2004 1.2 Fabia 108k miles

Skoda dealer pestered me a number of times for service and MOT work - so I thought I'd let them do the MOT

Failed today on (and price quoted to fix)

001 & 002 Indicator bulbs incorrect colour [1.4.A.2d] £7

looked ok to me - would have thought it was advisory at most

003 Offside front suspension arm rubber bush deteriorated resulting in excessive movement [2.4.G.3] £119

gotta accept this I suppose

004 Offside front wheel bearing rough when rotated [2.5.A.2] £210

I tried it and although it maybe sounds slightly louder than the n/s which has been changed last month, it is nothing noticeable and the rotation is nice and smooth. - No play. Why would they fail it?

005 Nearside Steering arm has relative movement at its fixings [2.2.b.1h] £170

What are they saying? Surely only place for movement is the Tie rod end?

plus other advisories which when added up come to about £830! plus £20 for retest.

I get the impression they are not busy. Any comments particularly item 4 and 5?

edit: I forgot to add that the failed test cost £39 so thats close on £900 total and that includes changing one rear shock absorber (I always thought you changed them in pairs)

Edited 17 June, 201115 yr by xman

£850 is a huge amount to get it through its test.

If you are suspicious then i would say take it elsewhere for a second opinion.....you might find they will be advisories.....or not even that.

If something needs doing then always get it done but don't be suckered into helping a service department meet their targets :(

"pestered me a number of times for service and MOT work"......says it all really.

Very hard to comment without inspecting the car.

Console bush should be obvious as the wishbone will move in and out when car jacked up.

Steering arm play could be TRE outer or inner,

Wheel bearing should be an advisory unless the wheel has lateral rock when tested.

Indicator bulbs. This one suggest they have a very strict tester. MY MOT guy would simply say, get them changed ASAP.

The price suggest they have a fairly high labour rate. Our local Indy charges £35 an hour, and Local Skoda Dealer £55 an hour. Local VAG £80 an hour

2004 1.2 Fabia 108k miles

Skoda dealer pestered me a number of times for service and MOT work - so I thought I'd let them do the MOT

Failed today on (and price quoted to fix)

001 & 002 Indicator bulbs incorrect colour [1.4.A.2d] £7

looked ok to me - would have thought it was advisory at most

Picky basturds

004 Offside front wheel bearing rough when rotated [2.5.A.2] £210

I tried it and although it maybe sounds slightly louder than the n/s which has been changed last month, it is nothing noticeable and the rotation is nice and smooth. - No play. Why would they fail it?

Could be the start of a more serious problem.......£200ish to fix inc part...get OEM Skoda!!!

005 Nearside Steering arm has relative movement at its fixings [2.2.b.1h] £170

What are they saying? Surely only place for movement is the Tie rod end?

Maybee the bolts that hold the steering rack down are slighty loose??? 5min job to tighten!!!

plus other advisories which when added up come to about £830! plus £20 for retest.

I get the impression they are not busy. Any comments particularly item 4 and 5?

I think they need money!! Go to a place that just does MOT's and is not affifated with a Garage!!! Best place for an unbiased check!!!

What colour are your indicator bulbs?

Vehicles first used on or after 1 April 1986 These must be fitted with one side repeater indicator on each side. Instead of a separate lamp, the side repeater might be part of the front direction indicator if it includes a wraparound lens. Lamps incorporating a side repeater are marked either with an 'E' mark in a circle or an 'e' mark in a rectangle above which is the number 5. c. the flashing rate Note: it may be necessary to run the engine when checking the flashing rate c. does not flash 60 to 120 times per minute d. that every direction indicator emits amber light, except vehicles first used before 1 September 1965 where both front indicators may be white and both rear indicators red d. does not show light of the appropriate colour

As to other points get a second opinion, they won't want you to and will pressure you with retest fees, and that if you go elsewhere for a second opinion you will pay another full test fee. This could work out cheaper in the end though.

Retired M V Tech.

Don't forget your local council will do an MOT at very reasonable cost

http://www.ukmot.com/MOT%20test/Council%20MOT%20Test%20Centers.asp

They also have zero bias.

Im a mot tester and this is what i think of what you have put

1 the indicator bulbs would have to be glowing White to fail

2 in my experience you can't actually fail it unless its seriously worn or falling off

3 the wheel bearing would have to be really rough when rotated to fail or play in it

4 n/s steering arm has relative movement at fixing? All cars have slight play on one side of the steering rack called free play this again would have to be accessive

Personally I would go get it retested at another mot test station

front wheeling cost me £240 from my skoda dealer.

