Car Test !

[PD]

My 14yr old VW Passat estate went in for its annual test at 0800 hrs this morning.
I'm not a mechanic !
I've has stomach cramps since last night !

I've just got the call......

No problems sir..... for a 14 yr old car its very very good.....
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except
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a " gater " here, a stop light there, here a worn brake light there a .........


£190....... :shock:

I'd have been buggered if it was anything serious !!

Looks like the Blikman beer gun will have to wait.

 

[Gayle]

Where does the car get it's test where you live? I heard that in England it's private garages that offer them, personally I'd take it somewhere else for the work. That sounds rather expensive for a few small things, though I've no idea what a gater is... but it cost less than that to get our car through the MOT and there were a few more serious things wrong with it! But then for a 14yr old car if it only needs £190 spent on it then really that's not in bad shape!

 

[Vossy1]

hough I've no idea what a gater is

aka a CV boot kit, it's a cover for a cv joint and it look like a fluted rubber cone or barrel about the size of a coke can. On my older cars I'd always check them before an mot as it's an easy one to say is split, if you know what I mean £190, not bad P, could always be better but not bad at all

 

[oldbloke]

Where does the car get it's test where you live? I heard that in England it's private garages that offer them

Govt approved testing centres, which may or may not be part of a normal garage

I have a mechanic I trust who runs a garage within easy walking distance, he does anything he can find, takes it to the test centre, fixes anything they complain about.
There's a closer garage but it has the feel of a place where you can go in with 2 write-offs and come out with one car...

 

[calumscott]

hough I've no idea what a gater is

aka a CV boot kit, it's a cover for a cv joint and it look like a fluted rubber cone or barrel about the size of a coke can. On my older cars I'd always check them before an mot as it's an easy one to say is split, if you know what I mean £190, not bad P, could always be better but not bad at all

I agree, driveshaft gaters are a total pain to do - one of those jobs that's always worth getting someone else to do. £190 less the mot fee, less the VAT is what, about £115 less parts that leaves a couple of hours labour at around £40 an hour.

Seems fair to me.

 

[Titus A Duxass]

Agreed - that's a fair price.
A years motoring for 200 squid is not bad.
The old VWs just keep going.

I have a Passat engine in my bus, it's done 300,000 Kilometers and still doesn't use oil.
My mate's Passat normally requires track rod ends every 2 years (i.e. every test) and that keeps battling on and still returns 40mpg.

 

[PD]

I didn't say it wasn't a fair price

14yr old original exhaust, original brakes, it could have been a lot worse................ still the kegs and beer gun will have to move back a little......

and now theres just the car tax to pay......

yep 40 mpg no loss of oil....+1 for VW

 

[calumscott]

It's scary though, just how quickly cars get "old". My missus has a "new" MINI. It's already 11 years old! It's an old car!

My Volvo S60 that I bought a couple of years ago, 05 plate, that's 8 years old now! It's an old car!

This is why I'll never buy a new car, decent marques (BMW, Volvo, VW, Audi, etc) tend to be well looked after and once they've lost the bulk of their value are generally the way to go.

I'll be chopping the Volvo in for a V70 soon I reckon...

The key, and I think you've cracked it PD, is to have a decent garage who don't go looking for things that aren't really there and who charge a fair rate. I've got a brilliant indy near me who do all my MOTs and stuff that I can't be bothered doing myself...

 

[alawlor66430]

But her a nice wee valet and a magic tree to thank her lol.

 

[alawlor66430]

Buy

 

[Megaross]

My mate just got his MOT tester certificate and was telling me about some of the stuff he'd learnt, honestly it's hilarious how poor a condition your car can be in and still pass.

 

[Moley]

went in for its annual test at 0800 hrs this morning.

I've has stomach cramps since last night !

I know what you mean, I would much rather visit the dentist than take a car for an MOT.

Thanks for the reminder, I've just booked one for this Friday afternoon.

Finished using my people carrier as a beast of burden, stripping out the boat, bringing paving slabs home and taking stuff to the tip, sun is out, so I thought it was about time I got some use out of my toy (a Morgan).

Bloody MOT expired last Friday :evil:

 

[calumscott]

sun is out, so I thought it was about time I got some use out of my toy (a Morgan).

Nice! What kind?

