Major MOT fail on my van

[Iron Giant]

Thats a strange one mate. You normally get some sort of sign with a fault like that. At least you found it before it became serious.

That was the worrying thing that there were none of the usual signs, no vibration or noises when driving it has been as quiet as a mouse since I bought it in January.  

 

[Cghwindowcleaning]

Buying brand new doesn't guarantee no problems.I know people that have brand new vans and have no end of problems.

I wouldn't look in to it to much the damage could have been caused by pot holes and speed bumps.

Window cleaning vans tend to be pushed to there limits.A lot of have medium vans  with 5oo litre tanks and ladders maxing out the payload constantly day in day out wear and tear is inevitable.

 

[P4dstar]

That was the worrying thing that there were none of the usual signs, no vibration or noises when driving it has been as quiet as a mouse since I bought it in January.  

?

If you had it MOT'd at a place that also does repairs I would get a second opinion mate. I've had an advisory before about a badly worn ball joint on a couple of vehicles in the past and had a tapping sound both times. I don't remember if it was the same joint and I don't know enough about the mechanics of a vehicle to say if there should be a sign to be honest. 

 

[Iron Giant]

?
If you had it MOT'd at a place that also does repairs I would get a second opinion mate. I've had an advisory before about a badly worn ball joint on a couple of vehicles in the past and had a tapping sound both times. I don't remember if it was the same joint and I don't know enough about the mechanics of a vehicle to say if there should be a sign to be honest. 

It's a garage with a good reputation and a as the replacement part has been fitted, there isn't anything a second opinion would be able to see I wouldn't have thought. Also a mate of mine is an ex mechanic and I have spoke with him about it and he and he was fine with it and said if I had left and waited for a second opinion the worse could have happened.
County Durham Lad

 

[Iron Giant]

Buying brand new doesn't guarantee no problems.I know people that have brand new vans and have no end of problems.
I wouldn't look in to it to much the damage could have been caused by pot holes and speed bumps.
Window cleaning vans tend to be pushed to there limits.A lot of have medium vans  with 5oo litre tanks and ladders maxing out the payload constantly day in day out wear and tear is inevitable.

I would never buy a van used for window cleaning. My ex mechanic mate has advised in the past never to max out a payload or have a considerable amount of weight just sitting in a motor overnight on regular basis and that was even when I had a L200 with a 1.2 ton payload a 400ltr flat tank

County Durham Lad

 

[Green Pro Clean Ltd]

As far back as I can recall (and I haven't checked updated laws for years)  if you MOT before the old certificate expired and got a fail you could still drive till the expiry of the 'still current' certificate

The only downside is if you were in an accident you face invalid insurance and charges for knowingly driving an unsafe vehicle. 

I don't know if it's changed at all (probably has as MOT laws were updated) 

My old mechanic (mate of a mate) used to look after my vans and cars and at last MOT (he only does class 4 van is a class 7) I took it to a new place. Needed a McPherson Strut, a bulb or two and some attention to the brakes.  Total bill £520 from new place..  outraged I called so called mate of mate with list of parts (didn't tell him work was already done) and he came back with £780 ?????

Needless to say the new garage know gets all my work, just done my Saab MOT and have the Van booked for a full service on Tuesday.  

I have no mechanical skills at all (well some but basic and certainly not the tools to do things) so for people like me it's important to find a garage you trust.  Never be afraid to get a second opinion on your motor.  

Also when buying a van check the last 2 - 3 mots - will show how long something has been an advisory. (Common when MOTs are done by so called mates or 'in house') 

 

[steve garwood]

Whilst underneath fixing my van, someone came along and kicked the jack away!

Would love to find out who, the suspension is killing me ?

 

[Iron Giant]

As far back as I can recall (and I haven't checked updated laws for years)  if you MOT before the old certificate expired and got a fail you could still drive till the expiry of the 'still current' certificate

The only downside is if you were in an accident you face invalid insurance and charges for knowingly driving an unsafe vehicle. 

I don't know if it's changed at all (probably has as MOT laws were updated) 

My old mechanic (mate of a mate) used to look after my vans and cars and at last MOT (he only does class 4 van is a class 7) I took it to a new place. Needed a McPherson Strut, a bulb or two and some attention to the brakes.  Total bill £520 from new place..  outraged I called so called mate of mate with list of parts (didn't tell him work was already done) and he came back with £780 ?????

Needless to say the new garage know gets all my work, just done my Saab MOT and have the Van booked for a full service on Tuesday.  

I have no mechanical skills at all (well some but basic and certainly not the tools to do things) so for people like me it's important to find a garage you trust.  Never be afraid to get a second opinion on your motor.  

Also when buying a van check the last 2 - 3 mots - will show how long something has been an advisory. (Common when MOTs are done by so called mates or 'in house') 

I always put any motor I have had over the years in for it's mot 2 weeks early and have a service and mot done on the same day, I am clueless when it comes to motors and have used different garages over the years and changed for various reasons some been the reputation going down due to decent mechanics leaving and subsequently hearing about the declining reputation of a garage. 

With a major defect resulting in a failed mot I wouldn't have considered driving the van at all and my ex-mechanic mate knows the guy who did the mot and he is a well respected mechanic. 

 

[P4dstar]

I always put any motor I have had over the years in for it's mot 2 weeks early and have a service and mot done on the same day, I am clueless when it comes to motors and have used different garages over the years and changed for various reasons some been the reputation going down due to decent mechanics leaving and subsequently hearing about the declining reputation of a garage. 

With a major defect resulting in a failed mot I wouldn't have considered driving the van at all and my ex-mechanic mate knows the guy who did the mot and he is a well respected mechanic. 

Same as Darren I have little to no mechanical skills. I was once sent to a garage through a workmate. She told me the garage was run by her family member, they would look after me and do me a good price. £300 for a cam belt change seemed reasonable, everywhere else wanted £400+. A few days before the MOT it lost 2nd and 4th gear, I had to double shift to drive it. Took it and and they presented me with a quote of £380 only to tell me this was to pass the MOT and did not include the gearbox. At this point I considered scrapping it but a friend put me in touch with a mobile mechanic. He did all the work including the gearbox for £135. I use him for all the work on the wife's car, I've recommended him to everyone and anyone. I used to use him for the old van but the new one is on lease with a service plan. That was all back in 2011 and I've been using him ever since. It's difficult to find a good, reasonably priced, honest mechanic... Even more difficult than finding a good window cleaner ?

 

[wee man]

I'm 90% sure over here once it's failed the mot it should not be on the road till it passes, tho I'm in N.I and we can't get a mot in a garage we have to goto a government run mot centre ( just another way to get money out of your pocket)

Sent using the Window Cleaning Forums mobile app

 

[Clarkus84]

I'm 90% sure over here once it's failed the mot it should not be on the road till it passes, tho I'm in N.I and we can't get a mot in a garage we have to goto a government run mot centre ( just another way to get money out of your pocket)

Sent using the Window Cleaning Forums mobile app

You can only drive it to a garage although they can stop you leaving the test centre if there's a major fault.********!!

Sent using the Window Cleaning Forums mobile app

 

[steve garwood]

Anyone needing a top notch machanic and lives near in the south London/ north Kent area, p.m me.

My mate John owns Hanspeed racing and is a top bloke.

Pub time ?

 

[cloudnine]

Usually you can hear ball joints knocking once they've gone..  how loud do you have the stereo? ?

 

[THL4KEL]

Whats always worrying when you buy a motor is the fact the seller can have the dashboard lights cancelled out using the right scanner/software tools.. I have used the RAC before to get a report on used motors and I did not buy it. The RAC guy put in his report that the vehicle had been in an unreported crash and potentially had structural issues. It also stated it had been repaired to a very poor standard using standard screws to some parts of the body work...

Great report but not cheap and can start getting expensive after you have a few done...

Ideally its worth taking a decent mechanic who ideally has a scanner for the specific brand of car to view the vehicle.. Even a Snap-On Scanner can't do what a main dealers scanner can do. Also there is a paint scanner to check the paint on the body work to see if its been resprayed due to crash damage.. That would be a handy tool as well.

You can do your own investigation as well i.e. if it has a full dealership history, ring up the dealership, make sure services happened and what was paid for. I.E. just because it has FSH was it just an oil/filter change to get the computer/stamp record with main dealer or did it have i.e. main dealer parts  - discs/pads ect fitted. Not just an owner who spent the bare minimum to get the stamp..