Tales from the testing lane.

[brickwall]

2003 model year with rotten sills is quite something, although, a quick Google shows problems. One guy with a 4 year old car had serious sill rot under the drivers door and seat belt anchorage  and so it flopped the MOT.

[Barry Cade]

Picasso's tend to rot the same, but the front of the sill- not a fail, usually.

[HH-R]

I've never seen a rusty 307, but most of them were probably scrapped just outside of the warranty due to massive mechanical and electrical faults.

[Richard]

2003 model year with rotten sills is quite something, although, a quick Google shows problems. One guy with a 4 year old car had serious sill rot under the drivers door and seat belt anchorage  and so it flopped the MOT.

 

I'm old enough to have owned cars where getting to 11 years on the original sills was considered quite something. I still find it a novelty when I use a jacking point and the car goes up at the same rate as the jack.

[Barry Cade]

Upon cutting out the rot, and having a look, I'd say it was caused by a bad bit of steel rather than poor paint or water ingress, very localised and it looked like a crack rather than a hole. One to watch, if you are mad enough to consider a 307. Saying that, a patch,2 bulbs and an anti roll bar link and it was fit for another year- less than 300 quid.

[sheffcortinacentre]

mate dragged a 52 plt baleno in today with frt suspension mount area (thick metal) totally rotten 2nd hes seen recently!

[twosmoke300]

I always think that if a car can be got through the mot for 300 a year thats quite good . Seems about average for the cars i get through the workshop.

[Grundig]

I'm old enough to have owned cars where getting to 11 years on the original sills was considered quite something. I still find it a novelty when I use a jacking point and the car goes up at the same rate as the jack.

 

^^ I too am of that age - it was always a case of " needs a little bit of welding for the MOT" then cars seemed to stop rusting only for it to be a case of "needs the emissions sorting for the MOT"  

[Anglevan]

My first car was a 1979 HC Viva. The car was 9 years old when I bought it and failed first mot in my care for sills. I bought a new clarke 120 mig welder to repair it and fitted news sills. Sadly the viva is long gone but I still have the welder to this day some 26 years later and touch wood still going strong. Using it to weld a mates subaru pick up at the moment.

[Bren]

I have had to do the back of the sills on my MIL's granada - to be fair they had lasted around twenty years.

 

When I had my mk 2 cavalier i injected the sills with cavity wax - i moved it onto my brother who sold it with 140k on the clock - the sills had needed no attention.

 

Because I changed the oil every 3k it was still on its original camshaft.

 

Prevention is better than cure - this applies to modern shite also.

[Barry Cade]

 

This is beginning to be a real problem, but over the past couple of weeks I have perfected how to sort it out, much better than replacing headlamps!

 

[cort16]

There's no way I could be arsed changing the oil every 3000 miles.

[purplebargeken]

Bought a 306 for my cousin-in-law's son. Hasn't missed a beat. Looked good, was comfy and most things worked. Bought it for peanuts as it had no T&T.

 

Ignore me I am talking utter shite. It was a 307. Nice car.

[Heidel_Kakao]

DSC_0107.jpg

 

This is beginning to be a real problem, but over the past couple of weeks I have perfected how to sort it out, much better than replacing headlamps!

 

DSC_0109.jpg

 

What is your technique then? My mothers Focus has got a severe case of cloudy headlamps going on which I should probably sort out for her.

[Barry Cade]

1200 grit wet and dry, soapy warm water. rub for a few mins, G10 on a buff and buff until clear and shiny. Tried it on quite a few now and 100% success.

[twosmoke300]

Those astras are terrible for that. I've been using t cut as a quick way of getting them through the test but will try your way next.

[richardmorris]

My parent's first new car was a Renault 4. It failed its first MOT on floor rot - basically floor no longer attached to rest of body. They got some money out of Renault I think, but didn't go back until they got an R reg Laguna - which "needed" according to the dealer a cambelt, discs and tyres for the first MOT at 60K. Sold that and got a Xantia which my Brother in law still has and which is for sale soon should anyone be keeping an eye out.

[Asimo]

I did the headlamps on the MR2 and the Legacy yesterday with Silvo metal polish and an old napkin. Very easy to make a big improvement in 5 minutes.

[CortinaDave]

weirdly - toothpaste works. lightly abrasive so it takes the clouding off a treat.

 

My decrepit MG is due its test next month, probably at chez Tiff. I look forward to the three page failsheet !!

[Spiny Norman]

I used Autosol chrome polish to revive the yellow and clouded lenses on my old Merc, worked a treat.
Yes I know you're just stripping the lacquer off them and it'll come back, but Autosol is a fiver a tube and Mercedes headlamps were quite a bit more...

 

The Dae-who's lamps are quite clear at the bits where the light comes out, but the tops of them are a bit yellow and shit looking so I'll need to have a go at that when I CBA.

[Barry Cade]

weirdly - toothpaste works. lightly abrasive so it takes the clouding off a treat.

 

My decrepit MG is due its test next month, probably at chez Tiff. I look forward to the three page failsheet !!

I'm off to Germany in the Volvo for the first 2 weeks next month, my stand in may not like big British smokers as much as I do...in fact no one I've ever worked with shares my admiration for MG's... Find a voucher and MOT's are a Fiver...

[CortinaDave]

Thats fine my MOT isnt due til the 20th

[Split_Pin]

Wee question (2). I think I need to substitute one of my wheels with the fifth one I got with the other 4 I bought with my car, due to a cracked tyre valve. As its exactly the same as all the other alloys I was just going to leave it on.

 

However, the last owner of the wheels must have had his car mega low as there is a slight bit of wear on the outer sidewall where it presumably scrubbed the arch. My question is, would this be illegal to use?

 

Secondly, the tyre with the cracked valve has never actually lost any air. Is this a "fix now or die later" sort of thing?

[Barry Cade]

As long as the carcass of the tyre isn't damaged, or you can see cords, it'll be OK for the MOT. Just make sure it is wear and not been run flat.

[Split_Pin]

It's all good in the areas that you mention, its only very light grazing.Cheers

[carlo]

I always think that if a car can be got through the mot for 300 a year thats quite good . Seems about average for the cars i get through the workshop.

 

That's interesting.  I've had four 405s over the last nine years and the most I've had to spend on an MOT was £130 to include a ball joint.  No rust on any of them, and no failures.  

[Sloth in a bowl]

In the 9 years of owning the V40 my biggest MOT bill was 220 which was mainly for replacing the rear springs.

Most years it needed nothing at all.

[Lacquer Peel]

I take it that people who spend 30p on an MoT test do 3000 dry miles a year on smooth, un-gritted roads

[Tayne]

That's why I always travel south for my cars.

[Barry Cade]

Renault Scenic 1.6 Cat. 2001. How hard can it be, thinks I.

 

If you have one of these, and the Cat goes. Scrap it.

 

4 Feckin hours....and I missed lunch.