Passed MOT - eventually!

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del320

MB Enthusiast
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Joined
Mar 4, 2005
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2,435
Location
Near Melrose, Scottish Borders
Car
1996 E320 Coupe
Every year I go to Deutschemarque in Edinburgh for the annual service and MOT.

And for the past five years I have bleated on about a dull heavy clunk emanating from the rear suspension - or so I thought.

And every year it passes the MOT and nothing is found amiss with the suspension. Until now. ARB bushes shot and whilst the tester was on a roll also failed because the seats did not appear to lock.

Now, I appreciate an MOT tester can not possibly know every quirky feature on every car, but I just thought he could have done better. Good news though, rust on the springs mentioned as an advisory last year has mysteriously cured itself.

But, best of all, the clunk has been cured with a nice new ARB and associated bushes. I stood beside the technician as he replaced it whilst telling me a few twists of black tape would have done the job.:D They don't make 'em like this any more...

So, full service, bits and bobs, labour, VAT, MOT etc for shy of £500 sees me on my way for another year.:thumb:
 
Coupe owners everywhere must be fed up with the seat nonsense .

Good to hear that you are sorted for another year :)
 
Great news. See you in Scotland some time this year.
 
Every year I go to Deutschemarque in Edinburgh for the annual service and MOT.

And for the past five years I have bleated on about a dull heavy clunk emanating from the rear suspension - or so I thought.

And every year it passes the MOT and nothing is found amiss with the suspension. Until now. ARB bushes shot and whilst the tester was on a roll also failed because the seats did not appear to lock.

Now, I appreciate an MOT tester can not possibly know every quirky feature on every car, but I just thought he could have done better. Good news though, rust on the springs mentioned as an advisory last year has mysteriously cured itself.

But, best of all, the clunk has been cured with a nice new ARB and associated bushes. I stood beside the technician as he replaced it whilst telling me a few twists of black tape would have done the job.:D They don't make 'em like this any more...

So, full service, bits and bobs, labour, VAT, MOT etc for shy of £500 sees me on my way for another year.:thumb:

So which ARB was replaced ? and why ?

I would have thought just new bushes would have sorted it.
 
So which ARB was replaced ? and why ?

I would have thought just new bushes would have sorted it.

Front one.

Yes, I thought that as well, but I saw just how worn the ends were with my very own eyes. (122k miles)

Indeed, I asked if undersized - or might that be oversized bushes - could not be used. That's when he made the crack about black gaffer tape!
 
Another year has passed and, boy, it was a struggle this time. Comprehensively failed because the o/s rear spring was broken. :(

Obviously, the indy, Deutschmarque didn't have the parts, so I had to book the car in for the following week. I elected to have both rear springs replaced so, along with a control arm, I kissed goodbye to £560 - plus another £230 for the service and MOT.

I get the same tester each year, yet for some reason, the corroded front springs mentioned as an advisory last year have cured themselves this year. Similarly, the "slightly corroded brake pipes" made a reappearance from 2011, having been not worthy of mention last year. :dk:.

Apparently, both front track rod end ball joint dust covers "are deteriorated but still preventing ingress of dirt."

So, yes, I have a handful of advisories but I was comforted by the enthusiasm shown by everyone for the condition of the car and 124s in general. :thumb:

Incidentally, I was treated to some hair raising tales of broken springs on Mercedes less than six years old - and BMWs are just as bad, But, as we know, they all do that, Sir!
 
As well as the Mercedes I own a Z4. The rear springs on these seem to be almost treated as a consumable. Usually the first the owners know about it is the mot failure.
 
The MOT is a very subjective test... Line up 10 MOT testers on the same car and they will all find different things.

Remember its a very very basic check the MOT, never rely on it to prove your car is in good mechanical condition, or even roadworthy!
 
The MOT is a very subjective test... Line up 10 MOT testers on the same car and they will all find different things.

Remember its a very very basic check the MOT, never rely on it to prove your car is in good mechanical condition, or even roadworthy!

Absolutely, Jay - couldn't agree more. It's just a bit galling when certain items appear, then disappear when what we really want is a nice clean MOT like krimat2005 with no advisories at all!

As I mentioned, the slightly corroded brake pipes and ball joint dust covers adds up to five of 'em.

Makes the car look like it's on it's last legs. :D
 
As well as the Mercedes I own a Z4. The rear springs on these seem to be almost treated as a consumable. Usually the first the owners know about it is the mot failure.

In fact broken springs are NOT an automatic MOT fail.

If the spring is broken at bottom say and is unlikely to pop out. it should not be a fail.

See latest MOT regs for confirmation.
 
What the hec is an indie? Or rather I think I know -is it a merc owners term for them?

MOT's not an inspection of your car like most folk use it as an annual service. It's just a test of the basics, nor is it valid the moment you drive off the forecourt!
 
Well, it's my thread so I can open it up again. :D

So, the old gal is fit for another year. Failed initially on the corroded rear brake pipes mentioned last year (post #9) and required rear shocks to be replaced.

The corroded front springs made a reappearance as an advisory along with "slightly" corroded front brake pipes.

Also, the offside rear tyre is approaching the legal limit. Considering it was fitted in June 2009 when the car was refurbished 29000 miles ago, I can't complain. The nearside was wrecked by a screw a couple of years ago. Bags of life on the fronts.

Come Spring and decent weather I'll make my way to Merparts to have the front end refreshed.

Oil, shocks and VAT bumped it up to £770 including £390 in Labour.

Happy days!

PS - I've a terrible memory - I see that back in 2008, the MOT was done in October. Seems to have slipped every year since... :eek:
 
Glad to see the old gal getting her ticket again :)
 
Silver W124 estate booked in for Monday. Fitting a new centre and rear backbox tommorow in preporaration this year as i've bodged the hole in it for past 2 years and is blowing again.

Other than that, anything it fails on will be "News to me".

Well done on the pass Derek! The green estate even needed welding last year for the MOT! prooves its starting to feel its age!
 
Time again for my annual rant!

Unlike other smug sods whose cars pass the MOT first time with no advisories, my C124 wears her annual failures with pride. :bannana:

As usual I submit her for the test at the time of the annual service. This time the eagle-eyed tester spotted a broken OSF spring. :fail
So, two springs later plus a straightforward service and the blighter came up with "slight play in steering box". :rolleyes:. The retest (look it up - JSG 818) corrected the inaccurate odometer reading, out by 835 miles, whilst the assorted corroded brake components, as if by magic, have disappeared.

The damage was parts - £172, labour - £234, VAT - £81. During the past year, I've put on four new tyres and a partial s/s exhaust.

But these MOT testers are still a bloody shower!

Can a recirculating ball steering box be "tightened up" BTW?
 

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