MOT fail

R

Rorybeanbutler

Active member
 Cambridge/Bury st Edmunds/South Wales
Bit frustrated. A few months after having a full service and an inspection 2 sacha has failed her mot. Failed on side indicator colour, seal in the petrol cap and more annoyingly considering the service the brake lines are badly corroded.

The guy was great and invited me into the garage under the car and showed me it. Was shocking really scared to touch the brakes now. Going in next friday to get sorted and retest. Thier quoteing around £250. This sound about right?
 
Sorry to hear about your fail, side indicator colour....really !!. If your taking the car back to where you had the service, I would ask about the brake pipes and how they were missed such obvious safety items.
My Z passed this week, he did mention the rear tyres, but have a set ready to go on
 
Yeah he said there not yellow enough. They are yellow just not enough! Problem is im in the RAF and had the service done at home 250 miles away so not like i can just pop round a query them
 
You really need to take the brake line issue up with who ever serviced the car last, they should have at least made you aware of the issue.
 
Like firebobby says, fit 2 x orange coloured bulbs and stick em in yourself. Apparently they 'peel' when they get constantly warm through use and the orange lacquer fades and peels. Surely it can't be much to insert a new seal into the petrol cap, although I have NEVER heard of this particular MOT failure, ever!
 
Yeah the cap thing is really picky. The bulbs there doing for free. Going to phone the garage back home monday about the brake lines. Never taken a car to an MOT so confident and to be shot down was so disappointing. My first ever fail even when i had a 95 mr2 turbo that was a rusting mess haha.
 
Hmmmm, like you say ,all seems a bit picky. It comes down to £250 to fix corroded brake lines to MOT standard. Bit over the top?? Think I'd be looking for a different testing station for next year.
 
I can't see how the brake pipes would have gone so bad so soon after an inspection/service, you really need to question the service garage as to why it has failed an MOT so soon after they had the car in and probably charged a pretty penny too.
 
Did the mot station offer to quote for the work needed to sort the car out ? It sounds like someone is on a power trip and taking their job a little to seriously , my mates son has recently started doing mots and his dad has had to " have a word ! "
 
Mark555 said:
Hmmmm, like you say ,all seems a bit picky. It comes down to £250 to fix corroded brake lines to MOT standard. Bit over the top?? Think I'd be looking for a different testing station for next year.
Click to expand...

Its £250 to have all the brake lines done as there corroded all the way round :|
 
To replace all the pipes that's an ok price . There is £40 at most in materials but very time consuming . The rear ones over the cradle are a pain in the ass to do neatly ( I've done mine) and it's a common thing on bmw cars once they hit 6 or 7 yr old onwards . Bulbs should have been picked up at service shame on them . Fuel cap seal is rarely checked only at mot .
 
The brake lines are always a point of contention with MOT testers and mechanics... Its all about who does the car on the day.

They can look "bubbly" on the surface but once wired brushed are perfectly ok..

Did the brake lines even get an "advisory" notice from last years MOT?
 
No advisory from last years. There really badly corroded. There was pilesmof rust on the plastic shielding under the car. Was mainly by the clips.
 
So you see my point....

Brake lines will not corrode massively within 1yr (unless mega miles have been put on).... So last years tester didnt even see fit to mention that they where corroded..
Different day,different man.

The rust will have been where the tester has scraped the pipe to get the outer layer of rust off. It is common for the pipes to corrode at the clips as this is a water trap.
 
When I do my car servicing I clean up all the pipes etc and spray up with white grease which is less prone to washing off. However since I have just become a ZED owner I havnt done this yet but have been reading up on other rust issues. Can anyone confirm whether these cars are prone to corrosion and if so where should I be looking (or not looking). I would have thought Zeds were generally rust resistant as I havent noticed any rusty ones around.
 
They can rust on the panels in odd places..

Underneath is still generally very good,but the brake pipe corrosion is common.
 
I paid £170 to have my brake lines replaced a couple of weeks ago, most of the cost was the labour as the fuel tank was dropped.
 
Agree on my old scirocco I just rubbed them down and painted with hammerite that was 7 years ago and it hasn't come up again since.. Cost £10 and some time under the car!
 
Common problem for rears to corrode, after all it's an 8 year old car in the UK. £250 to replace ALL the pipes front to rear is very cheap. There's a lot of work to do it. As above I've done it.
I agree with other that it does depend on the tester, although you agree they are poor, so a good 'catch'. There are many posters here who get an advisory one year and nothing the next...

You have no cause to go back to people servicing the car. They are changing oil, filters, etc. not doing a pseudo mot, although some may see it and make comment.

Fuel cap is being picked up more often. Was an advisory on mine last year so replaced with a new one from Ebay for £20

Indicators is an odd one. They use orange coloured glass domes over white bulbs to create the colour, so don't peal or fade. I don't see how they can not be orange enough, however you could just change all the bulbs to amber too.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom