Omega Owners Forum
Omega Help Area => Omega General Help => Topic started by: dtnorth on 22 August 2007, 23:28:20
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I took the old girl for an MOT this week and she failed miserably.
Various suspension and steering components were the failures.
So out of bloody mindedness I took it to another high street retail
chain and lo and behold, it passed.
Therein exists questionability into the methods used by these organisations.
However, I have my pass certificate in a perhaps an unsafe vehicle.
Hats off to VOSA. Bumping us off with dodgy rules.....
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Don't like the sound of that. Either the frst was too strict or the second too lenient......
If you can, post up the reasons for failure from the first test. Its a good start point for discussion by the guru's here and may go someway to putting your (and our) minds at rest.... :y
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First MOT was:
Failure on
NSF Suspension Arm Pin/Bush
Front Brake discs Worn.
Rear Brake Discs Worn
Flexypipe on CAT deteriorated.
Excessive Play on NSF Steering Idler.
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Suspension arm is about £25 delivered from e-bay (http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/VAUXHALL-OMEGA-WISHBONE-LOWER-SUSPENSION-ARM_W0QQitemZ150154031810QQihZ005QQcategoryZ10404QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem) but can be got for less.
howtoo here - http://www.omegaowners.com/forum/YaBB.pl?num=1152986949
Front discs and pads - about £70 for genuine VX on Trade Club. There will be someone close to you with a card, if needed.
Howtoo here - http://www.omegaowners.com/forum/YaBB.pl?num=1171805208
Rear discs and pads are about £70 on Trade Club, as above.
Howtoo here - http://www.omegaowners.com/forum/YaBB.pl?num=1152564750
steering idler is about £20 from e-bay (http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Vauxhall-Omega-Idler-arm-New_W0QQitemZ130145499025QQihZ003QQcategoryZ10404QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem)
howto is here - http://www.omegaowners.com/forum/YaBB.pl?num=1158598664
Unsure about the cat flexy pipe. May be worth getting a pair of cats from one of the cars being broken on here rather than pay VX?
Not that bad after all then, assuming all need replacing??? ;)
If you are unsure as to worth yourself, no doubt a clever member near you will cast a beady eye over the car, just to reassure.
The VOSA rules are the same throughout, remember. Its just the interpretation by the testers thats open to some doubt sometimes...... ;)
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Surely the fact that an MOT can be gained at 1 retailer and failed at an other bellittles its use.
Thanks for the advice on all of the parts needed. I actually bought some of them via E-Bay
I just dont know how to fit them.
Front Discs and pads cost £40.00 from Germany.
I got a full exhaust for £120 but It sounds crap, will last 6 months
but at least it got me over a hurdle.. ( MOT )
Rear Discs and pads £49.00
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Have a skeg at this.....
http://www.motuk.co.uk/manual/contents.htm
As stated, one persons 'good' fit is anothers 'excessive'. It seems unfortunate that you encountered both extremes on the same test vehicle.
If you feel that something is amiss (and quite possibly is) contact VOSA direct and they will have a VOSA tester check your car. It could easily be that the one who failed your car is the good guy and the one who passed it is the baddy. Its worth getting to the bottom of these things as lives are, ultimately, at stake.
Good luck on the parts find, by the way. Hope it works out OK.
B
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I must admit.
Its a 51 plate thats done 20 220 mile drives each way this year between Scotland and and South Wales
given a relocation. and never let me down... Now at 99300
I avoid VX like the plague. Last time cost me £2000 after they sheerd the manifold bolts in the engine.
£650 that cost. Hence the mistrust.
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2000/650 squid!!! WTF!?! :o
If it's their negligence and bad workmanship THEY should be paying to put it right, not you. It didn't go into the garage like that did it.
On a more positive note, our cars are MOT'd at our (friendly) dealers at the same time as a service and we invariably receive excellent service & don't get completely ripped off like so many seem to do.
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I had the same a last year. I took it to one place & it failed on loads of things, decided to take it to another 'cos I knew some of things they failed were OK & it passed without even an advisory :-?
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Take my fleet to a local place who know that I service my own. I look upon the test as a safe guard to my and others safety. Also more like a check on my workman ship.
