MOT failed twice in one day :(

<(Multi)> · 11 Jan 2007 at 17:57

I've been dreading this for the last month or so, but today my Rover 200 (1999) went in for an MOT. It was always going to fail, there was no heat shield (top or bottom) on that cat, brakes where acting weird, and CV joints were suspect at best.

Failed on exhaust emisions, brakes uneven, and rear windscreen wider blade.

They replaced;

catalytic convertor £140.00
cleaned brakes £20.00
MOT class 4 £40.00

inc VAT all came to £230.00

BUT, it failed on emision again! So its now booked in for a lambra sensor?? Does this seem logical? quoted £50.00 for that.

so total bill would be £280.00 inc VAT and labour. Interested in what those in the know think the chances are of it being anything else. And are the above costs fair?? (not that Im too doubtfull really, it seems fair enough to me i suppose.)

Dogbreath · 11 Jan 2007 at 17:59

The lambda sensor could cause emissions problems, as could dozens of other faults. Randomly replacing bits as expensive as a cat doesn't seem to indicate they know what they are doing...

Do you know what specific aspect the emmisons failed on? i.e. CO, HC etc?

<(Multi)> · 11 Jan 2007 at 18:02

Dogbreath said:
The lambda sensor could cause emissions problems, as could dozens of other faults. Randomly replacing bits as expensive as a cat doesn't seem to indicate they know what they are doing...

Do you know what specific aspect the emmisons failed on? i.e. CO, HC etc?

To be fair to them, I know the cat was buggered. There was no cover on the top or base for 8 months, the car stunk of petrol when i got out after a long drive - partly the reason I knew it would fail.

I asked the bloke on the desk what the chances were it would pass with the new lambra sensor, and he said he had little doubt it would solve it. Im just worried it could be something more serious.

As for what it failed on specifically, Im not sure. All i know is every year this Rover fails emisions, getting silly now

gambitt · 11 Jan 2007 at 18:04

it's lamda by the way

or o2 (oxygen) sensor if you prefer.

dirtydog · 11 Jan 2007 at 18:06

gambitt said:
it's lamda by the way

It's lambda by the way

<(Multi)> · 11 Jan 2007 at 18:08

gambitt said:
it's lamda by the way

or o2 (oxygen) sensor if you prefer.

I've noticed a reduction in MPG over the last month or so. Could this explain/mean its running too rich, hense it fails on emissions?

dirtydog · 11 Jan 2007 at 18:09

<(Multi)> said:
I've noticed a reduction in MPG over the last month or so. Could this explain/mean its running too rich, hense it fails on emissions?

Possibly. That could also be down to the coolant temp sensor.

<(Multi)> · 11 Jan 2007 at 18:16

dirtydog said:
Possibly. That could also be down to the coolant temp sensor.

Expensive??? :confused:

agw_01 · 11 Jan 2007 at 18:17

<(Multi)> said:
Expensive???

£15 or so from Rover.

Quite a common failure. Make sure you get the proper part (ADU7167 IIRC) with the slidy bit.

A* for my description there :cool:

-Mike- · 11 Jan 2007 at 18:18

The one for my friends VTS - Different car I know was around £18 or so genuine from citroen so you should be ok

gambitt · 11 Jan 2007 at 18:42

dirtydog said:
It's lambda by the way

LOL owned

4T5 · 11 Jan 2007 at 18:47

gambitt said:
LOL owned

You took that well mate, respect to you

A far as the MOT goes don't worry about it mate that sounds about right to me. What it also says to me is the first time round the mechanic did the absolute minimal which indicates he is dealing straight with you.
He could have quite easily said " mate it's failed on the emissions and you need this that & that & this & that and it'll be 450 quid."
He's playing it straight as far as i am concerned so be cool and hope the (checks spelling) Lambda sorts it.

MNuTz · 11 Jan 2007 at 18:59

just hope you dont have the same trouble i had with my golf, forked out £250 to get it through the MOT and two days later the gearbox went. that was 18 months ago and i still cant find a decent 2nd/refurb gearbox for it

Faithless · 11 Jan 2007 at 19:09

A lack of heat shield is no reason to fail an MOT. Seems a little suspect to me. Hope you get it sorted.

whitecrook · 11 Jan 2007 at 19:27

Mmm, it's a good idea to take the car out for a run and cane it for a few miles to get the temperature up and the cat working at it's most efficient before the MOT - or so I've been told..

<(Multi)> · 11 Jan 2007 at 19:34

Thanks guys for your thoughts/help.

Malc30: Yeah, I totally agree with you about the guy trying to be as efficent as possible. They seem to provide a very fair and helpful service on the whole.

I'm just worried about the financial aspect of MOTing this car. £300 for a car thats worth aprox £800-900. I cant sell it as I owe finance more than that - approx £1500

gutted. So i need it to run for at least another year.

whitecrook · 11 Jan 2007 at 20:03

<(Multi)> said:
Thanks guys for your thoughts/help.

I'm just worried about the financial aspect of MOTing this car. £300 for a car thats worth aprox £800-900. I cant sell it as I owe finance more than that - approx £1500 gutted. So i need it to run for at least another year.

Sounds like you need to start learning how to fix/repair/maintain the car yourself. You'll save an awful lot of money on labour charges alone. Look at the tools you'll need to buy as an investment that will pay for themselves over the course of time.

<(Multi)> · 11 Jan 2007 at 20:20

whitecrook said:
Sounds like you need to start learning how to fix/repair/maintain the car yourself. You'll save an awful lot of money on labour charges alone. Look at the tools you'll need to buy as an investment that will pay for themselves over the course of time.

Totally agree. If I could service the Rover and part service the Yamaha R6 I'd be a much wealthier man. Silly thing is I've got most of the tools required, 'all the gear, no idea.'

PMKeates · 11 Jan 2007 at 20:21

<(Multi)> said:
'all the gear, no idea.'

Haynes manual for the win! Looking through mine, I don't think there's many things I wouldn't attempt myself