They MOT'd it for me and I got a adviory for the the orange film on the indicators peeling off and allowing white light through. Sounds like a strict MOT tester to me.

2004 1.2 Fabia 108k miles

Skoda dealer pestered me a number of times for service and MOT work - so I thought I'd let them do the MOT

Failed today on (and price quoted to fix)

001 & 002 Indicator bulbs incorrect colour [1.4.A.2d] £7 Renew bulbs

looked ok to me - would have thought it was advisory at most

003 Offside front suspension arm rubber bush deteriorated resulting in excessive movement [2.4.G.3] £119 New metal wishbone with new rubber bush already fitted about £25.00

gotta accept this I suppose

004 Offside front wheel bearing rough when rotated [2.5.A.2] £210

I tried it and although it maybe sounds slightly louder than the n/s which has been changed last month, it is nothing noticeable and the rotation is nice and smooth. - No play. Why would they fail it? Second opinion here

005 Nearside Steering arm has relative movement at its fixings [2.2.b.1h] £170

What are they saying? Surely only place for movement is the Tie rod end? Could be track rod end joint OR where track control arm attaches to steering rack??. Relative movement, (not excessive), at its fixings.??

plus other advisories which when added up come to about £830! plus £20 for retest.

I get the impression they are not busy. Any comments particularly item 4 and 5?

If your in any doubt what the tester has written/found go back and ask him to explain exactly.!!

As said take else where for retest, depends what time factor left on your old MOT.

What money your paying out for another MOT test (and get the same result), could go towards repairs.

Show us your failure note if possible.

Thanks for comments so far. The failures are written as listed above.

I am going to have an hour inspecting thoroughly with the wheels off tomorrow.

Already decided to go elsewhere for a retest.

On reflection, I did have mega problems a few years back with this MOT test station in the past although that time it was VW franchise technicians who quoted £1500 (IIRC) to get a Mk3 Golf through its MOT, thought it might be better with the Skoda technicians (they share the test bay).

Got 7 days before current MOT runs out.

I would take it elsewhere.

deffo take it elsewhere sounds like they trying to rob ya bank!

w0w thats some mot

why dont you phone a few garages and ask for estimates for the work youve been quoted

also as an example, i took my vrs to the local slowda garage for a service once and they told me i needed new track rod ends and a new radiator

took it elsewhere for the work ( nearer to home) and the garage removed old ones only to ask why i wanted them changed as they werent too bad and as for the radiator, well i left it be and its been 3 years since, still fine even after the cold winters we've had

afraid i wouldnt trust my dealer ever again

As mentioned take it to a Govt / Council run MOT station, in fact why not also tell Skoda your taking the car there

If it passes you can let the station know or the DVLA, and if you get a written report from MOT station you could always take it up with Skoda HQ.

Well, took it to the place I normally use - a well established and respected 2 man garage (MOT costs £50 instead of the £39 that the Skoda dealer enticed me with).

It failed on only two items - bushes (both sides - Skoda failed only one side) and a shock absorber that even I knew was covered in oil (Skoda however passed that one). Price to put right was £140 using genuine parts (they use TPS) and they fitted the latest upgraded voidless, metal housed bushes from VW.

They also confirmed that there was nothing wrong at all with the wheel bearing or the tie rod which Skoda wanted £380 for. As for the indicator bulbs, he just shook his head in disbelief.

In summary

Skoda dealer £900

Independent £190 - using genuine parts and showed me all the old parts and how they failed.

The dealer has shot themselves in the foot as now I will no longer use them for servicing or otherwise.

Edited 21 June, 201115 yr by xman

That's pretty shocking we should at least expect 'consistent' MOT diagnostics pertaining to actual faults, and not an accountancy exercise in ripping people off.

This is unbelievable! I would write to them with your findings and inform trading standards as well - this is not right and they shouldn't be allowed to continue doing this to customers. They should not be in business.

Inform vosa about it and let them follow up on it

Vosa will not be interested as the vehicle has been repaired now

It wouldn't cross my mind for a nano-second to take my car to a franchised dealer for an MOT.

Glad you got sorted in the end - crooks !

Went down the avenue of reporting an MOT station many years ago - no joy - same words used as by the Skoda dealer and the affiliated VW dealer - "In the opinion of the tester"