Did they really service my car?

Quartz · 9 Aug 2017 at 15:43

I took my car in for its service and MOT today. When I got it back, I found it appeared to be exactly where I had left it. Same parking pitch. Same distance from the back. The seat had been pulled forward but the rear view mirror had not been adjusted. I had left the rear boot cover / back shelf out of place on one side and it was still out of place when I checked. I would have expected a conscientious technician to have put it back. There's a sticker inside the door. My car's done vastly below normal mileage and isn't that old, so I'm wondering if they just took a quick look and said, "It's obviously okay."

So how can I check?

Vince · 9 Aug 2017 at 15:45

Quartz said:
I took my car in for its service and MOT today. When I got it back, I found it appeared to be exactly where I had left it. Same parking pitch. Same distance from the back. The seat had been pulled forward but the rear view mirror had not been adjusted. I had left the rear boot cover / back shelf out of place on one side and it was still out of place when I checked. I would have expected a conscientious technician to have put it back. There's a sticker inside the door. My car's done vastly below normal mileage and isn't that old, so I'm wondering if they just took a quick look and said, "It's obviously okay."

So how can I check?

Pull out plugs/ air filter / particulate filter. should be fairly obvious its not been done if they are filthy.

Glanza · 9 Aug 2017 at 15:45

Main dealer?

Check your filters, you could go down the route of asking to check their CCTV and see if it was moved.

joey1211 · 9 Aug 2017 at 15:51

If they've issued you with an MOT certificate without testing it, they are in serious trouble if reported.

ttaskmaster · 9 Aug 2017 at 16:10

Quartz said:
The seat had been pulled forward but the rear view mirror had not been adjusted.

They may not have needed it to just move the car in and back out of the service bay

Quartz said:
I had left the rear boot cover / back shelf out of place on one side and it was still out of place when I checked. I would have expected a conscientious technician to have put it back.

If it's not part of a Service, they probably won't mess with it.

Quartz said:
So how can I check?

If you know where your oil filter is, look and see if it's a shiny new one or a filthy old one.

Amos91 · 9 Aug 2017 at 16:12

If you haven't done many miles since, the oil should be a nice light golden colour on the dipstick.

Kiethton · 9 Aug 2017 at 16:19

Amos91 said:
If you haven't done many miles since, the oil should be a nice light golden colour on the dipstick.

Unless it's a diesel where it'll be back to black near immediately

Clarkey · 9 Aug 2017 at 16:20

Amos91 said:
If you haven't done many miles since, the oil should be a nice light golden colour on the dipstick.

No mention of the engine, if it's a diesel then expect oil to be filthy black almost straight away.

There is no reason at all that they would need to touch anything in the boot or adjust your mirrors to do the test and service. It's hard to believe that any garage would risk fiddling the MOT.

Invertigo · 9 Aug 2017 at 16:34

As was said above, I doubt any garage would risk their business by giving MOTs without doing the official checks for a random customer.

If it's a petrol, new oil will still be quite a golden colour, also check air/cabin filters if they're meant to have been changed too.

A garage doing an MOT and oil service would have no reason to go near the boot, and I've never had a mechanic mess with the mirrors on any car I've had.

Liquidfox · 9 Aug 2017 at 16:50

Invertigo said:
I've never had a mechanic mess with the mirrors on any car I've had.

It would annoy me if they did if the car was just in for a service!

Django x2 · 9 Aug 2017 at 16:56

Your brakes undergo a stringent check during an MOT. They can't perform an MOT on the car and not move it.

Nasher · 9 Aug 2017 at 16:59

MOT fraud comes with a prison sentence I think. So they are in the poo if they have been fudging it.

Quartz · 9 Aug 2017 at 21:29

Clarkey said:
No mention of the engine, if it's a diesel then expect oil to be filthy black almost straight away.

It is indeed diesel. I'm only doing 3K-4K miles per year.

There is no reason at all that they would need to touch anything in the boot or adjust your mirrors to do the test and service.

They measured the depth of tread on the spare tyre, which is in the boot. And I've routinely found that the rear-view mirror needed re-adjusting. Indeed, surely they would have had to have had the RVM set correctly for the driver to reverse into the parking pitch?

It's hard to believe that any garage would risk fiddling the MOT.

I agree, but you never know.

Clarkey · 9 Aug 2017 at 21:47

Quartz said:
Indeed, surely they would have had to have had the RVM set correctly for the driver to reverse into the parking pitch?

Where I come from, it's called a parking space, and you definitely do not need to use the interior mirror to park in one. Even if for some bizarre reason you want to park using the interior mirror you wouldn't adjust a customers mirror, just adjust your head until you can see in it. I'd be annoyed if a mechanic took it upon themselves to adjust my mirrors and re-arrange my parcel shelf, it's not their car!

Vertigo · 9 Aug 2017 at 22:00

Quartz said:
surely they would have had to have had the RVM set correctly for the driver to reverse into the parking pitch?

Never once used my RVM to reverse into a parking bay, only the side mirrors.

MissChief · 10 Aug 2017 at 01:04

Quartz said:
It is indeed diesel. I'm only doing 3K-4K miles per year.

Why on earth do you have a dag dag for that mileage? If the engine needs to go through a regen cycle I doubt it's doing it effectively, never mind actually doing it. I foresee DPF issues in your future and a major bill for the replacement.

Semple · 10 Aug 2017 at 08:56

Quartz said:
It is indeed diesel. I'm only doing 3K-4K miles per year.

They measured the depth of tread on the spare tyre, which is in the boot. And I've routinely found that the rear-view mirror needed re-adjusting. Indeed, surely they would have had to have had the RVM set correctly for the driver to reverse into the parking pitch?

I agree, but you never know.

Have you not had a look at your filters yet?

Nasher · 10 Aug 2017 at 08:58

3-4k miles a year? Sell the tractor and get a V8

Kuros · 10 Aug 2017 at 09:02

Yeah, I tend to check the Oil Filter and Air filter as a general rule after a service. I wouldn't pull up plugs, myself, just because that's more hassle than it's worth!