Garage Misdiagnosis: Error or Rip-Off??
 

Hi All,

You may have read my thread on pre-MOT test today 11.4.17.

I had a new battery fitted and the friendly guys told me the 2 rears were "below MOT standard".

Today:- would pass, advisory (same as last year's MOT). :tuttut:

I paid for an inspection and got an estimate for suspension rebuild, MOT potential failure on anti roll bar bush.

Today:- "hardly worth mentioning bushes, don't recommend doing but have to say on form". :tuttut:

Belts over age but under mileage, need changing to avoid doom, destruction and poverty....

Previous inspection by some pals, looking down at belt say... Well, they look fine to us... :Confused: :Confused:

I am confused, is this just business? The MOT station today does LOTS of trade MOT testing, not looking for repairs but has a massive reputation for failing anything that needs failing (their mortgages depend on keeping MOT work...). +++

Where the garage gets work the worse it is...... The worse it is! :-(

Am I too cynical??

Mechanics; defend your trade!

Robert

Why do you go for pre -MOT test? You have to pay for pre-test and then for MOT itself. I just go for MOT and if there is something that needs doing I have 10 working days to fix it and go for a free re-test. I don't even bother doing any checks myself before MOT apart from making sure all lights work.

As far as the bushes go it's down to the tester, they may look deteriorated but still be perfectly safe. I have had rear bushes as advisory 1 year then nothing for the next 2 years from the same MOT tester.

Pre-test
 

Hi,

I went for the pre test 'cos I am so stressed about the potential problems and need to totally cover my back. :-(

MOT not due until May: Wedding in July.

One Man, Two Mistresses... :tuttut:

Robert

I see absolutely no point in paying for a 'pre-test' a month before it's due, anything else could go awry in the next month.

As for your mates "looking down at belt say... Well, they look fine to us", are you serious???

Don't mess about with schedule for changing belts, it really is not worth it, can't actually believe anyone on this forum would even contemplate it :tuttut:

Personally, I would never go to a MOT station with a reputation for passing anything, the whole point of the test is to find faults I might have missed myself. It's not happened for a long while, apart from a blown horn fuse fixed at the MOT station, but I'd rather have a professional second opinion, not a dodgy tester that will ignore stuff.

I was going to say we're lucky in Northern Ireland because we get 21 days to rebook, but then you added the 'free re-test'. We have the added luxury of paying another £18.50 for a re-test. :tuttut:

If you'll pardon the expression, it's not worth stressing about. Just learn to love your car for what it is... an Audi A8.

I just posted in another thread in the D3 section about front suspension and pinch bolts. My D2 is up for the MOT on Thursday and I left it with the mechanic last night to do all the full front suspension. After a full day of hammering, drilling, heating and whatever else, he calls me with the news about the pinch bolt problem (a common problem it seems). Anyways, I ended up having to order a front hub from A8parts. Cost me £130 and hope to get it by Thursday, but could have cost me around £400 new and taken longer to arrive.

I'd prefer to still have the £130 in the bank, but I'd much prefer to have my A8 back on the road.

Pinch bolts have become an annual service item for me. Take them out and re-grease on steel uprights, replace on alloy ones. Did your hub get damaged or is the bolt just stuck?

I learned to work on cars in the first place because I couldn't find a mechanic I could trust. Now I have become the mechanic who other people trust. Hmm...

The bolt is just stuck, or what is left of it is. :ROFL:

I had actually printed off the instructions for doing it from the Audipages site and even bought a 'pickle fork', but after reading through it a couple of times decided it was beyond what I'm willing to attempt, especially since it would be done outside in whatever weather. I have to say that I've done a lot more on my car than I would ever have attempted before, but there were just too many 'bits' involved with this one. Maybe next time. :rolleyes:

I'd be interested in that if you want to get rid of it ;)

What, the 'pickle fork'? If so, PM me your address details.

Maybe I mis-read the posy but is the pre-inspection and MOT at the same garage?

If so, then a waste of money, just let them MOT it
If not, then you have a variance due to a different mechanic so waste of money

Find a council MOT station, they don't do repairs so do not fish for business

http://www.ukmot.com/Council-MOT-Test-Centers/UK