Omega Owners Forum
Chat Area => General Car Chat => Topic started by: amba on 29 January 2010, 14:16:18
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Thought I would share my experience of my recent mot test.
Took car to garage on Monday for annual test..this garage has done the last 6 tests on this car,previous numerous on my families other 2 cars,and several of my previous cars over the last 20 years so I am known there and am recognised by the mechanics.
Car failed test on emissions and was advised that I should replace the lambda on offside and possibly catalytic converter,as had new fitted to pasenger side only a few months ago by local cheapo tyre/exhaust place.
On thursday I took car to cheapo tyre fitting center and showed them fail readings and discussed options of lambda and cat.Helpfull guy suggested that they checked gas emissions on their Mot machine,and to my amazement it passed without any issues of high emissions.
I got home and rang original test centre and booked a retest in for this morning.When arrived I said to the guy who did the test that I had fitted a new lambda and cat just to see if they would retest or just take my word for it.In fact they put it on the machine and within a few minutes he returned saying all was fine and the new cat and lambda had done the trick and promptly issued me with a years ticket.
When I got into car to drive away,I mentioned to him that infact no repair had been done ,infact the car was in the same condition as it had been when they failed it on Monday......needless to say I also mentioned to him that I would not be using their services again in the future.
Any way happy days as car has another 1 years mot..now off to post office for road tax.
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They've just lost another 20 years of custom. Just shows that you can't trust them no matter how long you've been a customer.
Do you have another garage that you can "trust" ::)??
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Thought I would share my experience of my recent mot test.
Took car to garage on Monday for annual test..this garage has done the last 6 tests on this car,previous numerous on my families other 2 cars,and several of my previous cars over the last 20 years so I am known there and am recognised by the mechanics.
Car failed test on emissions and was advised that I should replace the lambda on offside and possibly catalytic converter,as had new fitted to pasenger side only a few months ago by local cheapo tyre/exhaust place.
On thursday I took car to cheapo tyre fitting center and showed them fail readings and discussed options of lambda and cat.Helpfull guy suggested that they checked gas emissions on their Mot machine,and to my amazement it passed without any issues of high emissions.
I got home and rang original test centre and booked a retest in for this morning.When arrived I said to the guy who did the test that I had fitted a new lambda and cat just to see if they would retest or just take my word for it.In fact they put it on the machine and within a few minutes he returned saying all was fine and the new cat and lambda had done the trick and promptly issued me with a years ticket.
When I got into car to drive away,I mentioned to him that infact no repair had been done ,infact the car was in the same condition as it had been when they failed it on Monday......needless to say I also mentioned to him that I would not be using their services again in the future.
Any way happy days as car has another 1 years mot..now off to post office for road tax.
Wonder if they purged the system/let it recover after previous test or if it had a fault?
Good plan, though :y
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When I was testing I always had a couple of goes at emissions tests... Even taking the car for an "Italian tune up" occasionally if needed :y :y
After I left the garage I took my car in for test... Failed on emissions ::) ::) Took it away for half an hour, put some injector cleaner in and took it for a good thrash, returned and passed straight away.
The young lad who did the test was amazed it had passed, claiming he'd done everything he could to get it through ::) ::)
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Does make you wonder though with theses test centres....odd thing is there is no retest fee so they arn,t making money from it...but could be just to keep the count balanced I suppose..bit like the driving tests.
In truth I did give the car a good blast before I took it in this morning but they only just leave them idling so little or no heat is generated....might be worth bumping mot date till summer when it is warmer.
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A good result in the end all the same :y :y
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When I was testing I always had a couple of goes at emissions tests... Even taking the car for an "Italian tune up" occasionally if needed :y :y
After I left the garage I took my car in for test... Failed on emissions ::) ::) Took it away for half an hour, put some injector cleaner in and took it for a good thrash, returned and passed straight away.
The young lad who did the test was amazed it had passed, claiming he'd done everything he could to get it through ::) ::)
Sounds like this is what happened here...I don't think it was malicious, just down to timing :-?
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Agree...cheap fix(nothing except time )and only the mot fee originally paid so I have no real complaint...just makes you wonder why !!
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Agree...cheap fix(nothing except time )and only the mot fee originally paid so I have no real complaint...just makes you wonder why !!
Incompetence ???
:(
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Agree...cheap fix(nothing except time )and only the mot fee originally paid so I have no real complaint...just makes you wonder why !!
Incompetence ???
:(
Exactly... I always did the emissions test ASAP when the car was very hot :y :y
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I always watch my car being MOT'ed. I aint getting screwed over.
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i think its happening everywhere this slump has made tradesman suck their teeth a whole lot more but all it does is get them one job and a bad reputation
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I know we all have stories like this but I took a car for a service at Halfords once. They said the brake pads needed replacing. Then on the way home, noticed the brakes on one side were pulling. Phoned Halfords, took it in, and they said 'due to extreme heat that brakes suffer, the discs had warped'. Phoned my Dad and he said that this is nonsense, its down to the way they rip the pads off the discs.., if done roughly, it warps the discs.
