Rear suspension arms and mounting

[Vossy]

If I am right an MOT tester is not allowed to use the old big screwdriver to prod and poke about now, as Brian said it is very deceptive, the surface can look just corroded but not badly enough for an MOT fail, its only when the crust is disturbed that the seriousness of a problem comes to light.

[Andy1983mg]

You can clearly see the wholes in the arm

[Andy1983mg]

I would check everything mate coz if they missed my rottern arms wat else did they miss

[marinabrian]

Originally Posted by Andy1983mg

I don't know yet waiting for an appointment at vosa if I can notice the arms with holes in I'm sure an mot tester should see them

The DVSA rules on corrosion issues are very simple, with a three month limit to appeal whatever you may suspect was incorrect in regards to the original inpection........quote

If you think your car has passed when it shouldn’t have

You’ll need to complain to DVSA if you don’t think your car should have passed its MOT. Fill in the complaint form and send it to DVSA within the time limits below.

DVSA will contact you within 5 days to discuss your complaint.

If DVSA decides to recheck your vehicle, you’ll need to arrange a date. You won’t need to pay the test fee again. They’ll send you an inspection report listing any vehicle defects.

Time limits

If your vehicle passed, you need to complain within:

within 3 months of the MOT if it’s a corrosion-related problem
within 28 days has passed for other defects

unquote

So as your car was tested on the second of October, I make that 77 days since it was tested, so if you proceed with a DVSA retest, they have the power to revoke your current test certificate, and I'm sure given the current condition of your upper suspension arms they will.

However in terms of enforcement action being taken against the garage who issued the original test, I would be very surprised if that happens, due to the nature of the defect, and to what end for yourself?

And of course you would at the minute as your car is technically unroadworthy, need to have it transported to and from your local DVSA testing station, which is on Orgreave Road in Handsworth, or risk being prosecuted for driving an unroadworthy car.

So after all the time you've spent pursuing this, you will still need to repair the car afterwards, pay to have it retested, and bear the costs of transporting it to and from the DVSA inspection.

For what it's worth, I would just get on with repairing the car, and chalk it up to experience, it will certainly be cheaper and less stressful in the long run

Brian

[Andy1983mg]

I wish I brought a different car. The garage wants shutting down if that failed with my family in car it could have been fatal

[Vossy]

Originally Posted by Andy1983mg

I wish I brought a different car. The garage wants shutting down if that failed with my family in car it could have been fatal

Thing is, if they failed your car like this then they could well have failed another car you owned, these are strong safe cars, get the repairs done and enjoy the car, next time take it to the local council test centre, they are usually very thorough.

[marinabrian]

Originally Posted by Andy1983mg

I wish I bought a different car. The garage wants shutting down if that failed with my family in car it could have been fatal

Especially if it had happened as you were test driving it, when it struggled to get over 110 MPH

You are simply not taking on board the real life experience of others who have been in a similar position to the one you find yourself in

The holes that you have found in the upper rear arm may well not have been present during the inspection of your car, the arms that I replaced last certainly didn't look at all bad until they'd been removed from the car, a job that required a lot of hammering, which in turn loosened the rust scabs which had been previously well adhered to the arm.

You should bear in mind the tools available to an MOT tester for corrosion assessment are limited to a small soft faced "toffee hammer"



I can understand to a point your frustration at what you see as a sloppy inspection by the nominated tester who examined your car, but allowing regret over the purchase to cloud matters won't help you one bit

The choice is yours, repair what you have, or get rid of it and buy something different, sub £1000 cars that are thirteen years old will all have issues, and that is regardless of make

Brian

[steveo]

Originally Posted by marinabrian

There is a three month time limit for reporting issues of corrosion from the date an MOT test is issued Steve, and the arms can look deceptively solid until the corrosion cell crust is dislodged.

This arm for instance looked perfectly sound , right up to the point the job of removing the outer bolt which had seized in the rose joint bush of the trailing arm, requiring a lot of hammer work.



This car was still MOT tested at the time, so could you imagine that happening in 11 months? I certainly couldn't, but it had

Fortunately new arms are in plentiful supply, and fitting them isn't too bad a job.

Something we will all need to look toward doing as the newest of our cars is now approaching thirteen years .


Brian

Brian
I appreciate the time constraints regarding the corrosion and I don't intend to complain anyway.
However no one has been under the car knocking, banging or fettling and I can get four of my fingers in the holes in the holes on either side so I would have thought it would have been clearly visible to a competent Mot person .

I could clearly see the damage while replacing the self tapper in the wheel arch liner it was that obvious.

I purchased the car as a keeper for myself but not so sure now the colour is stunning but not perfect by any means it could be sorted with a good painter (which I have )
I tried this evening to get the bolts out but they are solid (easy access on an MOT ramp so no chance on your back and on axle stands) ,so I think I will go down the subframe removal route
I will put it down to experience and make a decision when the repair has been done.
Regards
Steve

[Andy1983mg]

They wouldn't have needed a toffee hammer there are holes

[marinabrian]

Originally Posted by Andy1983mg

They wouldn't have needed a toffee hammer there are holes

That were possibly covered up in rust scabs which concealed them from view when the car was MOT'd

Would you like the part numbers of the new arms Andy?