Failed MOT :(

E

ElectroDan

Ex. Club Member
Well I knew my very reliable Micra was due to slip-up somewhere. It had it's MOT today at a dealer, after I bought a £25 "MOT & Valet" from Groupon.

They just phoned to say it failed it several areas :(, all relating to rust underneath on the floorpan and sills, and that in their opinion the cost to repair would be more than the car is worth.

Annoyingly, I only just fitted a new back-box, and had a centre-pipe and down-pipe fitted 4 months ago, new front discs and pads 6 months ago, and 4 new tyres within the last 10 month. Other than that it's always started first time and not given me any problems.

So, I'm unsure what to do now. I'm thinking of a few options:

1) Advertise it on here/eBay as spares/repairs.
2) Break it myself (not really easy for me to do due to space).
3) Take it to another garage for a 2nd opinion/MOT. :suspect:

I guess I'm fortunate in that I've just been given a company car, so it's no longer my primary vehicle. Saying that, I was going to let me Fiancee use it for commuting as it's much better on fuel than her MX-5.

What would people suggest I do?
 
Yeah what did it fail on? They probably don't reckon it economical as they're including their labour times in the cost.

I've noticed a few more Kent members on here recently which is quite cool :)
 
get several quotes from local body welders for welding the rusted sills/floor pan .
getting it welded from MOT place or especially dealers prob bound to cost loads.

after welding rebook the £25 MOT
autotrader.co.uk also does 50% MOT discounts
 
Okay will upload the failure sheet.

I must admit, I am reluctant to spend much on getting it fixed, mostly because we're trying to move house which is expensive, whilst still save for a wedding. The Micra has been GREAT at being reliable and a low-cost runabout, but rather than throw loads of money at it I'd rather just buy another one cheap that has a long MOT.
 
ElectroDan said:
Okay will upload the failure sheet.

I must admit, I am reluctant to spend much on getting it fixed, mostly because we're trying to move house which is expensive, whilst still save for a wedding. The Micra has been GREAT at being reliable and a low-cost runabout, but rather than throw loads of money at it I'd rather just buy another one cheap that has a long MOT.
Click to expand...

dont you think its gonna work out more expensive that way? scraping this one and getting new one?
 
pollyp's idea is best, just go round your local fabricating/welding workshops and get them to have a look, and see if they will do it, some might not want to whereas others might want to make a bit of money on the side, probably wouldnt cost you as much as your thinking either to get it welded by a local workshop because to them welding is easy (obviously if there welders) and more than likely not a big job, obviously depending how bad the rust is ofc
 
Be wary of cheap MOT offers, find a good garage that will do a fair job for a sensible price.
I don't mean a place that will let any old wreck through, there are plenty of honest fair repair shops around.

Why do you get cheap MOT offers?, to get your car through the doors, that's why, why do they need to get your business?, maybe they don't see their customers again after a couple of visits.
I take my cars to a local tester who charges me £50 for a test, but he will give a thorough and fair test. I have to book in advance, his services are much in demand as they have been since he went into business 20+ years ago.

Roger.
 
Okay so it failed on these points:

1) Offside Headlamp aim aimed so that it dazzles other road users
2) Nearside Headlamp aim too far to the left
3) Offside rear (outer sill) Suspension component mounting prescribed area is excessively corroded
4) Nearside rear (outer sill) Suspension component mounting prescribed area is excessively corroded
5) Offside rear (inner sill) Suspension component mounting prescribed area is excessively corroded
6) Nearside rear (inner sill) Suspension component mounting prescribed area is excessively corroded
7) Nearside rear (floor pan) Suspension component mounting prescribed area is excessively corroded
8) Offside rear (outer sill) Seat belt anchorage prescribed area is excessively corroded
9) Nearside rear (outer sill) Seat belt anchorage prescribed area is excessively corroded
10) Offside rear (inner sill) Seat belt anchorage prescribed area is excessively corroded
11) Nearside rear (inner sill) Seat belt anchorage prescribed area is excessively corroded
12) Nearside rear (floor pan) Seat belt anchorage prescribed area is excessively corroded
13) Nearside (centre floor pan) Seat belt anchorage prescribed area is excessively corroded

