How badly corroded do brake disks have to be in order to fail the MOT? Is there somewhere on the net that has photos of what would fail and what would pass? I have just bought a car which was MOT\'d on Saturday and I have noticed that the rear driver\'s side disk has quote corroded, worse than the rear disk on the other side, and the outer edge has chunks missing out of it but not within the area swept by the pads. I queried the condition of the discs when I first saw the car and said I thought they should be changed but the dealer gave the usual \'everything will be sorted that needs it for the mot\' sort of answer rather than a definite yes or no so I don\'t know whether I have much recourse.
I know now why I kept my last car for so long as changing cars is a PITA!
TIA
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tb,
Does the corrosion intrude into the area swept by the pads?
David W
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Did the selling dealer carry out the MOT? That might tell you a lot about what is a pass or a fail! Why not get it tested elsewhere and, if it fails, take it back for a free fix? (Sale of Goods Act and things like that!) It might depend a bit on the timescale involved but you make it sound like a very recent purchase
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And to expand on Nick's comment I'm sorry I mostly regard any MOT issued at the time of sale as worthless. Only realy useful for getting a tax disc.
Sadly some car sales sites still have "arrangements" with their pal down the road.
I could tell you more but I'm not going to here!
David W
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I can imagine the horror stories. The vehicle was previously MOT\'d in Feb of this year so I have a sneaky feeling that the testing garage that did the test on Saturday just glanced over the car and decided it wouldn\'t have deteriorated too much in a couple of months and will have filled out the paper work without doing a full MOT.
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>>decided it wouldn't have deteriorated too much in a couple of months
Which I would have thought as a general rule wouldn't be that far from the truth.
A new MOT is probably not going to help you overmuch.
How long had the selling garage had the car ?
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It is a very recent purchase, I picked it up on Sunday! I was thinking about getting a retest but didn\'t really want to cough up the money unless I was fairly sure that it would fail, but on reflection it is my best course of action. There is also the small matter of a vehicle testing station passing a car that should have failed regardless of what the dealer does to remedy the situation.
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I'm sorry to be a jonah, but you spotted that this car has 'Bad corrosion and 'chunks' missing from the discs'. It's too late now, but why buy it in that condition? A clear sign of careless ownership/ poor servicing. At the very least you should have insisted on replacement discs and pads and not have been fobbed off by reassurances about MOT passes. I'd agree with DW about the value of MOTs - I've looked at s/h cars with new MOTs and definite fail type defects.
Is it an MOT failure? I'm not an MOT tester, but I believe it goes as follows. The MOT tests brake efficiency, and the only visual checks are carried out without dismantling. So, for example, rear drum brakes can be worn to the limit, but still get an MOT pass if they achive the required efficiency. However, the car can, and should, fail on visible defects eg fluid leaks. I believe visible disc and pad condition can be a failure, but it's down to the opinion of the tester. So, perhaps difficult to tie down the dealer and his tame MOT station - you could report it to the Dept of Transport (see back of the Cert), but without seeing the car it's impossible to comment on the extent of the problem.
Regards
John S
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"I believe visible disc and pad condition can be a failure, but it's down to the opinion of the tester"
Quite right John
Visual brake component check together with an efficiency test is all that the MOT requires.
MG-Rover Questions? Click on www.mg-rover.org
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Yes, with hindsight I have probably bought a shed, my rose tinted specs were on as the car is a one I have dreamed of owning and have hardly seen any right hand drive versions for sale. The car did have a full service history so I thought it must have had reasonable care. An expensive lesson has just been learnt :-(
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It is very rare, if ever, that a car anyone buys lives 100% up to their expectations. Of course, if you think that it is not safe you need to get it put right one way or another. But you say it is a car you always wanted, so I should forget about whether it was a good deal or not and just go out and enjoy it. Life is too short for regrets!
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What is the car ?
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It's a Lancia Delta HF Integrale 16v on a G plate. 94,000 miles on the clock.
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Ok, but if its a car you really wanted, then the discs are hardly the end of the world.
When you say that there are bits missing and that they are corroded, how bad is it actually ? Is there much of a lip showing that the discs have worn a lot ? How are the pads ? Does it brake well enough or does it pull to one side ?
How is the rest of the car ?
I don't know how much money you've spent, but if you can get a full inspection done on the car, you're either going to be happier and more confident keeping it, or have some very good reasons to give it back.
Also, if you have the log book, or whatever its called these days, then you should have tyhe details of the last owner. Get hold of them and see if they have anything to tell you.
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I've had another look and the corrosion is in the swept area too. The wear lip is around 2mm or so. The chunks missing is a slight exaggeration as it looks like that from the side with the uneven nature of the surface corrosion. It does brake ok without pulling but that could mean both rear brakes are duff! It doesn't seem as reponsive brake wise as my old car. As that was a Fiat Croma it adds to my concern!
It is not the end of the world I agree it just makes me wonder what else has been missed that could be potentially dangerous. I may of course be being over cautious but I would expect an mot tester to exercise more caution over the condition of braking components in a performance car.
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You need to have the disks checked also for minimum thickness, modern cars often wear the disks and pads, if the thickness is below minimum they must be changed for safety, for some makes replacement disks are surprisingly cheap.
Knowing which car we are discussing would help.
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On a G plate Delta, if the only rust you can see is on the rear brake discs, then you've got an unusually good example :-)
Presumably the rear discs are non-ventilated, so they aren't going to be expensive to replace even if the dealer won't play ball. But I'd get a Lancia specialist to check it over. These are complex and fairly fragile cars, and if there is some major expense looming, you need to know about it now, while you still stand a chance of getting your money back under the Sale of Goods Act. Rear suspension in particular will take more than a quick once-over from an MoT tester unfamiliar with the car, to pick up all possible faults.
You can expect any Integrale to cost you plenty in money and heartache, but having driven around for a while in a tatty high mileage LHD example, I'd say it's worth the trouble.
Richard Hall
bangernomics.tripod.com
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On a G plate Delta, if the only rust you can see is on the rear brake discs, then you've got an unusually good example :-)
I wish!
How can you tell if the rear suspension is worn? The car feels incredibly solid when cornering (but I am comparing it to a blancmange) and I don't remember hearing or feeling any crashing and banging over bumps. There was the distinct sensation of feeling every nuance of the road surface through the posterior though. I assume this is a feature :-)
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You'll find this page useful (and hopefully not too depressing):
www.evocars.com/buyGuide.htm
Richard Hall
bangernomics.tripod.com
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