- Posts
- 44,650
- Location
- East Dorset
Should've sued them for the cost of the repair!Alas if you take it to an MOT garage and they deem it unroad worthy they won't allow it to leave their premises until the work has been done. My wife fell fowl of this courtesy of a national garage chain who'd seen easy money as a female had turned up They subsequently didn't do the wheel nuts up properly after they'd completed their work and the front wheels nearly came off on her way home.
"unroadworthy" has become a word even the new testing agency cannot agree upon , see their recent U-turns on what you can do if your car fails an MOT.
"dangerous" is the new category that is used to say you really shouldn't drive the car away from the testing station, although they cannot stop you doing it. Once they have told you the car is dangerous, you are taking the risk of a policeman stopping you and your being fined lots for using it, but no one can impound your car. No garage has the right to print money. You can get it towed and fixed by another garage.
My tester told me recently that a car can pass the brake tests on the rollers but then be given a "dangerous" due to pad thickness being too thin!
If it fails on Majors you can drive away and get it fixed and returned within 10 working days.
Minors you can leave or do as and when. I agree about the way ladies get treated by many unscrupulous garages. I know of many who give their cars to males to take them for testing.
I had a friend who was always ringing me from a garage saying to the mechanic, "I don't know, but I know a man who can". He then rang me and told me the problem, like for instance a u-bolt on an exhaust was rattling and needed tightening up. The mechanic told him he'd need a new exhaust. So he rang me and I asked to speak to the mechanic, the mechanic then just tightened up the bolt and charged him nothing! He didn't even take the phone and speak to me! The virtues of mobile phones, not many, but this is one!
Last edited: