Rose Joint Bush - MOT Failure

If you're DIY'ing the defects then you could argue taking it home is to get it fixed. Then go for a retest.

But I'm not legally qualified!

I'd DIY it just on the principle of the high price.
 
Scooba_Steve said:
If you're DIY'ing the defects then you could argue taking it home is to get it fixed. Then go for a retest.

But I'm not legally qualified!

I'd DIY it just on the principle of the high price.
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That regulation has always referred to a pre-booked MOT test, not driving it to another garage or home to get the repair done. I was crafted as such to prevent you just driving around claiming to be headed to an MOT station.

In theory you have to have it repaired at the garage or recovered somewhere. In reality I wonder if anyone worries over an MOT and would be a hard police officer who saw a fail online and booked you driving home that day... Driving to work the next day would be a ticket for sure.

I agree though and would take it home to DIY, but not everyone has the tolls, time or expertise.
 
I was referring to the time that the garage will not charge you for retest. Or is that dependent on the garage?
 
A retest can be charged immedietly of the vehicle leaves the premises..

But that's garage dependent..
 
pvr said:
I was referring to the time that the garage will not charge you for retest. Or is that dependent on the garage?
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Sorry pvr - I misread based upon gwatson's reply of test due date.

EDIT - Having seen a section on the DVLA site here's details of when free or chargeable:

https://www.gov.uk/getting-an-mot/retests

There are options fro free, partial fee or full fee
 
cj10jeeper said:
pvr said:
What is the time restriction until you have to pay for the MOT again?
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PVR - there is a myth that you can still dive after a failure if the old certificate is in issue, but that's not correct:


From the .Gov website:

Failing the MOT

If your vehicle fails the MOT:
you’ll get a ‘refusal of an MOT test certificate’ from the test centre
it will be recorded in the MOT database

You can appeal the result if you think it’s wrong.

Driving a vehicle that’s failed

You must not drive the vehicle on the road if it fails the test, even if the MOT hasn’t run out, except to:
have the failed defects fixed
a pre-arranged MOT test appointment
Click to expand...

Not entirely correct. It's not actually a myth, just confusion as to what the actual rules are. The refusal to issue a new MOT certificate is exactly that, a refusal to issue a new one. It doesn't automatically wipe out the old one if it's still in date.

If you have an MOT BEFORE the expiry date of your current certificate and it fails the MOT, you still have a valid MOT certificate until the current one's expiry date. So *technically* your car still has a valid MOT and you cannot be prosecuted for that offence.

However, and this is what the GOV website fails to mention, or clarify if you like....obviously if you have failed the MOT then your car in some way shape or form has been deemed to be not roadworthy and therefore that is an offence in itself if picked up by a traffic officer / VOSA patrol.
You would be extremely unlucky (and literally impossible for a roadside patrol to pick up) that a suspension part underneath the car is not roadworthy, obviously.
But then you open a whole can of worms of knowingly driving a car with a defect, to which if you have a serious accident of your doing, you can imagine what might happen next.

Hope that clarifies it a bit, although it doesn't really change the situation! And I'm not suggesting for a minute you should happily drive after an MOT failure, in date of the old one or not!
 
I quoted very clearly from the current government website that was updated on September 29th, so believe that to be as close to true as it's going to get:

'You must not drive the vehicle on the road if it fails the test, even if the MOT hasn’t run out'

There's no room for loose interpretation on that.

However under the section 'Taking your vehicle away for repairs' there are 2 interesting comments:
You can take your vehicle away if your MOT certificate is still valid.
You can only take your vehicle to or from somewhere to be repaired if your MOT has run out.


In the good old days of paper based MOT's you're right you could produce a paper certificate with a remaining time period and if not actually permitted then at least near impossible to be rumbled.
All the officer now has to do is see the MoT fail on the real-time on-line system and read the reason for fail. Failing that call in just as they do fro insurance where folks claim they have it.
 
cj10jeeper said:
pvr said:
I was referring to the time that the garage will not charge you for retest. Or is that dependent on the garage?
Click to expand...

Sorry pvr - I misread based upon gwatson's reply of test due date.

EDIT - Having seen a section on the DVLA site here's details of when free or chargeable:

https://www.gov.uk/getting-an-mot/retests

There are options fro free, partial fee or full fee
Click to expand...

So this will give the garage a benefit that if you take the car, they charge you a re-test fee, if you get them to fix it, they won't.

Does the same apply to the council MOT centres?
 
You're right and clearly why so many garages offer cheap MoT's to find earn from it and retests, but more importantly gain work. I'm sure some would argue they create work too :(

I'm sure the same fees apply to council test centres, but one could argue as they don't seek work there's no incentive. Others would argue they are more strict.
 
pvr said:
What is the time restriction until you have to pay for the MOT again?
Click to expand...