Advisories:

14) Front anti-roll bar corroded but not seriously weakened
15) Rear anti-roll bar corroded but not seriously weakened
16) Rear (both sides) shock absorber has a light misting of oil
17) Rear sub-frame corroded but not seriously weakened
18) Nearside rear coil spring corroded
19) Offside front coil spring corroded
20) Nearside rear brake hose slightly deteriorated
21 Offside front (floor pan) subframe mounting prescribed area is corroded but not considered excessive
22) High level stop light not working
23) Front cross member excessively corroded not in a prescribed area **Dangerous**

And that's your lot!
 
frank said:
comprehensive failure eh :eek: i would get a free quote for the welding then decide
Click to expand...

I forgot to add, after collecting it today I took it straight over to the welder than did my MX-5 sills.

He had a good poke around and said it was a huge amount of work, it needs new sills on both sides and the interior would need to be removed (so it doesn't catch alight with the welding). He didn't give a price but said it definitely isn't worth doing, the cost would be too high.

So, put it on eBay as spares/repairs? Any idea how little I'm likely to get?
 
The going rate for a scrap car in east Kent is around £120 if you take the car to the yard, a lot less if you have it collected. Scrap prices are very high right now, have you noticed how many pikeys are looking for scrap right now?.

Roger.
 
London Kent Metals in Sittingbourne offered me £150 collected for a Peugeot 406, however J R Car Spares in Paddock Wood offered me £180 collected.

If you're looking to go down the scrap route try J R, I've used them before as they always seem to have the best price!
 
Well the scrappy near my work offered my £100! I didn't barter, as all 4 tyres are <6 months old, it has a <1 week old backbox and the centre pipe/front pipe are less than 4 months old, so not sure if I could haggle something better out of him. The windscreen was fitted last year too. Not having sold to a scrappy before though, I don't know if this would make much difference.

Thanks for the advice though, I'll give JR a call!
 
Stick water in fuel tank, bits of metal rammed in springs or Whatver get the weight up:p what the Northern ireland lot seem to be doing over here :p
 
When I said scrappy, I should have said breakers as that what they really are. I don't know if that should make a difference to the price you get, but I would have thought a breakers pays more as they strip the car and sell parts off before chopping the shell in.
 
Well it went on eBay last night starting price of 99p. It went up to £100 within 2 hours! I've also had 5 questions asking if I have a buy it now price.

I'm really hoping to get at least £200, fingers crossed!
 
ElectroDan said:
Well it went on eBay last night starting price of 99p. It went up to £100 within 2 hours! I've also had 5 questions asking if I have a buy it now price.

I'm really hoping to get at least £200, fingers crossed!
Click to expand...

Good luck with the sale, hope you manage to shift it.

Matt
 
Bit of a dilemma now. I've had 6 people ask if I have a buy it now price, an offer of £150 and an offer of £300!

Currently at £113 with 5.5 days to go. The thing is, the more I get, the more I can put towards another Micra!
 
I think I would've been happy with £300, but just had another for £350. But you're right, they might say they'd pay that then not show. Eitherway I wouldn't end the auction early until I had the cash in my hand.

Is currently at £206 with 4 days left.
 
I got £400 for it. Afterwards the bloke said he'd got a bargain, and it was the rarer 5-door and in the 2nd most popular colour, Blue.
 
ElectroDan said:
I got £400 for it. Afterwards the bloke said he'd got a bargain, and it was the rarer 5-door and in the 2nd most popular colour, Blue.
Click to expand...

result

People who can weld and have their own gear and a garage can fix these cars themselves
They will MOT them and sell them on for a small profit or keep them, either way they get a bargain.
everyones a winner. :)
 
Good to hear of a sale that ended with smiles all round, too often we hear of deals that have gone sour.
I think you got a good price for a car needing major work, and it seems the buyer got the car he wanted, knowing time and money needs to put into it.

Roger.
 

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