% wear on pads a failure plus corrosion on discs. Has me wondering?
 
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I would have thought the 90% brake wear would be an advisory and do wonder about some garages. When I had a shock absorber go on one car the dealer said just replace that one when I asked if they should replace both but they said no. Sure enough the other went a couple of months later.
With a company car the dealer said both rear shock absorbers had gone and they were replaced. At the next service they said one was leaking and I pointed out it was less than 12 months old. They said it would be replaced under guarantee but when I went to collect it they said no problem it must have been wet when first checked and the mechanic thought it was leaking. Read what you want into that.
Last three cars have been serviced at a dealer who sends me a video and so far they have not suggested any fault that they could not show me or I knew of before it went in.
 
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Would your service plan actually cover repairs to advisories as they are not faults, or mot failures?
I cannot ever recall my cars being mot at a different place to the servicing. I’ve used main dealers and independents too but all have had their own mot facilities. I cannot agree with such a wide sweeping statement ” as never trust a dealer”. My Subaru, and it’s predecessors have been looked after by franchises and independents as they got older, but the franchises were mainly smaller local ones. The exception is that our Kia’s are looked after by a large multi franchise dealership. Again no complaints.

Perhaps your lucky, or others, including me, are unlucky. I have had cause to believe and to know not to put trust in a main dealer.

I use a trusted garage and I know the staff and owners well. I feel well looked after there. In fact, I have a service next week. Courtesy car included.

John
 
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Perhaps your lucky, or others, including me, are unlucky. I have had cause to believe and to know not to put trust in a main dealer.

I use a trusted garage and I know the staff and owners well. I feel well looked after there. In fact, I have a service next week. Courtesy car included.

John
When we bought the Jeep in 2018 it had a warranty wise cover so took it to Jeep dealer for repairs which came to about £700 covered by warranty. When work was completed I was talked into the service plan. I knew that within the next 3 years it would require a major service costing in excess of £700 so agreed to the service plan. Knowing what I now know, I would not have gone ahead with it and left it to our trusted Inde.
Attached are pictures of rear L/H shock absorber leak, gearbox leak and corroded rear discs. I appreciate with the exception of the brakes the former are not MOT failures. Maybe one of the motoring enthusisats can advise as my knowledge on car mechanics is very poor? One shock absorber is supposed to be about £397 as it has auto levelling and rear brakes plus discs just under £700. Thanks.
Shock absorber leak.jpgGearbox leak.jpgCorroded rear discs.jpg
 
Jan 31, 2018
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The corroded rear discs don't look bad enough for a fail. Hard to tell without seeing the other side-could be worse of course but ours passed like the above-it's more to do with braking performance-still pass that they should be fine-but I then replaced ours myself when I got it home! No idea re the others though sorry
 
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The corroded rear discs don't look bad enough for a fail. Hard to tell without seeing the other side-could be worse of course but ours passed like the above-it's more to do with braking performance-still pass that they should be fine-but I then replaced ours myself when I got it home! No idea re the others though sorry
I didn't think the discs would be a fail, but pad supposed to be 90% worn. managed to get Jeep booked in for a check on Monday morning so then know if dealer was correct.
 
Nov 11, 2009
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I didn't think the discs would be a fail, but pad supposed to be 90% worn. managed to get Jeep booked in for a check on Monday morning so then know if dealer was correct.
Does the warranty cover leaking shock absorber or gearbox. Many don’t cover leaks as they aren’t defined as mechanical failure. Mine didn’t cover a front CV joint, as it hadn’t failed but I wasn’t prepared to drive that much further. The supplying dealership offered to do the job at cost…..£600. The small franchised dealer I use did it for just over £400 with Subaru parts and presumably made a profit.
 
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Does the warranty cover leaking shock absorber or gearbox. Many don’t cover leaks as they aren’t defined as mechanical failure. Mine didn’t cover a front CV joint, as it hadn’t failed but I wasn’t prepared to drive that much further. The supplying dealership offered to do the job at cost…..£600. The small franchised dealer I use did it for just over £400 with Subaru parts and presumably made a profit.

The service plan was worded in such a way that it was misleading. At first we assumed that the £750 was for any fault, but at second service we were told that it only applied to MOT failures.

Document states the following; MOT £54.85, MOT Check & Repair 12 Month Cover £750 Worth. Also states 10% discount off any additional work required / Free loan car subject to availability Told that neither applied any longer although we were still in contract.

At time of signing we were given the impression that it would cover any issue up to £750. Silly me, but lesson learnt!
 
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The service plan was worded in such a way that it was misleading. At first we assumed that the £750 was for any fault, but at second service we were told that it only applied to MOT failures.

Document states the following; MOT £54.85, MOT Check & Repair 12 Month Cover £750 Worth. Also states 10% discount off any additional work required / Free loan car subject to availability Told that neither applied any longer although we were still in contract.

At time of signing we were given the impression that it would cover any issue up to £750. Silly me, but lesson learnt!
I assume then that it could exclude pads and discs on account of them being fair wear and tear even if they were an mot failure.
 
