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What do you think about this?

1K views 9 replies 6 participants last post by  ArthurCollins2 
#1 ·
Hi all, I just want to canvass some opinions about a recent garage experience. Not Kia related at all and will not result in any legal action or anything like that. My fiancee has a 54 plate Ford Fiesta which was handed down to her by her father who had it from new and it is very low mileage. She took it to local garage that has an excellent reputation for a major service 6 weeks ago. I use this garage too and highly rate it. The Fiesta went back for it's mot yesterday and failed on a corroded rear brake pipe along with 2 advisories on 2 more rear brake pipes. We expressed our disappointment that this had not been identified at the service 6 weeks ago (and sorted then) as the car would have been in the same dangerous state then. We were told that the mot checks were 'different' to the service checks which is why the corroded pipes were only identified today. They did apologise though and we asked them to do the remedial work for the retest (not the advisories) which cost £70.00.

Now my question is would you, like me, expect a major service to look for dangerous items like perished flexible brake hoses or corroded brake and fuel lines, or do you think that it's only come mot time that these things should be looked for? I'm happy to be wrong if the consensus says so!

Phil
 
#2 ·
I would expect a major service to inspect all safety related items. I always get a report on brake and tyre wear for example even on a minor service where these items are not part of the service. I would think that in these litigious times every garage is under an obligation to cover themselves. Was it the same garage that did the MoT?

£70 to replace a brake pipe is not a bad price though.
 
#3 ·
Thanks Turnup, it was the same garage for service, mot and retest. I agree that I would expect any car that had just had a full service to go on and pass an mot, which makes me wonder why garages do the mot before the service when booked in for both?
 
#4 ·
Thanks Turnup, it was the same garage for service, mot and retest. I agree that I would expect any car that had just had a full service to go on and pass an mot, which makes me wonder why garages do the mot before the service when booked in for both?
That's not really what I meant to say. I had not fully taken on board that you were using a non dealer garage. There are elements of the MoT which are not necessarily looked at during service ('cos this would put the price up by about the cost of an MoT) but which could still lead to a fail (for example brake imbalance or headlight alignment). Servicing is performed to a specified list of actions designed to attend to those elements of a vehicle which need periodic attention, before they fail, it is not a "make everything nice again" activity. Spotting those brake lines would require the vehicle to be lifted and while many garages routinely put all cars on a lift not all do (and particularly the "budget" local garages - this is one of the reasons that dealer servicing charges are higher) do. It is perfectly possible to perform a budget major service without using a lift. On balance I think it is not reasonable to expect the full dealer experience when using a non dealer local.

Most garages will put car in for MoT first so they can then fully advise the client and get the work underway all at the same time. I don't think there are any service items which would make any difference to an MoT pass/fail, except perhaps washer bottle fluid.

If I was paying full dealer prices for a service then I would expect them to pick up on any potential MoT issues and advise me.
 
#6 ·
Hi I'm a mot tester and really the service standards are higher than a mot standard. For example if a tyre is on the legal limit of 1.6mm it isn't a fail unless below that limit however on a service you would really start to advise a tyre getting low from 3mm. So I would expect at least the brake pipe to be advised on the service so you are aware of the issue. I hope that makes sense.
 
#7 ·
Would it not depend on the level of the service?

My previous indi garage who were brilliant. Only ever had a car at full height if they needed to work underneath, so would not check anything that required a under car inspection during a service.

I would guess they do the MOT 1st in case it fails. So they can then work around the extra work. Remember not all MOT fails are service related items. And owner may decide that it's not worth repairing the car if it fails. So a service would be wasted money.

We know the likes of Kwik Fit etc look at everything. As they want to skim work that may not need doing.
 
#9 ·
Interesting. I have had my Mondeo serviced at main Ford dealer then fail the MOT on headlight alignment! ( by the same dealer (but no charge to adjust) bizarre to me. I expect a service person to look at brake pipes as I do myself when looking under my cars , on a trolley jack so not so good a a lift. Also leaking dampers which is another item that creeps up on older cars. In fact over the years rusty brake pipes has been mentioned by testers so often I wonder why stainless steel ones are not fitted as standard ,Corrosion is more complicated as it is sometimes a matter of opinion but luckily it is many years since I had to worry about that.
 
#10 ·
I have to say, my approach to services is that they are a contractual list of items to check/replace. Anything not on the list, you can't expect to be inspected.
While I'm sure they will claim a customer care angle, any garage that goes beyond the list is only trying to make a bit more out of the job.
 
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