I just took delivery of my old toy recently, a '71 Lotus Elan +2 130S. I bought it in '99 I think but it's been parked up for a very long time and needs a ground up restoration.

At least now it's in the right place so I can start work on it!

 

[Vossy1]

It's scary though, just how quickly cars get "old"

Not having kids it's one of the few things that makes ME realise times getting on :shock: :lol: ...when you see new models of your car coming out. We always had BMW's, VW's but when I started a business in 05 I bought a Berlingo Multispace...with great trepidation as French cars didn't have a great rep back then, though it was changing. 8 years later and 70,000 miles, one exhaust, some disc and pads pads to the front, and a service by my every 2 years and not one break down and no rust in sight (prays none out of sight :pray: )
It's changed my view of French cars, though it must be said the Berlingo's been around so long they should have ironed out any faults by now...still...I'd swap it for another Sharan any day :lol:

 

[Aleman]

I'd swap it for another Sharan any day :lol:

Vossy . . . didn't I see you with a 11 plate Tiguan at TST??

What do you think of them? Just asking as the RAV4 is bloody brilliant, but in 7-10 years time when it's time to replace it, I'll be looking at a Tiguan Bluemotion . . . coz I can't stand the new model Rav4 :evil:

 

[Vossy1]

Vossy . . . didn't I see you with a 11 plate Tiguan at TST??

You did...don't panic :lol: it's about to go back we've got a 13 Peugeot 3008 now

What do you think of them? Just asking as the RAV4 is bloody brilliant, but in 7-10 years time when it's time to replace it, I'll be looking at a Tiguan Bluemotion . . . coz I can't stand the new model Rav4

Don't you hate it when they do that The Tiguan was a great car, pretty rapid too, but I wouldn't want to be running it privately...just too thirsty, but you might be used to that. The interiors as you would expect from VW, rock solid, there was enough load space from the boot as standard, though it a high entry, and the seats fold down and lock giving a lot of room when only 2 up. The parking sensors think they're parking a bus but I believe you can adjust them..I just turned it off...too annoying! It was quite quiet on the motorway and the handling was very car like, all in all a very nice car :thumb:

 

[Russ146]

Brilliant i'd say, £200 for another years motoring

Funnily enough PD my 17 year old Audi cabriolet went in yesterday for the MOT and went straight through again.

The bad news was the cambelt must be changed every 5 years or 60,000 miles and i had it done 5 years ago when i bought it at 60,000 so thats being done today and its a 2.8 V6 so im expecting a £250 bill.

I paid £2000 for it 5 years ago, apart from the usual wear and tear (and now two cam belts) its cost very little. Its average mpg on the computer yesterday was 32.7 and its still worth £2000. To me thats very cheap motoring.

In this weather with the top down its sheer driving heaven and for the cost of it its a better deal than a new diesel.

A friend of mine bought a new A3 for £25,000 and sold it 3 years later for £15,000! Ten grand lost in 3 years

 

[Russ146]

Mot

Replace cambelt

£236

Result! another years motoring for peanuts on a car that will last for years.

 

[iceo]

took mine in for its first service today with a list of problems i know of. after 3 hours drinking free coffee.

i dont pay for the parts/service as its in with my car its a new car (a year old 12k).
my list problems
lack of power when putting off
Missfire/kangarooing,
stalling out(its auto, lose everything steering, brakes,ect)
had a set of front tyres at 10,000 miles.

their list
not faults found
very minor oil leak in the gear box
front pads need replacing in 6k
rear tyres down to 4mm so will need doing in the next 12 months.

i had the car in for repair last month as it stalled and i couldnt get it restarted, so was recovered by the AA.

 

[gl0ckage]

TBuy your self a Haynes manual and tinker and look after it. I build bikes although I do have a car mechanics qualification, bikes need regular looking after. As long as you do them it usually passes, my bikes a 89 a G regards and pass it's mot with the only advisory was a nearly bald tyre but was putting a bigger rim with new tyre on.

I didn't touch a thing on that bike all year with it being a write off last year... Cracked aftermarket front windshield.

Tbh 190 ain't bad, but if your not happy get some fake payslips from online and take them into Halfords to get a trade card...

Also new cars always have loads of teething problems and any car not covered in a warranty + parts scheme is going to cost a lot of money. I once bought a brand new bike, 0 miles had every problem under the sun with it that didn't have parts and I only partial warranty.