Must admit I am very, very miffed if any of my cars fail upon presentation to the MOT. If the car is well maintaned then it should not fail. There is talk about the change to a 4 yearly MOT to bring into line with Europe, it does seem a step in the wrong direction, why do not they come into line with us? :-?
Have seen some shocking vehicles that have 12 months MOT on them and the only place they should be is in a breakers, so if in doubt contact the inspectorate for a check. :y
8-)
DaveL
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when it passed, did you get any advisories and if so, do they correspond with the reasons it failed at the first garage?
just think about the unsuspecting member of the public who's actual non-roadworthy deathtrap has passed its MOT and they might have no idea how dangerous it is!
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Have a skeg at this.....
http://www.motuk.co.uk/manual/contents.htm
It could easily be that the one who failed your car is the good guy and the one who passed it is the baddy. Its worth getting to the bottom of these things as lives are, ultimately, at stake.
B
In too many cases it is the other way around in that the MOT is used to generate funds as people with little or no experience trust the testers.
It is always quoted that the MOT certificate is only valid at the time of testing as components can fail as soon as you hit the road again and I was always under the impression that anything which was still fit for purpose on the visual inspection was a pass with anything which looked as though it needed replacing soon being covered on an advisory. Were there dimensions given for the brake component wear or did it fail the brake test and as far as the flexi joint was concerned was it leaking or just rusty.
Steve
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Take my fleet to a local place who know that I service my own. I look upon the test as a safe guard to my and others safety. Also more like a check on my workman ship.
Must admit I am very, very miffed if any of my cars fail upon presentation to the MOT. If the car is well maintaned then it should not fail. There is talk about the change to a 4 yearly MOT to bring into line with Europe, it does seem a step in the wrong direction, why do not they come into line with us? :-?
Have seen some shocking vehicles that have 12 months MOT on them and the only place they should be is in a breakers, so if in doubt contact the inspectorate for a check. :y
8-)
DaveL
I was under the impression it was going to be every 2 years, however that was about 3 months ago when i read that......
Personally i think it is a bad move to change from annual test, in a year i can travel 30,000 - 40,000 miles, in 4 years i could run a car into the ground and effectively not have to worry about any for of major work on it as its not really going to be inspected on a regular basis.
However i take the safety of me and my car seriously, that is why i would never allow it to get that bad, but i know there are others out there who wouldn't think twice about buying a car with a fresh ticket and then neglecting it for 4 years
a badly thought out idea by the DOT.....if they ever implement
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Personally I think that the whole Mot scheduling is wrong . How can it be that a taxi which does thousands of miles a week bumping up & down kerbs only needs checking once a year the same as an old mans car which only does 2000 miles a year? I think it should be like your servicing. Perhaps 12000 miles or 1 year . Whichever comes first.
With regards to the 2 different mot's (1pass 1 fail) unfortunately there are a lot of unscrupulous garages who'll tell you work needs doing hoping that you'll get them to repair it.These are usually the ones who discount the price of the actual test, offering a free re-test as long as they do the work. If in doubt get it checked independantly. - just my thoughts.....
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it would be interesting to log on here - should show both the fail (and why) and the pass, plus any advisories
http://www.motinfo.gov.uk/internet/jsp/ECHID-Internet-History-Request.jsp
it's actually a very useful resource for checking mot history on a vehicle, esp now the computised system has been running for a couple of years
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Take my fleet to a local place who know that I service my own. I look upon the test as a safe guard to my and others safety. Also more like a check on my workman ship.
Must admit I am very, very miffed if any of my cars fail upon presentation to the MOT. If the car is well maintaned then it should not fail. There is talk about the change to a 4 yearly MOT to bring into line with Europe, it does seem a step in the wrong direction, why do not they come into line with us? :-?
Have seen some shocking vehicles that have 12 months MOT on them and the only place they should be is in a breakers, so if in doubt contact the inspectorate for a check. :y
8-)
DaveL
I was under the impression it was going to be every 2 years, however that was about 3 months ago when i read that......
Personally i think it is a bad move to change from annual test, in a year i can travel 30,000 - 40,000 miles, in 4 years i could run a car into the ground and effectively not have to worry about any for of major work on it as its not really going to be inspected on a regular basis.
