"Shonky" the CX - given up :-(

[BertiePuntoCabrio]

7 minutes ago, dome said:

Ooft. Did you run over the testers dog on the way in?

Yes does seem a bit harsh.....

[wuvvum]

It does look like they're a fairly strict sort of a testing station.  Maybe they were put off by its appearance...

Most expensive bit of that (welding aside obvs) will be if it needs a new headlight (you might be lucky and it's just a wonky bulb).  Ball joints are cheap, spheres aren't hugely expensive, and pipes are just pipes, as are CV boots.  Most of the rest seems to be adjusting / tightening stuff.

[Tadhg Tiogar]

[BertiePuntoCabrio]

4 minutes ago, Tadhg Tiogar said:

Now THAT'S where I should have taken it... 

[Fumbler]

See... getting an MoT is like making love to a beautiful woman. You get in, drop off the keys, get inspected... and get failed for leaking too much...

 

I'll get my coat.

[richardmorris]

44 minutes ago, BertiePuntoCabrio said:

No, seems very dry underneath....

That's why it's rusty then!

[Tadhg Tiogar]

39 minutes ago, wuvvum said:

It does look like they're a fairly strict sort of a testing station.  Maybe they were put off by its appearance.....

It reads like the tester doesn't want the prospect of it being on the road under his watch, so is using everything he can to ensure that it doesn't.

[Jim Bell]

Tester looks at car. Looks at calander. 

Three days till testers summer holiday days. 

A cartoon thought bubble appears.

*I do NOT want to fix this bastard*

A light bubble emoji appears over testers head. 

"Dave!! Get me a fine toothed comb and my good clicky pen. And paper. A lot of paper!"

 

 

 

[richardmorris]

8 minutes ago, Tadhg Tiogar said:

It reads like the tester doesn't want the prospect of it being on the road under his watch, so is using everything he can to ensure that it doesn't.

Surely this isn't an MOT issue?

Offside of car damaged front to rear

[Fumbler]

2 minutes ago, richardmorris said:

Surely this isn't an MOT issue?

Offside of car damaged front to rear

Isn't there a rule about if the damage has potential to cause harm to people brushing past it, it's notable on the form? From the looks of things I'd go to another test centre to see what they'd say about the car.

[Spurious]

51 minutes ago, wuvvum said:

It does look like they're a fairly strict sort of a testing station.  Maybe they were put off by its appearance...

Most expensive bit of that (welding aside obvs) will be if it needs a new headlight (you might be lucky and it's just a wonky bulb).  Ball joints are cheap, spheres aren't hugely expensive, and pipes are just pipes, as are CV boots.  Most of the rest seems to be adjusting / tightening stuff.

• Offside  of car damaged front to rear

Why does it need an advisory for that. Good god, isn't it part of the charm

I'd be finding a friendly test station that someone knows on here. 

 

 

[BertiePuntoCabrio]

4 minutes ago, Spurious said:

• Offside  of car damaged front to rear

Why does it need an advisory for that. Good god, isn't it part of the charm

I'd be finding a friendly test station that someone knows on here. 

 

 

"Friendly" mot info would be helpful at this point...   

[BertiePuntoCabrio]

18 minutes ago, Tadhg Tiogar said:

It reads like the tester doesn't want the prospect of it being on the road under his watch, so is using everything he can to ensure that it doesn't.

Yes, that was definitely the impression I got when picking it up.

[lesapandre]

36 minutes ago, Spurious said:

• Offside  of car damaged front to rear

Why does it need an advisory for that. Good god, isn't it part of the charm

I'd be finding a friendly test station that someone knows on here. 

 

 

"I'd be finding a friendly test station that someone knows on here. "

Alas now its card is marked - you will have to address all the items. Taking it elsewhere will throw up the fail and no other tester is likey to "disagree" - you are more likey to get a very grumpy response - it happened to me when I bought a van with a MoT fail and decided to bung it in at my local place just to 'see' - the response was understandably 'what did you bring that here for unless you have done the remedial work?'

It emphasises the need to find a sympathetic tester who knows old cars.  Place I go to had a Mini in yesterday, a Rover original. The garage was getting it through with a nip and a tuck but he laughingly called it the worst Mini he had ever seen - you could see the 'traditional' Isopon repairs from 20 metres. Seems a customer had had it from new and they tickled its repairs through each year. Last job he had to do was get the emissions down...as set off chuckling to himself. I think they saw it as a challenge not to fail it but to get it to a state where it went through.

Driving something unusual can bring out the jobsworth - but it can also be the highlight of some testers otherwise dull day.  I'm known as that crazy bloke with the Citroens ?

[Tadhg Tiogar]

23 minutes ago, richardmorris said:

Surely this isn't an MOT issue?

Offside of car damaged front to rear

He seems to have looked at the condition of the doors and assumed that the entire o/s/f framework behind them is damaged .

[lesapandre]

21 minutes ago, Tadhg Tiogar said:

He seems to have looked at the condition of the doors and assumed that the entire o/s/f framework behind them is damaged .

Yup you will need to get the worst of the dents out. When you have done the work get it retested somewhere more sympathetic overall.

[Tadhg Tiogar]

30 minutes ago, lesapandre said:

....It emphasises the need to find a sympathetic tester who knows old cars.  ...

This helps on a psychological level. 

My local tester, originally from Australia, is part of KwikFit. All the cars I've had, except for the diesel Borat, went to him for MoT. He always takes the trouble to explain my cars to his younger colleagues as they tend not to have encountered the ones I've had.

I'm pretty sure he nodded through the 635CSi in the last three years of my ownership even though it was somewhat past its best by then.

[wuvvum]

56 minutes ago, Fumbler said:

Isn't there a rule about if the damage has potential to cause harm to people brushing past it, it's notable on the form? From the looks of things I'd go to another test centre to see what they'd say about the car.

The doors aren't that bad.  They're dented but there's no sharp edges.  Someone brushing past would be more likely to catch their knackers on the wing mirror than injure themselves with the doors.

[lesapandre]

22 minutes ago, Tadhg Tiogar said:

This helps on a psychological level. 

My local tester, originally from Australia, is part of KwikFit. All the cars I've had, except for the diesel Borat, went to him for MoT. He always takes the trouble to explain my cars to his younger colleagues as they tend not to have encountered the ones I've had.

I'm pretty sure he nodded through the 635CSi in the last three years of my ownership even though it was somewhat past its best by then.

Excellent point. Some of it is about trust. 

And some perception. Scuffy car = careless owner. Totally unjustified but there you are. I always preen my bangers to give them a fighting chance.

Anyway this is not getting things far. I'm in France this summer and if i don't die of Covid  I'm happy to look for any 2nd hand parts you are after - that is unless I am burnt in a giant wicker man by some superstitious villagers in the back of beyond because I brought the plague.

[Spurious]

15 minutes ago, wuvvum said:

The doors aren't that bad.  They're dented but there's no sharp edges.  Someone brushing past would be more likely to catch their knackers on the wing zmirror than injure themselves with the doors.

 

54 minutes ago, lesapandre said:

"I'd be finding a friendly test station that someone knows on here. "

Alas now its card is marked - you will have to address all the items. Taking it elsewhere will throw up the fail and no other tester is likey to "disagree" - you are more likey to get a very grumpy response - it happened to me when I bought a van with a MoT fail and decided to bung it in at my local place just to 'see' - the response was understandably 'what did you bring that here for unless you have done the remedial work?'

It emphasises the need to find a sympathetic tester who knows old cars.  Place I go to had a Mini in yesterday, a Rover original. The garage was getting it through with a nip and a tuck but he laughingly called it the worst Mini he had ever seen - you could see the 'traditional' Isopon repairs from 20 metres. Seems a customer had had it from new and they tickled its repairs through each year. Last job he had to do was get the emissions down...as set off chuckling to himself. I think they saw it as a challenge not to fail it but to get it to a state where it went through.

