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I took one of our cars for its MOT this morning. I gave the garage owner my phone number to call me if he found anything. No phone call so I assumed it had passed. When I went to collect it the owner, its a small independent place in a village, had gone home. However, he had left the MOT and invoice with the pump attendant. Turns out one of the the brake drums had siezed and needed to be released (or something like that) Cost was an extra 30 quid. I was most unhappy about this as I had specifically asked him to call if there was a problem. Now, the garage do not take credit or debit cards and I did not have a cheque book. So I left the MOT certificate and will return tomorrow to pay. Quesiton is, should I moan at him for doing the work? it was only a small amount and, according to the lady who was still there, the work needed doing to get through the MOT. No chance of me gong there next year though.
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If you basically trust that you're being told the truth, consider what your response would have been had he contacted you. I suspect that the instructions you left were not passed on, got forgotten or ignored "for a greater good" in other words so that he could do the job.
Depending on the age and mileage of the car £30 may be cheap to get it though the MOT I don't know.
Get him to state exactly what the problem was.
Ask him if further damage could occur as a result of this problem
Then ask him how it would have affected your ability to drive the car to his garage.
If you still believe him after this line of quesioning then -
You have a number of options:
1) Pay up and put it down to experience
2) Ask for an explanation as to why your instructions were not followed through
3) Negotiate a reduction (50%) of the extra cost
4) Refuse on the basis that he worked outside the scope of authorisation that you allowed. You may have problems getting your certificate unless he's put it on the system already.
5) Pay up, get your cert and write to him asking for a full refund or you go to trading standards.
I may suggest option 2 followed by option 3. If successful you incurr £15 extra, which isn't going to break the bank and he gets a load of hassle for not doing as he was asked. Also you may find he's useful in the future - you never know.
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>>should I moan at him for doing the work?
No - pay it cheerfully. Misery guts. :big smiley:
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I suggest you pay up.If he`s a small garage then he`s probably too busy to call people up.
He could well have failed it and then you would have to pay more than £30 for a re-test.
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30 quid? to fix the brakes? to pass an MOT?
Pay up and stop moaning you miserable motorist. AND be grateful you have an honest garage.
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TourVanMan TM < Ex RF >
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Yeah, pay up. And give him a tip.
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oh dear.....
hes spent the last hour freeing your scrapyard bone off and you complain about his £30 charge.............
No wonder when you go back next year theres yupie flats there and you have to go to crap fit.............
i give up....................
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Scrapyard bone? Not even sure what this means but the car is only 5 years old!
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I'm not moaning - just wondering if I should.
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You shouldn't have to pay for a retest.
On the surface it may seem dubious but, on the other hand, if he'd failed the car you would have asked him why he hadn't contacted you.
I've always found the small independent garages far more honest and trustworthy than the big outfits and, what's more, they also charge considerably less and don't find as many "faults".
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What\'s for you won\'t pass you by
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don't pay a penny until you've had a chat and found out exactly what was wrong. If the drums had bound then you'd have noticed this when you were driving, so I really can't see that there was a problem, unless the rear shoes needed adjustiung and that could only be done with the drums off,
--
I read often, only post occasionally
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I always arrange while you wait MOT's, this avoids such confusion.
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>>I always arrange while you wait MOT's, this avoids such confusion.>>
In my case I watch the entire test from start to finish - you also get a proper chance to look underneath the vehicle and most testers will offer tips and point out, if any, potential problems.
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What\'s for you won\'t pass you by
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>>If the drums had bound then you'd have noticed this when you were driving,
No you wouldn't, except under very heavy braking when the stopping distance would be greater. Back brakes do very little work really and in normal use you'd be hard pressed to tell the difference unless you could compare with another car of the same make and model. A friend of mine found out at the MOT that his back drum brakes were both seized and yet the braking seemed fine.
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"Back brakes do very little work really and in normal use you'd be hard pressed to tell the difference unless you could compare with another car of the same make and model. "
Instinctively (& from my cycling days) I'd have agreed with you. However, having just had my rear brakes 'fixed' I would say that they have do have a significant effect on braking.
In three years of owning my car I have replaced the rear pads twice but the front just once - which doesn't seem logical to me (although it is a Peugeot so logic doesn't really come into it!)
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'You shouldn't have to pay for a retest.'
You would have to pay the retest fee if you took the vehicle away after the failure and then fixed it yourself. And since it was a Brake failure he could have issued you the equivalent of a prohibition notice (I forget the correct term). This could give you big problems if you had wished to stay legal.
His actions have actually saved you money, assuming that a problem did exist, (and the chances are it did have a problem). Pay up.
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pmh (was peter)
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£30,and a pass,get a life,say thanks very much,give him a tip and hope as OM says that when you want an MOT next year the garage has not been replaced by yuppie flats.