If you take the car away from the testing station for a suspension-related failure you will need to pay a partial re-test fee - usually 50% of the full/standard fee.
 
Well the car is home safely... I'm surprised the car garage "released" the car without mentioning that it should only be trailered away for example. I wonder what would happen if I had an accident and needed to make an insurance clairm. I always assumed that if the MOT hadn't expired it was ok.

monaco_blue said:
pvr said:
What is the time restriction until you have to pay for the MOT again?
Click to expand...

If you take the car away from the testing station for a suspension-related failure you will need to pay a partial re-test fee - usually 50% of the full/standard fee.
Click to expand...

Does it state this somewhere official?

I'm going to call the garage tomorrow and check, if I'm going to pay the full fee I'll definitely do it as a DIY job as I won't be in a rush.

Regulations aside, what where peoples thoughts on the ebay tool?

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/BMW-3-E36-E46-Rear-Control-Trailing-Arm-Rose-Bush-Ball-Joint-Remover-Tool-Set-/252107080311?hash=item3ab2c0c277
 
Found the part for £23 online, going to do all 4!

http://www.eurocarparts.com/ecp/c/BMW_M3+Coupe%5ECabriolet_3.2_2006/p/car-parts/suspension-and-steering/suspension/suspension-bushes/?623110285&1&984e2f0494f9d9e1f8eed6290c875281bd329537&000437
 
Just for anyone who references this in the future. If I put it back in for a MOT re-test within the 10 days, the re-test is half price. (which is what I'm doing, just hope the parts and tools arrive in time.

If after the 10 days, it's a full price MOT.
 
GW - You're correct.
Yesterday I posted a link to the DVLA list of 'free', 'half price' and 'full fee' retests, but might be worth showing it here as it's rather convoluted: and regardless some garages do things for free anyway.

Leaving your vehicle for repair

You only need a partial retest if you leave the vehicle at the test centre for repair and it’s retested within 10 working days. There’s no fee for this.

Taking your vehicle away for repairs

You can take your vehicle away if your MOT certificate is still valid.
You can only take your vehicle to or from somewhere to be repaired if your MOT has run out.

Taking it back for a retest the next working day

You won’t have to pay again if you take it back to the same test centre before the end of the next working day for a partial retest on one or more of these items:
access panels
battery
bonnet
bootlid
brake pedal antislip
break glass hammer (class 5 vehicles only)
doors (including hinges, catches and pillars)
door open warning device (class 5 vehicles only)
dropsides
electrical wiring
emergency exits and signs (class 5 vehicles only)
entrance door remote control (class 5 vehicles only)
entrance/exit steps (class 5 vehicles only)
fuel filler cap
headlamp cleaning or levelling devices (that doesn’t need a headlamp aim check)
horn
lamps (excluding headlamp aim)
loading door
main beam ‘tell-tale’
mirrors
rear reflectors
registration plates
seatbelts (but not anchorages), seatbelt load limiter and seatbelt pre-tensioner
seats
sharp edges or projections
stairs (class 5 vehicles only)
steering wheel
tailboard
tailgate
trailer electrical sockets
towbars (excluding body around anchorage points)
tyre pressure monitoring system
vehicle identification number (VIN)
windscreen glass, wipers and washers
wheels and tyres (excluding motorcycles and motorcycles with sidecar)

Taking it back for a retest within 10 working days

You’ll only need a partial retest if you take the vehicle from the test centre for repairs and take it back within 10 working days. You can be charged a partial retest fee for this.


In all other cases, you’ll need to get a full retest and pay the full MOT test fee again.
 
Thanks for all the advice above, car passed it's retest this morning :)

Job was simple enough in the end, about 4 leisurely hours over two evenings with a friends help, but i changed all 4 ball joints, so much happier knowing they're all sorted, wouldn't be long until the other side deteriorated.

It would have been impossible without the bush tool I bought off ebay. It worked a treat, but not sure it would survive changing another set of ball joints.

So very satisfied I did the work myself, although not really saved any money, but all four are changed rahter than just the failed one. I was going to be £275 and thinking about it now that probably included the aligning of that N/S. I was approx £35 for the tool, £95 for the bushes, £85-£90 for MOT and Retest (not collected it yet) and another £50 to have both side realigned. Although I'll wait until I fit the new shocks, top mounts etc and take it back for a full alignment. I marked up the camber bolt and RTA positions, so should be ok for the limited miles I'll be putting on it over the next few months.

Thanks again and if anyone is tempted to do DIY it, then go for it!
 
Always good to hear - you're right about the total cost, usually isn't far off but then you've gone above and beyond, won't need doing for a long while again!
 
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