MOT's and Main Dealers

[76masseyman]

Did I hear correctly on a radio advert the other day? Have your car serviced at a Toyota garage and they will extend your warranty for 12 months from that date. I know most makes extend roadside assistance for 12 months after a service but warranty??

You did. Warranty up to ten year on vehicle if returned to dealer for sevicing.

 

[Courier]

You did. Warranty up to ten year on vehicle if returned to dealer for sevicing.

But it’s only for 100,000 miles

 

[76masseyman]

But it’s only for 100,000 miles

I knew there would be a catch.

 

[Lincsman]

You did. Warranty up to ten year on vehicle if returned to dealer for sevicing.

Just how much is the service?, not a buy a warranty price i would hope?

 

[76masseyman]

How how much is the service?, not a buy a warranty price i would hope?

That’ll be the next fly in the ointment.

 

[Cowabunga]

Having been driving for 42 yrs, I've never needed brake discs changing on a vehicle, so why is it done so often nowadays, brake pads seem to last me about 70,000 .
I think garages just upsell to increase the bill, main dealers seem to be the worst. That's why no main dealer will ever touch my vehicles.

Yes, the only reason they do it is to uplift the invoice in most cases, there's little doubt about it. Unless pads are worn so they badly score the disks and unless disks get warped or badly rust pitted, they should last for at least three sets of pads if not more. My LR110 went 22 years with the original brake disks, although they were worn as thin as was sensible at the end, but the whole vehicle was mechanically worn out by then.

 

[Cowabunga]

That changed years ago, gearboxes are expensive and brakes are cheap, so changing down isnt advised, just gently brake to a stop.

Changing down is certainly advised and is good roadcraft. In many cases the road situation may change suddenly and the need for acceleration would be paramount. No good being in sixth when the circumstance calls for second and foot on the throttle. The right gear at the right time to cater for the unexpected is what should be taught with not a mention of 'saving the gearbox', which is not abused will last the lifetime of the car easily.

 

[Cowabunga]

Just how much is the service?, not a buy a warranty price i would hope?

Getting the car in for a service is an opportunity to upsell and not only get the standard service charge but to upsell extras like air-con service, an engine flush, new pads, disks and wiper blades and whatever else they think they can get away with. Some brand's main dealers will charge £50 extra per wheel on top of brake pad and labour hours to remove and replace them. Yes really!

 

[Paddington]

Longest time taken for an MOT was nearly a week in the garage. Took my Renault in in the morning and rang up at teatime to be told how dare I bring a car in such a state and it had failed on several points ? The service manager was then interrupted by the mechanic who told him he had crashed the car bringing it into the garage... I got a new headlight, indicator, bumper and bonnet out of it.
I hate MOT's.

 

[feilding]

If a vehicle is serviced properly at least every 5000 miles,then it should never fail an MOT. Main dealers workshop's nowadays do such a poor job, cleaning and hoovering inside is not a service. Modern vehicles with a long service intervals can't last as long and fail MOT.
My vehicles are all over 20yrs old, serviced every 5000 miles, oil sprayed underneath every service. And never failed a test.

 

[Mur Huwcun]

While I fully agree with all posts on this thread the problems and issues garages and dealers are facing now is the responsibilities of these repairs. That’s why as an example they always go for disks and pads and a rolling road brake test. How can they stand up in court after a fatal accident a week later (that had absolutely nothing to do with the brakes but so and so accident investigator says so) and argue that they only swapped the pads to save the customer £50 on disks.

Same with an exhaust repair, they repair an exhaust for Mrs Joe Bloggs for say £100 and another section fails 3 months later then they’re on to trading standards, small claim court, watchdog, Jeremy Kyle, Tripadvisor with poor reviews etc and garage has to refund them and fit brand new exhaust on a 14 yr old clapped out Fiesta!!!

Yes, some local garages will do if they know you well and know that you understand the repair. I used to work as a mechanic and we could be blamed 6 months later that the wiper didn’t work as we fitted a clutch last time we had it in…. Or since we replaced the hydraulic hose on the front end loader the track rod end failed and fell off….

 

[jonny]

Brought land cruiser back for first service, bill included new wiper blades €45 couldn’t see how they should be gone soon

 

[Lincsman]

Changing down is certainly advised and is good roadcraft. In many cases the road situation may change suddenly and the need for acceleration would be paramount. No good being in sixth when the circumstance calls for second and foot on the throttle. The right gear at the right time to cater for the unexpected is what should be taught with not a mention of 'saving the gearbox', which is not abused will last the lifetime of the car easily.

If you are coming to a stop sign whats the point in changing down, just lightly brake to a stop.

 

[TheTallGuy]

If you are coming to a stop sign whats the point in changing down, just lightly brake to a stop.

Less fuel usage & less wear on the brakes - assuming that it's done correctly with engine braking.

 

[Paddington]

Pleased with getting my Disco its MOT with no advisories, I decided to treat it to a steam clean and waxoyl. Picking up the car the waxoyler noted that he had to go careful with the steam cleaner as he thought it would go through the chassis, the car wouldn't pass its next MOT. I told him it had just passed, must have been a dodgy garage, was the comment, his neighbour did proper MOT's, cheap rates etc, should go there. I rarely pressure wash it unless very muddy or salt on the roads, but six weeks later the as new gleaming black chassis turned back to its rusty brown colour as the water hit it. Who to trust ?

 

[Lincsman]

Less fuel usage & less wear on the brakes - assuming that it's done correctly with engine braking.

Clutch wear?.. they only wear when you press the pedal.

 

[Lincsman]

Pleased with getting my Disco its MOT with no advisories, I decided to treat it to a steam clean and waxoyl. Picking up the car the waxoyler noted that he had to go careful with the steam cleaner as he thought it would go through the chassis, the car wouldn't pass its next MOT. I told him it had just passed, must have been a dodgy garage, was the comment, his neighbour did proper MOT's, cheap rates etc, should go there. I rarely pressure wash it unless very muddy or salt on the roads, but six weeks later the as new gleaming black chassis turned back to its rusty brown colour as the water hit it. Who to trust ?

Actually some cross members dont count, I had a trooper with one with holes though, and bump stop brackets missing, not a fail.

MOT inspection manual: cars and passenger vehicles - Appendix A: Structural integrity and corrosion - Guidance - GOV.UK

Assessing corrosion and methods of repair for car and passenger vehicle MOT tests.

www.gov.uk

 

[thesilentone]

Advise on brake disc replacement is a modern scandal the car trade use to make a few extra ££'s. With all my cars, I have the pads replaced by an independent, but the main services done by the main dealer. I've been been told countless times by main dealers "you've only around 20% of your pads left, and they could do with being replaced" only for the pads to go on for at least another 20k miles.

Every manufacturer has advice on what is deemed as acceptable wear for brake discs, however, many garages give arbitrary advice, which I'm sure is based on the need to meet service and spare parts targets set by the franchise agreement.

Due to Covid and lock downs, many cars have sat around doing nothing, this has led to rusting of the discs, which leads to judder when braking. Nothing that a few hundred miles of driving will not cure. I wonder how many have replaced all the discs and pads on the advice of the car garages ?

 

[harrow]

If a vehicle is serviced properly at least every 5000 miles,then it should never fail an MOT. Main dealers workshop's nowadays do such a poor job, cleaning and hoovering inside is not a service. Modern vehicles with a long service intervals can't last as long and fail MOT.
My vehicles are all over 20yrs old, serviced every 5000 miles, oil sprayed underneath every service. And never failed a test.

A service should include a full inspection, but they don't.

 

[feilding]

A service should include a full inspection, but they don't.

And replace anything that needs replacing. Not just to bump up the bill, good independent garages are priceless, trust works both ways. Main dealers don't seem to care about customer or the vehicle.