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

[Biggadyboo]

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?

You can appeal against an MOT result if you think it should have failed - https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/complain-about-an-mot

OP, i think its best to change the garage in the future.

Most cars and vans have a list of things that are done at each service. Some services are big services others are just oil change and checks.

without knowing what your van is and what’s on the list for the service it’s not possible to say what should be included for the 500 pounds.

So how would you guys handle this tomorrow?

AA guy loosened handbrake and told us it was safe to drive, despite a continued squeak. But to book it in to get brakes cleaned and pads changed.

we’d really like to get an early start and get on with holiday rather than waiting around for garage to open.

inclined to just go and phone garage en route, asking them to sort brakes on our return.

but how to say it?

and if we go without going to them first and bring it back in a week then what then?

advice?

Have you got any paperwork with what has been done? TBH I would be ringing them and asking why you weren’t told that the brakes needed doing

You just had a major service. This is the most expensive one. £500 is steep for this, unless you’re using a dealership. And a vehicle does not need a major service every year.

Theyre taking the pee. And £150 to tighten the handbrake? Just, no.

Perfect response.

any other advise? What do I say to the garage?

I’m shite at this kinda thing and DH is really conflict averse . What would you say if it was your situation?

Ok. Ring the garage.
Have a bullet pointed list, and your invoice in front of you.
Say that on receiving the camper back you immediately noticed an issue and had to call the AA. They said the hand brake has been overnighted and now caused issues with the brake pads which you believe may need replacing.

Ask what they intend to do. If they refuse and say "not me gov" say you've been advised to take it to another garage for a repeat MOT and explain you want them to find all issues and it will be reportable. (Only escalate to this if they won't budge).

I once bought a car with a full service and no advisory MOT and it knocked on the way home. I took it to a local garage who did me a full report of what hadn't been done. The selling garage changed their tune when they realised I had evidence of what they'd told me was fixed va what wasn't. They took my car back and fixed it all.

if you go on Gov website there is a full list of what should be checked on an MOT. Under brakes it's says:
2.11 Brakes
These will be inspected to check:

• their condition, including inappropriate repairs or modifications
• their operation and performance (the efficiency test) - the wheels and trims aren’t removed as part of the test
• the anti-lock braking system (ABS) and electronic stability control (ESC) (where fitted)

therefore they've either passed an MOT without doing the top two bullet points. If they were found faulty they should have rang and explain they needed replacing.

If they've overtightened the handbrake which you have evidence they have worked on, and caused the issue. So therefore need to sort.

A full service should tell you what is going on with your car including the brakes.

yes contact them

Oh yes they are!
In an MOT they have to work and not have uneven wear ie pull to one side, pad thickness has to be 1.5mm or above, otherwise its a fail, rear drum shoe brake lining wont be checked.
Handbrake operation is also checked... this is why they have those very expensive rolling ramps to check braking..

A standard service will include checking wear too its a no brainer for a garage, they can make money on changing pads or disks if required.

Mileage between disk/brake replacement is useless, depends on quality of parts, driving style and where the vehicle is used.

There are plenty of very poor garages out there, the OP has just found another.

£800 for a cracked exhaust!

£500 service every year!

You are being taken for a ride unless you are doing some very, very big miles every year. Some service items don’t need changing until 50,000 miles so how are you having a £500 service every year?

Every year I have an oil and filter change and every other year the remaining three filters are changed

£500 needs breaking down as I’d love to know how it costs that much every year

That does sound very expensive for a service. We had a major service done on our Vauxhall Vivaro campervan recently for just over £300. Brakes are not covered on a service (although a decent garage would flag if there looks to be an issue with them, ours has done before on several cars). The mot checks do involve an inspection of the brakes and flagging if they need attention or replacement. So I'd say from what you've said, the garage is most definitely at fault here and I'd be taking my custom elsewhere in future!

Just looked at invoice properly and DH figures a bit exaggerated

it was £300 for service
£50 for MOT
£70 new tire
£115 to fix handbrake
£565 for cracked exhaust

That’s a bit better! But they still messed up your trip with their overtight handbrake (maybe the apprentice was on that? But it should have been picked up before they let the van go) so should be remedying that and any damage that has resulted from it (for free).

The garage were actually fine. They apologised and offered to get the van on the ramp this morning. When we said we weren’t keen to waste another day of holiday they said to bring it on when we get back and they’ll sort out the damage. Phew!

Thanks for all support x

On a full service the brakes should be inspected and reported of any work required. I run a small garage and this sounds dodgy. Mot only tests the brakes to see if they are in balance and get to a certain standard. But a full service should include removing the wheels and reporting. Othe
Otherwise what's the point