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I can find no obvious reference (in a quick search) of having to pay a retest fee if you do repairs yourself:
www.dft.gov.uk/stellent/groups/dft_roads/documents...p
www.motuk.co.uk/manual/introduction.htm
In any case how would a tester know who had done the repair(s)?
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What\'s for you won\'t pass you by
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Stuart,
The latest rules on re-test fees may be found here;
tinyurl.com/vqo4b
As ever, VOSA specifiy the maximum fee. If garages choose to charge less, that's their commercial decision.
I'm absolutely with oldman - IMO his views on this subject are sound, and the garage has offered excellent service.
I'm just pleased that I don't work in a garage any more, and don't have to face the public! Oddly, it seems the more you try to help some, the more aggro you get.
Number_Cruncher
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>>The latest rules on re-test fees may be found here;>>
Thanks for that - it seems to match my link with regard to the proposals.
I've not expressed any real objections to the garage's decision to go ahead with the work without consulation; in fact I stated that such outlets are usually more thorough and charges more reasonable than the "big boys."
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What\'s for you won\'t pass you by
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Well, I went in to pay for the test and collect the certificate this morning. Had a chat with the bloke. The story was that he was getting a low reading on one of the rear brakes so whilst the car was on the ramps he sorted it. He didn't call me as I would have wanted to know what was wrong and how much it would cost. No way to know this until the brakes were inspected.
All in all I guess this is fair enough and it would have been a royal pain to take the car away to get it fixed and retested. i was just a bit miffed that he had not called to let me know there was a problem.
As for the garage getting repalced by yuppie flats - I wish. Not much chance as the place is next to an industrial estate and at the end of a runway where Tornado bombers live.
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>>at the end of a runway where Tornado bombers live.>>
Warton presumably?
Watch them and the EuroFighter regularly as they go around the estuary early teatime.
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What\'s for you won\'t pass you by
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He's saved you time and money - result. Take the work to him again, he sounds honest and reliable.
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Nope, not Warton. Cannot tell you as naming the base will no doubt ID the garage.
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Im sure you are allowed to tell us where abouts you live.
Doesnt sound a bad place?
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I think it's a good advert for the garage. I'd take my car there for an MOT following the info I've learnt from this thread.
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>>Doesnt sound a bad place?>>
But it seems to suffer more than its fair share of tornados...:-)
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What\'s for you won\'t pass you by
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If you believe the guy is being genuine then I would pay up-but if I had the slighest hint that I was getting my pants pulled down I would object to it. I wouldn't worry about using them again-there's already two garages within 2 miles of where I live that I would never use ever again, there's plenty more about.
One of them, I was sat there watching the guy retest my car (it had failed on indicator lens and CV Joint boot the previous day-I fixed it that evening). And I watched him (I was sat 5m away) snap off one of my rear brake pipes at the drum because he decided it needed 'adjusting'. Shame the idiot didn't get an eyeful of hydraulic fluid. They rolled the car out of their testing station and left me stranded with no brakes-I had to beg the garage opposite (the MOT test place is testing centre only) to take my car there and then and fix this snapped brake pipe.
It looked to me like a genuine accident, I am sure he didn't snap it deliberately, but my point was that I hadn't authorised any work, the muppet shouldn't have even touched it-if it was a fail point he should have pointed it out to me etc. The pipe was exactly the same as it had been the day before! When I pointed this out the cheeky beggar argued that the brake pipe had been crushed somehow and was closed off, thus not supplying any pressure to the rear brake. The #parental advisory explicit lyrics# car had only been on the brake balance machine the day before, and it was just fine then....
That one turned into a heated debate and I did get some money back towards the cost of repair. I'll never take a car there again, and what's more the place I use now I recommend to my friends and take family members cars there etc-had this place been fair with me and paid for the repair to my car, I wouldn't be upset about a little accident-but they'll never get my business again.
Don't let them pull your pants down!
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Doesnt sound a bad place?>>
But it seems to suffer more than its fair share of tornados...:-)
I should of said the garage doesnt sound a bad place(my fault)
Wouldnt want to live near a raf base, the noise is bad enough in south lincs.
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RAF Leeming is the base in question. Home apparently to 2 Tornado squadrons and 1 Hawk squadron. Can be quite noisy at times, especially when they take off 2 at a time.
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Not half as noisy as in 1979 when the Vulcans used to disperse to Leeming and other bases to practice their wartime role.
My room in the OM's annexe was about 150m from the runway, single glazed, and bulit in 1943 to last until the end of the war....
The sound of a Shackleton was a sound worth listening to though.
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Vulcans are a mere whisper compared to Lightnings on full reheat.
Elderly jets occasionally race various cars along the Bruntingthope runway; oddly enough, I've not seen any car race either of the two Lightnings. Possibly due to the risk of damage.
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Vulcans are a mere whisper compared to Lightnings on full reheat.
