Dodgy mechanic?

shifty_uk

shifty_uk

shifty_uk

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Took the car to my regular mechanic to look over an issue I was having. I told him the car was going in for its MOT Monday, it expired yesterday(thought I had a week left on it, my bad). He said 'why didn't you just bring it to me? I'll get my mate to do it'. Match my current rate and that's fine, take the car and that'll save me a bit of hassle.

Fast forward to the end of the day. He came back to me with a list as long as your arm of work needing done, over £300 worth of wallet damage. He seemed very reluctant to hand the car over, stating the MOT had expired, it's no use on the road and that he'd keep it in the garage and start work Monday. I said no, I want to see the car incase there's any issues I can correct myself. 'Well, if you're going to start all that' - Cheeky git! So, he dropped off the car with the current quote remaining. He didn't give me a Vosa certificate or failure notices.

Should I steer clear and get a second/third opinion on the car? It's a tough one, I don't want the excess expenditure incase the car actually does need the work and he claimed it was a very good price.

One other thing, they failed me on my seized rear door - Last year it was an advisory at the test centre.
 
Alright mate,

When i use to have the civic, i completely forgot bout the MOT and was driving about for a week without it. Soon as i realised i shot straight up to nearest MOT garage and it failed an they gave me a red Vosa/failure paper and told me to keep hold of it as it will give me up to 10 days to drive the car about to get it repaired for the retest.

Think it is for you to get from the MOT centre to your home for repairs / repair centre. Anything else is illegal.

I needed 3 new tyres and some exhaust and ball joint repairs. If you have paid for your MOT i would be marching back up and getting the red failure papers.
 
Indeed.

Sounds seriously dodgy with a bit of cowboy thrown in.

Personally with people like that, I would cut your losses and never speak to them again and find someone you trust who has a good reputation.

Lifes too short for messing around with morons like that, however as Rybo says, you should always get the official failure paper.

If he wont give you it, report him, and never go back.

Im fed up of hearing stories like this, with these guys ripping people off and preying on the less informed.
 
Sounds dodgy to me. I'd go straight HERE and check the MOT history using the reference number off your V5C. I bet he didn't even MOT it.
The fact that it now has no MOT is none of his business.

Get your car back and go elsewhere, I have seen this trick first hand on the past used by struggling mechanics who need to earn a few fast bucks.
 
A decent mechanic would not work off a list he has made himself he would work off the failure sheet.
10-1 he didn't even MOT it.
 
R420LA6X2/4MNA said:
I think that's wrong.
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You can drive it to and from getting it repaired, and subsequently back to the MOT tester.

AFAIK The tester can refuse to release the car if he deems it unsafe to be on the road, but not simply because it's failed.

What were the failures? I'd ask for the failure sheet tbh.
 
MikeHiow said:
You can drive it to and from getting it repaired, and subsequently back to the MOT tester.

AFAIK The tester can refuse to release the car if he deems it unsafe to be on the road, but not simply because it's failed.

What were the failures? I'd ask for the failure sheet tbh.
Click to expand...

Yes, I was not sure what he ment by that, I'd hazzard a guess some (me :o) could, perhaps, read that as "drive it around until its fixed" if you follow.....
 
MikeHiow said:
You can drive it to and from getting it repaired, and subsequently back to the MOT tester.

AFAIK The tester can refuse to release the car if he deems it unsafe to be on the road, but not simply because it's failed.

What were the failures? I'd ask for the failure sheet tbh.
Click to expand...

A garage can't refuse to release a car unless there is an outstanding bill, because it failed on a dangerous item isn't a reason. All a garage has to do is inform the customer that the car is unroadworthy and shouldn't be driven, after that it's their problem, there is absolutely no liability on the garages behalf.
You can drive between the MOT centre, the place of repair, and the registered address with no mot, it really depends on what the car failed on to whether it is actually "dangerous" to drive.
 
Hey chaps, thanks for the feedback. Had to wait until this morning to get a hold of the git.

He phoned me asking for the car round to start work, stern refusal from me and demands to see the MOT papers were met with annoyance. I made him come around with the papers and he wouldn't hand them over until I gave him the cash for the MOT - not a great start considering I've used him for work before. He followed me to the bank, gave him 40 quid only and gave him a few choice words. He sped off in complete annoyance that he wasn't getting the car. Utter cowboy.

Here's what it failed on:
Brake pipe corrosion(it's fine)
Near side anti roll bar linkage insecure
Off side anti roll bar linkage insecure
Track rod end ball joint excessive play(I had them replaced last year)
Front passenger door not opening(false, it's actually the rear door)
Registration lamp not working(simple £1 bulb will fix this, my bad, I hadn't noticed)
Front brakes juddering
Off side front headlamp aimed too high(false, it's actually the near side one that's pointed too high. I had the off side one adjusted and haven't touched it since)
Advisory: Front brake pads wearing thin.

£300 worth of work? Not a chance, I'll get the wheels off later and inspect the damage and get one of my old mans mechanics to give it an inspection.
 
With so many RFR's that aren't valid i'd be taking it back to the place it was tested and give them what for. Offer them the chance to retest the car for free or threaten contacting vosa. Usually the threat of having a vosa inspection done is enough for them to give in and do it properly.
 
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