Couldn't get Halfords to admit any fault so we had to pay £80 for replacements discs.., and have never ever taken the car to a Halfords or any other large garage since. Now thank god, I've got my own 'live in' mechanic he he!
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Thought I would share my experience of my recent mot test.
Took car to garage on Monday for annual test..this garage has done the last 6 tests on this car,previous numerous on my families other 2 cars,and several of my previous cars over the last 20 years so I am known there and am recognised by the mechanics.
Car failed test on emissions and was advised that I should replace the lambda on offside and possibly catalytic converter,as had new fitted to pasenger side only a few months ago by local cheapo tyre/exhaust place.
On thursday I took car to cheapo tyre fitting center and showed them fail readings and discussed options of lambda and cat.Helpfull guy suggested that they checked gas emissions on their Mot machine,and to my amazement it passed without any issues of high emissions.
I got home and rang original test centre and booked a retest in for this morning.When arrived I said to the guy who did the test that I had fitted a new lambda and cat just to see if they would retest or just take my word for it.In fact they put it on the machine and within a few minutes he returned saying all was fine and the new cat and lambda had done the trick and promptly issued me with a years ticket.
When I got into car to drive away,I mentioned to him that infact no repair had been done ,infact the car was in the same condition as it had been when they failed it on Monday......needless to say I also mentioned to him that I would not be using their services again in the future.
Any way happy days as car has another 1 years mot..now off to post office for road tax.
Unfortunately this is an all too common occurrence these days and is getting worse due to the recession. It's not about retest revenue it's about labour/parts profit for work that isn't really needed some will likely not even change the parts, just say they have and pocket the money after all most punters know little or nothing about their cars or even where to look.
I had some kid from kiwkfit trying to tell me that he doesn't recommend fixing a simple puncture as the tyre will have weakened from running at 20psi and I should buy a new tyre. Possibly the policy of the company to try and sell you new tyres when you don’t need them!!
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Thought I would share my experience of my recent mot test.
Took car to garage on Monday for annual test..this garage has done the last 6 tests on this car,previous numerous on my families other 2 cars,and several of my previous cars over the last 20 years so I am known there and am recognised by the mechanics.
Car failed test on emissions and was advised that I should replace the lambda on offside and possibly catalytic converter,as had new fitted to pasenger side only a few months ago by local cheapo tyre/exhaust place.
On thursday I took car to cheapo tyre fitting center and showed them fail readings and discussed options of lambda and cat.Helpfull guy suggested that they checked gas emissions on their Mot machine,and to my amazement it passed without any issues of high emissions.
I got home and rang original test centre and booked a retest in for this morning.When arrived I said to the guy who did the test that I had fitted a new lambda and cat just to see if they would retest or just take my word for it.In fact they put it on the machine and within a few minutes he returned saying all was fine and the new cat and lambda had done the trick and promptly issued me with a years ticket.
When I got into car to drive away,I mentioned to him that infact no repair had been done ,infact the car was in the same condition as it had been when they failed it on Monday......needless to say I also mentioned to him that I would not be using their services again in the future.
Any way happy days as car has another 1 years mot..now off to post office for road tax.
Unfortunately this is an all too common occurrence these days and is getting worse due to the recession. It's not about retest revenue it's about labour/parts profit for work that isn't really needed some will likely not even change the parts, just say they have and pocket the money after all most punters know little or nothing about their cars or even where to look.
I had some kid from kiwkfit trying to tell me that he doesn't recommend fixing a simple puncture as the tyre will have weakened from running at 20psi and I should buy a new tyre. Possibly the policy of the company to try and sell you new tyres when you don’t need them!!
Not a complete load of BS but probably company policy... I'd only go to Can't Fit if it was an absolute last resort ;) ;)
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.. and I wouldn't let Halfrauds touch my car.
Bought a battery there a couple of years back. Emergency situation. Died (internal connection failure, so zero volts) at a services so I bump started it and drove to Halfrauds, left it running in the car park while I nipped in and bought a battery, then remembered I had no tools.
So, I availed myself of their "fit it free" service. They sucked through their teeth and said it was a "challenging fit" on my car (FFS! how can fitting a battery to a Mk1 Laguna be challenging?)
Anyway, the bloke came out with his tools, couldn't get one of the battery terminals off and gave up (i.e. it didn't fall off when he undid the clamp screw and he wouldn't apply any persuasion at all). I then proceeded to change the battery using his tools while he had a fag.
Kevin
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.. and I wouldn't let Halfrauds touch my car.
Bought a battery there a couple of years back. Emergency situation. Died (internal connection failure, so zero volts) at a services so I bump started it and drove to Halfrauds, left it running in the car park while I nipped in and bought a battery, then remembered I had no tools.
So, I availed myself of their "fit it free" service. They sucked through their teeth and said it was a "challenging fit" on my car (FFS! how can fitting a battery to a Mk1 Laguna be challenging?)
