Anyone ever done work on a drive shaft seal on a Vauxhall Corsa, just had the wifes car in for its 4th service and they wanted to do a long list of things too it, not covered under the 'lifetime' warranty

replace nearside drive shaft seal
rebolt the heatsheild as bolts elongated and rusted
strip and clean rear break drum
strip and clean front brakes as binding
replace poly v belt due to cracking
change coolant - even though its lifetime coolant
Service Air Con
& Tracking

It needed the MOT and they said the headlights were set high, even though it passed its last MOT and we haven't touched the lights since, they then said that maybe the level required for a MOT pass has changed since last time it was tested

then of course they couldn't complete the MOT as their emission machine broke down

Are these things DIY or is it a cause of stumping up the cash for a garage to do it  Former Mod/Member, with the most post & Chicken George Arch nemesis

First of all I would take it for an MOT somewhere else. Presumably they didn't charge you as they couldn't complete the test. This sounds like a rip off list of work that they want to do and virtually all of it is DIY able.

My wife and daughter always use Kwik Fit (in different towns) and they have always had a very fair assessment. My wife's Peugeot failed last year with broken rear springs, I was surprised but found that they really had snapped off at the bottom. I replaced them and they passed it without question. This year the car passed with no advisories. 3 x FL1 2 manual + 1 auto
5 x FL2 4 manual + 1 auto
Now Discovery Sport P250 MHEV SE

I will be looking into another MOT centre  Former Mod/Member, with the most post & Chicken George Arch nemesis

Last year had my wifes Fiesta MOT'ed and garage said they had a nightmare getting the emissions down to the required level and that next year may need a new cat fitting. Was intending to change her car this year but couldn't find the car she wanted before the MOT came up, decided to take it to a different garage and feared the worst, got a phone call a couple of hours later to say it sailed through the MOT. Sods law a week after the MOT I found the car she has been after all this time and put a deposit down yesterday! Now - 2017 BMW X3 M Sport Carbon Black
Gone - 2014 BMW X3 M Sport Space Grey, faultless!
Gone - 2011 Freelander 2 SD4 HSE Bali Blue with xenons
Gone - 2008 Freelander 2 TD4 HSE Rimini Red with bodykit

I used to go to a small garage that did MOTs and the guy there told me that if he ever had an emissions failure on a diesel he would put a can of "Forte" in the tank and blast it up and down the road a few times in 3rd gear. After that they always passed. 3 x FL1 2 manual + 1 auto
5 x FL2 4 manual + 1 auto
Now Discovery Sport P250 MHEV SE

Last year they said the hand break was needing tightening or just within tolerances

Never got round to tightening it, yet not mentioned

Had it back today and passed the mot Former Mod/Member, with the most post & Chicken George Arch nemesis

You could try another MOT centre where it might fail on something entirely different and no mention of the fault the previous centre picked up on.
Ideally where ever you take it every result should be exactly the same, but more often its not as certain testers tend to pick straight up a on a certain fault, maybe its because theyve been caught by it in the past, who knows, plus older testers tend to be a bit more sympathetic towards how much wear there should be on an older car where as a younger less experienced guy might not let anything go.
I guess when you find one youve used before and trust youre best sticking with them?

dorsetfreelander wrote:

I used to go to a small garage that did MOTs and the guy there told me that if he ever had an emissions failure on a diesel he would put a can of "Forte" in the tank and blast it up and down the road a few times in 3rd gear. After that they always passed.

Or just stick the test probe up another car. Not that I'd do that of course.

They've just done away with the MOT computer and smart card system in the station when I occasionally test and all garages will be logging on to the system over the Internet by the end if thls month like you already do with your banking. Thing is, the old machines were hard wired and 'logged' to the station so at the very minimum you had to be on site when starting and finishing a test. I did an MOT the other day via my iPhone on 3G. Unless they have some foolproof system, what's to stop anyone logging a car onto the system, entering any old brake efficiency readings, recording a pass and printing out a certificate wirelessly from the comfort of their villa in Spain?

there seems to be very little consistency between MOT testing.
My brother took his 2007 Ford Mondeo estate for MOT last year and they put on advisories the rear suspension bushes were shot (apparently they only come as part of the whole drop arm or something at huge expense)

THis year he took it back to the same place, and the same guy MOT'd it. Passed with no advisories even though my brother hadn't had the bushes etc changed.