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Original poster

To think that the garage are at fault? Anyone know anything?

70 replies

Biggadyboo · 13/04/2025 17:27

Just had campervan M.O.T. ed and serviced before leaving for holiday today. £500 service plus parts and labour, £1300 bill.

within 10 minutes of driving today the van started making a loud thumping noise and a loud squeak.

called AA who said that the brake pads were well worn and had glazed over and that the hand brake was too tight and that this was causing the noise.

am I being unreasonable to think that the £500 should have included this?

I’m abiT of a novice about mechanics, what should a £500 service include?

lost a days holiday and the AA guy is reccomending that we need to put the van in the have the brakes stripped down and brake pads replaced

anyone know anything?

OP posts:
Thread gallery
5
steff13 · 13/04/2025 17:28

What service did you ask for? I'm no expert either, but if I took my car to, say, have the transmission looked at, and then it turned out that there was something wrong with the brakes, I wouldn't have expected them to do anything with the brakes or even have looked at the brakes.

Needtosoundoffandbreathe · 13/04/2025 17:30

I would have expected the garage to tell you about problems, but was it a full service and had you not realised there something wrong before it went in for service?

Mingenious · 13/04/2025 17:32

What were the advisories on the MOT?

Original poster
Biggadyboo · 13/04/2025 17:32

It was an MOT and yearly service . Service £500

OP posts:
Bluevelvetsofa · 13/04/2025 17:33

If you take your car to have an MOT and service, I’d have thought that brakes, including brake pads, would be part of the MOT and the service prior to it.

I don’t know what is covered, but brakes seems to be fairly vital, surely.

steff13 · 13/04/2025 17:35

Biggadyboo · 13/04/2025 17:32

It was an MOT and yearly service . Service £500

I'm in the US. I have no idea what that is. But if it's a service that's supposed to include brakes then yes it should have included the brakes.

Dartmoorcheffy · 13/04/2025 17:35

DP is an mot manager at a very well known place. He says they have tightened the handbrake too much. This has caused the brakes to be constantly on, which will have caused the damage. He says take it back and they need to fix it as its most definitely their fault.

Dartmoorcheffy · 13/04/2025 17:37

The brakes would have been fine until they overtightened the handbrake which is why they wouldn't have found a fault with them at the time of service.

lilao · 13/04/2025 17:37

Bluevelvetsofa · 13/04/2025 17:33

If you take your car to have an MOT and service, I’d have thought that brakes, including brake pads, would be part of the MOT and the service prior to it.

I don’t know what is covered, but brakes seems to be fairly vital, surely.

Brakes aren’t part of an MOT or service.

OP did you get a health check from the garage or a recommendation to do the brakes? How old is the vehicle and when were they last changed? How many miles since they were last done?

also what was the other £800 of work you had done and what is the make and model of the vehicle?

Dartmoorcheffy · 13/04/2025 17:39

Brakes are part of the mot check. They don't take the wheels off to look at the wear and tear but they test on a rolling road to test the efficiency.

Blackdow · 13/04/2025 17:40

Brakes are checked for the MOT. If the garage didn’t even have them marked as an advisory, then they clearly didn’t check them. I’d be worried about what else wasn’t checked.

ARealitycheck · 13/04/2025 17:41

Brakes are inspected during the MOT. Likewise I'd expect a service to include an inspection of brake components unless you were getting a very basic oil & filters change. How long since the service and MOT were carried out. As lack of use can cause seized components including what you describe.

EssentialGarage · 13/04/2025 17:42

Dartmoorcheffy · 13/04/2025 17:35

DP is an mot manager at a very well known place. He says they have tightened the handbrake too much. This has caused the brakes to be constantly on, which will have caused the damage. He says take it back and they need to fix it as its most definitely their fault.

You can't know that.

Garages don't routinely tighten handbrakes, unless there was an issue.

@lilao of course brakes are part of a MOT and Service.

Op, what did they do for £500- because if it is just a check over, oil and filters that is astronomical.

What was the rest of the bill for?

lilao · 13/04/2025 17:43

changing the brakes isn’t part of either of those? Telling you the tread would be, but they wouldn’t be changing discs or pads as part of a standard service or MOT?

Original poster
Biggadyboo · 13/04/2025 17:44

There was No reccomendation of anything wrong with brakes .

£800 was cracked exhaust fixed

Van is a 2012 sprinter. Serviced every year by same garage for £500 each year (as extra to MOT).

OP posts:
Blackdow · 13/04/2025 17:44

lilao · 13/04/2025 17:43

changing the brakes isn’t part of either of those? Telling you the tread would be, but they wouldn’t be changing discs or pads as part of a standard service or MOT?

They do if the brakes are work enough to cause a failure. These brakes sound like an MOT fail; which would mean they’d be changed.

EssentialGarage · 13/04/2025 17:44

lilao · 13/04/2025 17:43

changing the brakes isn’t part of either of those? Telling you the tread would be, but they wouldn’t be changing discs or pads as part of a standard service or MOT?

No changing them would be additional - but checking them and letting the customer know if there is an issue most certainly is part of a MOT inspection and service.

Blackdow · 13/04/2025 17:45

Biggadyboo · 13/04/2025 17:44

There was No reccomendation of anything wrong with brakes .

£800 was cracked exhaust fixed

Van is a 2012 sprinter. Serviced every year by same garage for £500 each year (as extra to MOT).

The actual cost of the service is £500? Is that normal for a campervan?

Original poster
Biggadyboo · 13/04/2025 17:46

AA guy said the brakes hadn’t been looked at recently

OP posts:
Amba1998 · 13/04/2025 17:46

changing the brakes isn’t part of either a service or an MOT but advising you on the state of the brakes is part of the MOT. You then have to pay extra

EssentialGarage · 13/04/2025 17:47

Biggadyboo · 13/04/2025 17:44

There was No reccomendation of anything wrong with brakes .

£800 was cracked exhaust fixed

Van is a 2012 sprinter. Serviced every year by same garage for £500 each year (as extra to MOT).

Every year it's £500? Do you do massive amount of miles? Main dealer servicing doesn't recommend a full service every year.

What is the labour?

Which part of the exhaust?

Actually I've just thought -Does it include a habitation check? Because if it does that makes sense but if not...

Original poster
Biggadyboo · 13/04/2025 17:47

Blackdow · 13/04/2025 17:45

The actual cost of the service is £500? Is that normal for a campervan?

Show quote history

It’s what the garage we use charges us. To be honest I don’t know if it’s normal. Is it?

OP posts:
Blackdow · 13/04/2025 17:48

Biggadyboo · 13/04/2025 17:46

AA guy said the brakes hadn’t been looked at recently

So then they haven’t done the MOT. You’ve no idea if that van is safe. They haven’t done the MOT. They’ve charged you and just ticked the boxes without checking.

EssentialGarage · 13/04/2025 17:49

Amba1998 · 13/04/2025 17:46

changing the brakes isn’t part of either a service or an MOT but advising you on the state of the brakes is part of the MOT. You then have to pay extra

Yes I agree. But someone should look at them- in a full service the wheels should come off to allow a full inspection of the brakes (and to check the wheels can come off - important if you get a flat on the side of the road)

AllrightNowBaby · 13/04/2025 17:49

Go to a different garage next year, it sounds like this one is massively ripping you off and not even doing jobs correctly.

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