Anyway, the bloke came out with his tools, couldn't get one of the battery terminals off and gave up (i.e. it didn't fall off when he undid the clamp screw and he wouldn't apply any persuasion at all). I then proceeded to change the battery using his tools while he had a fag.
Kevin
;D ;D ;D absolutely priceless but :( :( all the same
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Funny you should mention that, but when I was working in Ireland last year, I had to buy a new battery from halfords. After less than a year, its starting to feel very ill starting in the mornings, hardly turning the engine over. Guess after the basic charging checks in the maintenance section, I'll be taking it back. :'( :'( :'(
Ken
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Actually the whole thing is getting shit. My son got a chance of a new job where he could cycle to work, so he went to halfords and splashed out a lot of dosh (over £230) on a new bike. Well you're only young once. And you know how halfords check everything throughly on their bikes, and give a free 6 week check, all the bull. Well it wouldn't fit into the Miggy boot, so I suggested he cycle home. The halfords gaffer wouldn't even see us a set of £9 lights, so further expenditure, and he set off. When he got home we discovered the gear cable had come loose (not tightened up properly), and the rear brakes, although floating calipher, were binding. I took it back the next day, the guy made a feeble excuse and fixed them. When I got home, I turned it upside down and spun the wheels, you know the way we used to do to check for runout. There was quite a bit of sideways wobble on the wheels on this new bike, and the rims are aluminium so they won't last long with a few bumps.
Once upon a time, halfords used to be good, I remember ordering a cable for my Cavalier from them, and the lady phoned up to tell me that it had arrived. Unfortunately things seemed to have changed for the worse.
Ken
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I'm not in a position to comment on emission tests. ::)
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Thought I would share my experience of my recent mot test.
Took car to garage on Monday for annual test..this garage has done the last 6 tests on this car,previous numerous on my families other 2 cars,and several of my previous cars over the last 20 years so I am known there and am recognised by the mechanics.
Car failed test on emissions and was advised that I should replace the lambda on offside and possibly catalytic converter,as had new fitted to pasenger side only a few months ago by local cheapo tyre/exhaust place.
On thursday I took car to cheapo tyre fitting center and showed them fail readings and discussed options of lambda and cat.Helpfull guy suggested that they checked gas emissions on their Mot machine,and to my amazement it passed without any issues of high emissions.
I got home and rang original test centre and booked a retest in for this morning.When arrived I said to the guy who did the test that I had fitted a new lambda and cat just to see if they would retest or just take my word for it.In fact they put it on the machine and within a few minutes he returned saying all was fine and the new cat and lambda had done the trick and promptly issued me with a years ticket.
When I got into car to drive away,I mentioned to him that infact no repair had been done ,infact the car was in the same condition as it had been when they failed it on Monday......needless to say I also mentioned to him that I would not be using their services again in the future.
Any way happy days as car has another 1 years mot..now off to post office for road tax.
i would have thought that the matter could be taken further as it seems they are ripping customers off and making false claims , there must be a mot standards officer who could deal with this , this is bang out of order both in inconvenience and the fraudulent claim by the garage ,i personally wouldnt let it drop.
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I'm not in a position to comment on emission tests. ::)
;D ;D ;D I'm running on heavy fuel this weekend-three curries and a litre of 50% vodka, so with you on that one
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Thought I would share my experience of my recent mot test.
Took car to garage on Monday for annual test..this garage has done the last 6 tests on this car,previous numerous on my families other 2 cars,and several of my previous cars over the last 20 years so I am known there and am recognised by the mechanics.
Car failed test on emissions and was advised that I should replace the lambda on offside and possibly catalytic converter,as had new fitted to pasenger side only a few months ago by local cheapo tyre/exhaust place.
On thursday I took car to cheapo tyre fitting center and showed them fail readings and discussed options of lambda and cat.Helpfull guy suggested that they checked gas emissions on their Mot machine,and to my amazement it passed without any issues of high emissions.
I got home and rang original test centre and booked a retest in for this morning.When arrived I said to the guy who did the test that I had fitted a new lambda and cat just to see if they would retest or just take my word for it.In fact they put it on the machine and within a few minutes he returned saying all was fine and the new cat and lambda had done the trick and promptly issued me with a years ticket.
When I got into car to drive away,I mentioned to him that infact no repair had been done ,infact the car was in the same condition as it had been when they failed it on Monday......needless to say I also mentioned to him that I would not be using their services again in the future.
Any way happy days as car has another 1 years mot..now off to post office for road tax.
i would have thought that the matter could be taken further as it seems they are ripping customers off and making false claims , there must be a mot standards officer who could deal with this , this is bang out of order both in inconvenience and the fraudulent claim by the garage ,i personally wouldnt let it drop.
It may be the case, but (even after huge works see my sig link) my own Omega runs differently depending on the mood: I reckon this can happen with a 10 year old car.
The MOT station should have run the car hot before the test, but it may have been hotter at the other garage and then on the return to the original place.
May have just been unlucky :y
I would say at least it passed without further cost and wonder what the MOT tester made of it-perhaps it extended his professional experience and he will remember this for the future. They are human!