However i take the safety of me and my car seriously, that is why i would never allow it to get that bad, but i know there are others out there who wouldn't think twice about buying a car with a fresh ticket and then neglecting it for 4 years
a badly thought out idea by the DOT.....if they ever implement
..what I should have said was the first was going to be at the 4 year point then you are quite right in saying every two years there after. If any of the members have been in or staying in Germany and had a car taken through their testing then that can be a nightmare.(new shade of sack cloth and ashes coming my way :-[)
Looking at the amount of new reg's with brake or tail lights out makes you want to swear. A neice of mine had a Micra (Mobility car) that had a total brake fail in it when it was just 3 months old. :o :o
Luckily her husband was not going fast or in heavy traffic when it happened. The dealership just shrugged its shoulders at the problem and basically said 'they all do that'. Took them a long time to fix the motor and even then neice did not trust it. ::)
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it would be interesting to log on here - should show both the fail (and why) and the pass, plus any advisories
http://www.motinfo.gov.uk/internet/jsp/ECHID-Internet-History-Request.jsp
it's actually a very useful resource for checking mot history on a vehicle, esp now the computised system has been running for a couple of years
I just had a look on there, as when i bought my car 5 months ago with a full ticket, it says advisory issued on it, bu i never got this, so i just had a looky, god there is a right list, so at least i know what im in for next year when it runs out.......
:y
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The MOT regime in Spain is every two years until the car is ten years old then it is every year. The MOT centres are government run and each province (about the area of Leicestershire) has about 4. I don't know when the first one occurs on new cars.
The test is every bit as rigorous as in the UK. In fact possibly more so. Anything non standard is a no no. That goes for wider wheels than shown on the cars vehicle document. Towbars are also subject to great scrutiny and the car log book shows if the car has one fitted or not. So much so that I have personally seen people taking them off in the car park and then putting them back on after the test!
Commercial vans are tested every six months!
Most people dawdle along and never stress their cars and I suspect that the majority of vehicles would be hard pushed to do more than 5000 miles a year - job commuting hasn't taken off here except for in the really big cities.
olive
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I would like to point out that VOSA does not make the rules. The law does that. Section 45 of the Road Traffic Act & Construction & use to name the main ones.
As a vehicle owner, driver etc it is down to you to ensure that it meets the minimum statutory requirements at all times while in use, not just once a year when the MOT comes around. If you obey the law, then your car would never fail the MOT!
It would appear that you have not been provided the service you paid for by at least one of the testing stations that you used so you should make a complaint to VOSA. this will put you out a little admittedly as you will have to submit your car for a re-examination by a Vehicle Examiner (better to be safe than sorry though and in your particular case should be free of charge). You will then recieve a report on your vehicle condition and a thank you letter. Then the tester(s) at fault will be dealt with accordingly. I should point out that once issued, a VT20 MOT certificate cannot be revoked and remains valid until its expiry date (the law again).
Contact VOSA on 0870 6060440
Hope this helps!
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I would like to point out that VOSA does not make the rules. The law does that. Section 45 of the Road Traffic Act & Construction & use to name the main ones.....
Correct, but its VOSA (or some other mechanically clever peeps) who say how much free play is too much free play or whatever.....
I should point out that once issued, a VT20 MOT certificate cannot be revoked and remains valid until its expiry date (the law again).......
However, a VG9 or PG9 can be issued by a VOSA tester or a suitably qualified Police Officer whereby the vehicle must thereafter undertake a complete retest before the vehicle can be legally allowed to be used on a road, effectively binning any current VT20???
:y
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A VOSA Vehicle Examiner would not normally issue a PG9 prohibition to a vehicle that is subject of an MOT complaint. They still can do so, though it is frowned upon, as it deters people from making the complaint! (thats why I left that bit out!) Yes the PG9 effectively voids the exsisting current VT20.
Usually the common sense rule is applied. If it appears that the owner will not take remedial action for serious defects (Cat of Defects applies) following the Vehicle Examiners report before using the vehicle on the road it has to be done to protect all. Most MOT test defects only result in the issue of inspection notices IAW the CofD though.
Yes I agree that VOSA does advise government on technical issues, but you know how long it takes to get new legislation in......
Ooooops! I may be giving away what I do for a living here!
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:y ;)
.......Ooooops! I may be giving away what I do for a living here!
Me too also!! ;D
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Ooooops! I may be giving away what I do for a living here!
I think your forum name gives it away ;D
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That obvious eh? :D