C30 General : £575 MOT bill

[blackyjack]

Hi everyone,

Sent the car in for MOT today and came back failed.

Anti-lock braking system warning lamp indicates an ABS fault (1.6 (b))
Electronic stability control warning lamp indicates a fault (7.12 (e))
Nearside Front Suspension arm pin or bush excessively worn (5.3.4 (a) (i))
Offside Front Suspension arm pin or bush excessively worn (5.3.4 (a)

It just seemed a bit steep. Especially when I can find front wishbones on ebay for £60 for the pair.

The ABS fault didn't seem to even have been diagnosed properly, just said it looks like it needs a harness repair kit.

I've only been back in the UK three years and moved once in that time so still don't have a reliable garage. I asked another garage for a quote for the arms and they said £250 fitted.

Any ideas?

Thanks everyone, a relocated yorkshireman

[Familyman 90]

You really don't want to be fitting the cheapest safety critical components you can find. Fit decent ones with a trusted brand name, and then buy them from a trusted seller to avoid fakes.

Then at least 1.8 hours labour if it comes apart cleanly. Whats their hourly rate?

Then VAT on the cost of both the part and labour. Thats another 20% right there.

And suddenly youre talking real money.

[Wgl2020]

Without knowing the codes that are showing its difficult to comment on the electrical faults.

Wishbones (aka control arms) can be bought cheap but don't expect them to last for long. If you are paying a garage to fit it makes sense to fir a quality product or you will be paying them again soon!

Personally I would take the car to a Volvo specialist with Vida for a second opinion.

[blackyjack]

Thank you both for your comments

I was going to go down the road of fitting cheap arms and selling in 4 months, but the car only has 42 miles on her so I still think there is life left in her. And its very good with the diesel.

If I took it to Volvo it would be presumably be double for the MOT?

I do agree I need a second opinion.

Thanks guys

[Turbodave]

Do you go out to dinner and then point out that you can buy a bag of spuds and some sausages in Aldi for under a fiver so why is the pie and mash you've bene served nigh on double that? Bit of an extreme example but the point being, yes YOU can buy cheap **** from eBay and fit it and save a few quid... but that doesn't mean the garage will then say "No probs squire, we'll order up the same bits and stick them on free for you now that you mention it"

A decent lower arm could be anything up to £70 each, so there's £140 plus the labour and you'd probably be looking at an hour... again doesn't matter if your mate Daz could do it on the kerb for a crate of Monster, he's not... the garage are and they could be £50+ an hour. So, there's a couple of hundred quid straight away. Labour and parts aren't cheap, and cheap isn't always wise.

ABS / ESP issues, what's to say they haven't investigated it further and / or know their stuff and it does need a wiring repair? That could equate to a couple of hours labour plus the parts (if applicable) and then there's the MOT cost on top.

Being fair, £575 doesn't seem too bad if that's it done, dusted and with a fresh ticket on it and no corners cut or bodged in the process. Speak to the garage, ask them to break the quote down and also run through the ABS issue / advise where the fault is etc... their response will hint at their ability and confidence in doing a job right.

[benk103]

Not sure from your messages if you've relocated to Leeds or from Leeds... if its the former I'd suggest Craig Rawse in Bradford. They're the only place I've ever had any work done (don't get the MOT done there as its a bit of a pain trailing over for me, and its never fun driving in Bradford!) but I've never had anything but good service from them.
Not sure they're the cheapest, but having come from PCP and service plans I don't have much to compare them to