Driving something unusual can bring out the jobsworth - but it can also be the highlight of some testers otherwise dull day.  I'm known as that crazy bloke with the Citroens ?

Ah I thought maybe it was worth a shout. 

What I think it does call for is for people to recommend MOT stations that are fair with older cars and familiar with them. 

Maybe a list in the private areas of the Forum as so it doesn't appear on Google.... 

The last place I went to was alright with the Audi. Got an advisory on the springs being rusty but the consensus was it just needed a lick of paint. Only failed on an osr caliper leaking which was a fair spot. 

 

[wuvvum]

1 hour ago, Tadhg Tiogar said:

It reads like the tester doesn't want the prospect of it being on the road under his watch, so is using everything he can to ensure that it doesn't.

Either that or it's one of these garages that has an irrational fear of hydraulic Citroëns and he was terrified that he'd be asked to work on it.

[Tadhg Tiogar]

Just now, wuvvum said:

Either that or it's one of these garages that has an irrational fear of hydraulic Citroëns and he was terrified that he'd be asked to work on it.

Either way, it's meant to ensure that the car never returns to the road.

[wuvvum]

Not sure that's really an MOT tester's call to make TBH.

[motorpunk]

Off topic, but I wondered if we could have a list of sympathetic MOT stations that we could share. Places that do it properly but can be trusted not to be too OCD about a scabby classic. Maybe stick it in a passworded or ‘members only’ bit of the forum? 
 

Good luck with the car.

[Tadhg Tiogar]

Just now, wuvvum said:

Not sure that's really an MOT tester's call to make TBH.

It is if he's bloody-minded.

[wuvvum]

Nothing in that list looks terminal though - it's mostly lots of niggly little bits, which does smack of a tester actively looking for things to fail it on but most of them are easily DIY-able.  I'd much rather have to change an accumulator sphere on a CX than replace a coil spring on an Audi A4 for example.  The leaks must be tiny anyway - I never needed to add any LHM to the car in all the time I had it.  It could even just be connections needing tightening.

[Eyersey1234]

That's some list, it does smack of the tester being bloody minded though. 

[strangeangel]

1 hour ago, wuvvum said:

Not sure that's really an MOT tester's call to make TBH.

 

It isn't. But that's precisely what he's trying to do. My BX needed a load of stuff doing for it's last MOT, but it was all necessary. So much of that fail sheet reads like 'FUCK YOU AND YOUR SHIT OLD CAR'. Like his comment on the dents; I can't remember the exact wording of the regs, but damaged bodywork has to present a risk to peds if they come into contact with it, e.g. have jagged edges etc. Those dents would be no more or less harmful to you than being hit by any other part of a moving CX FFS. And my tester has only ever pulled my car up on what I would term 'proper' leaks, e.g. ones that will likely prevent me from getting home.

 

All that said there's still a lot of stuff there that needs fixed or replaced and, as lesapandre says, its card is marked now; at least for this year. Work your way through the fail sheet, and get on the grapevine and find the shite-friendly testers in your area - there are still some out there. One thing's for sure, though - at least you can keep telling yourself that the car causing you all this pain and expense is worth it. 

 

Bonne chance mon ami!

 

[Fumbler]

1 hour ago, wuvvum said:

The doors aren't that bad.  They're dented but there's no sharp edges.  Someone brushing past would be more likely to catch their knackers on the wing mirror than injure themselves with the doors.

Yeah, as @strangeangel said it's a bit ridiculous. Perhaps he was concerned of the structure behind considering the dents?

[strangeangel]

1 minute ago, Fumbler said:

Yeah, as @strangeangel said it's a bit ridiculous. Perhaps he was concerned of the structure behind considering the dents?

 

They're not supposed to pass judgement on things they can't see, though, are they? Like when people used to attach those chrome sill covers to MGBs with woodscrews and Araldite...