You would not think that, had you experienced 4 Vulcans doing a practice QRA scarmble take off. 16 Bristol Olympus engines all on reheat, and the lead aircraft turning steep right immediately after takeoff and right over the heads of the crowd.
Air display RAF Wildenrath either 1968 or 1969.
Large sections of the crowd were prostrating themselves on the ground with hands over ears. You felt the noise right through your guts as well as ears. Absolutely amazing.
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two vulcans at biggin air show made your ears bleed
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TourVanMan TM < Ex RF >
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I cried once at Southport Airshow when a Tornado flew overhead (because it was so loud).
Dad told me to stop being so childish but I was only 15 for God's sake.
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Tornado flew overhead (because it was so loud).
Give me your postcode and a repeat performance can be arranged..;-0
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A work of fiction, RAF Vulcans didn't have reheat. I'm sure a pedant will be along in a minute to remind everyone that the test bed Vulcan used for the Concorde programme was equipped with reheat.
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A work of fiction, RAF Vulcans didn't have reheat. I'm sure a pedant will be along in a minute to remind everyone that the test bed Vulcan used for the Concorde programme was equipped with reheat.
Correct!
I remember laying on the grass at the end of the main Runway when I worked at Farnborough, watching the airshow, can't remember which one but I was there 73-78. No work for us cos all our aircraft were grounded! 2 Lightenings rolled down the runway, got to rotation & went up at around 55degrees on full reheat! Half a dozen deaf people all holding their ears, possibly why I get Tinitus & am slightly deaf now. Although some of that is down to model aircraft engines & race cars!
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Only 55 degrees? Keeping it quiet for the neighbours perhaps :)
">While the Lightning's replacements (the Phantom and Tornado ADV in British service, the F-15 Eagle in Saudi service) are good aircraft in their own right, none compare with the sheer brute force and sparkling performance of the ultimate jet sports car - the English Electric Lightning.<"
ww w.thunder-and-lightnings.co.uk/lightning/history.html
Binbrook in 1987 must have been good, Wattisham in 1968 must have been astonishing, 30+ Lightnings in the air. 4(?) take off, go vertical, circuit, another 4 take off and go vertical as the first batch of 4 return ... and go vertical at the same time. And so on. A disgraceful waste of tax payer's money ;-)
4 Lightnings now flying in South Africa. A diamond four.
http:// slopesoaring.tripod.com/video/lightnings.wmv
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>> A work of fiction, RAF Vulcans didn't have reheat.
I apologise for the inaccuracy regarding reheat, however if you substitute "power" for "reheat" in my original post it is entirely accurate.
The year was 1969, the Vulcans were from 83 Sqn which was disbanded in August 1969 (I have checked on the 83Sqn history website)
As they were to disband shortly after the air display at Wildenrath they were given dispensation to demonstrate their QRA scramble in public, it was an awsome experience. They took off in pairs with only a very short interval between, to avoid turbulance problems the 1st aircraft turned right and stayed low, the 2nd went left and high, the second pair doing the opposite i.e high right and low left.
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Hmm, could village be Fincham, if so close enough for my next MOT
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One mans junk is another mans treasure
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apologies, didn't see all off thread
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One mans junk is another mans treasure
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Could you believe I posted the village name as capital F, three stars, then ham, ( to represent Fincham at the end of RAF Marham's runway )
Whatever is the swear filter doing..... :)
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One mans junk is another mans treasure
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">Whatever is the swear filter doing..... :) <"
You just can't get the software these days ;)
An asterisk-filter! Whatever next?
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Sorry Steptoe, I thought your post triggered the swearfilter, rather than you putting in the asterisks yourself. Now amended to the correct location you meant.
DD.
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'he left the MOT & the invoice with the pump attendant' !! Are you referring to a cheery whistling person who used to come and fill your tank and exchange meaningless banter about the weather, greyhounds and the price of fish etc? where is this place? sounds like you are living on a film set, pay up and be very happy, may I respectfully suggest?
Papho
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OP has already told us he's in N Yorks, perhaps it's Aidensfield?
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I remember flying from Leeming to Binbrook and standing admiring the lines of Lightnings, and then trotting back to my Bulldog :-(
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I remember them putting out the grass fires at the end of the runway at North Weald but they were Vampires.
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I should also add that I was in the top row of a grandstand in Colchester's Castle Park for an army display which started with two Lightnings doing a flypast-almost parted my hair and certainly left us deafened.
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A close family friend (now retired) flew them all, Lightnings, Buccaneers, he had a superb lifestyle (and still does) he lived on the buzz, drives fast cars and Italian motorbikes all at the speed of light. He was once involved in flying Buccaneeers for a film crew, he did the signature thing, flew up behind them at zero feet (silent from behind apparantly) over them and on full throttle (re-heat whatever) into a vertical climb that awed them, awed some American airmen watching into complete silence........magic aircraft.
He now drives like he flew, fast and low not been caught yet...
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