Jun 20, 2005
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SWMBO Kia is serviced /and was MOT ‘d by main dealer. My VW now out of guarantee is looked after by long standing local chap who does everything. Never had an advisory because he fixes it first. He’s now doing the Kia brakes and MOT. Main dealer service tech said different to MOT dept! Quoted me £800 for new discs and pads all round. Local Chap, using quality parts £550, First time ever I am disappointed with main dealer!
 

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Quoted me £800 for new discs and pads all round. Local Chap, using quality parts £550, First time ever I am disappointed with main dealer!

That probably is because the franchise requires the use of original parts, and the "Local chap" is able to go elsewhere for parts?
 
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When we bought the Jeep in 2018 it had a warranty wise cover so took it to Jeep dealer for repairs which came to about £700 covered by warranty. When work was completed I was talked into the service plan. I knew that within the next 3 years it would require a major service costing in excess of £700 so agreed to the service plan. Knowing what I now know, I would not have gone ahead with it and left it to our trusted Inde.
Attached are pictures of rear L/H shock absorber leak, gearbox leak and corroded rear discs. I appreciate with the exception of the brakes the former are not MOT failures. Maybe one of the motoring enthusisats can advise as my knowledge on car mechanics is very poor? One shock absorber is supposed to be about £397 as it has auto levelling and rear brakes plus discs just under £700. Thanks.
View attachment 2322View attachment 2323View attachment 2324
Maybe not really a problem. but, Have the right size pads been fitted, My pads cover almost every millimetre of the disc face.
 
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SWMBO Kia is serviced /and was MOT ‘d by main dealer. My VW now out of guarantee is looked after by long standing local chap who does everything. Never had an advisory because he fixes it first. He’s now doing the Kia brakes and MOT. Main dealer service tech said different to MOT dept! Quoted me £800 for new discs and pads all round. Local Chap, using quality parts £550, First time ever I am disappointed with main dealer!
We had a quote of £310 for front pads and discs for the Kia when it was MoT”d in June 2019. On servicing in spring this year the dealership quote was £280. But for things like that which don’t affect its 7 year warranty I get prices from local garages. Had it done for £210 at a local garage using Pagid discs and Mintex pads. Mrfixit, and ClickMechanic gave even cheaper quotes but the garage I used gave a range of combination optionsm including Brembo too.
 

JTQ

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Maybe not really a problem. but, Have the right size pads been fitted, My pads cover almost every millimetre of the disc face.

Something looks quite odd, unless it is a quirk of the photography, the rusted area has rubbed flats?
It should either be a braking surface or not a rubbed one, not a rusted braking surface.
 
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Our Jeep went in for its annual service and MOT on Wednesday past at the Jeep dealership as we have a service plan for the Jeep. Got phone to say it eas ready and collected it from dealership. Got home and checked paperwork and no mention of MOT. Checked Online at gov.uk and it stated MOT expiring next month. A bit of a sleepless night worrying about it.

Contacted dealership first thing in the morning and they then blamed me for not mentioning the MOT when I brought it in. I had booked the servicing and MOT in early July as per my service plan which they are aware of as it is on record. The service plan covers up to £70 for a MOT failure. Jeep told me that Jeep would get the MOT that day which was yesterday so another return trip.

Now the very strange part. When Jeep did the service they stated that there was fluid leaking from the rear shock absorber, a slight leak from gearbox and also that the rear pads were 90% word and the rear discs themselves were corroded. Of course I got quoted some silly price for the repairs. Also last year advisory that Offside Front Inner Steering linkage ball joint has slight play and Nearside Rear Shock absorbers light misting of oil or has limited damping effect. Surely with the latter it should be one or the other?

However regarding both strange issues when it went through the MOT this year no advisories. Surely pads worn at 90% is a failure? Also wondering why no advisories on the two issues that had not been repaired. I had dropped the vehicle off at about 9.30am and by 1pm it had gone through the MOT and it was all recorded on the gov.uk website.

Vehicle is now booked for a second MOT check at a local Inde that we have been using for years and we trust implicity. I think the result of their investigation is going to be interesting. Unfortunately earliest it can be done is 15th Oct, but luckily we have no trips booked.
The rule is - never take your car to it's dealership for a MOT.
 
Nov 11, 2009
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The rule is - never take your car to it's dealership for a MOT.

Why?

Do you think other garages aren’t looking for business also. I’ve had a number of different makes MoT’d at the dealerships generally along with their annual service too. Cannot say I’ve ever felt they have foisted unnecessary work onto me. As I normally do the mot well in advance if I were concerned I’d get a second opinion. But never have.
 
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When a car is still within it's warranty period I don't see a problem with using the supplying dealer, but when out of that period I have often used MOT stations (Local Authority or a local bus company) that have no service or repair facilities, In that way they can't have a vested interest in generating unnecessary work.

In theory service stations that offer MOT's should run the MOT as a separate entity, and the DVSA inspectors would be looking for any sharp practices that might be disadvantaging consumers, such as unreasonable fails, or unreasonable advisories.

IF you have a concern about the accuracy or administration of an MOT then contact
 

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