A lot, to be honest. Mechanically, the car isn't great. Cosmetically it is awful. It's quite thirsty, ruinously expensive to tax and will become almost impossible for the lad to insure once he passes his test. Rationally, far better to cut my losses and getting a wee "shopping trolley" for him to run round in. If it wasn't for my dad, I'd have scrapped it by now.
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Might be about to have a falling-out with my MOT station...
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A lot, to be honest. Mechanically, the car isn't great. Cosmetically it is awful. It's quite thirsty, ruinously expensive to tax and will become almost impossible for the lad to insure once he passes his test. Rationally, far better to cut my losses and getting a wee "shopping trolley" for him to run round in. If it wasn't for my dad, I'd have scrapped it by now.
I remember a forum member saying that MOT testers cannot fail what they can't see and they can't take bits off the car.
Filler...Underbody sealer...
Filler...Underbody sealer...
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Scrap it and buy a Honda Jazz for your sprog to learn in. I'm sure your Dad will understand.
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It's a tough position to be in. And testers make mistakes. But even on a retest within 10 days he is allowed to look over the car again.
As for the 10 days. Day 1 is the day after the test.
Personally I think it's going to be a fail now he has seen the subframe. But if they are doing a free retest then why not. But if you're paying out again, then I wouldn't.
As for how safe the subframe is, I think you have enough knowledge to assess that yourself. But from a testers point of view, I always assume the car will be sold the next day, so is it safe for somebody who has no idea about it.
Edited to add
Yes the free retest is only at the station that did the test.
As for the 10 days. Day 1 is the day after the test.
Personally I think it's going to be a fail now he has seen the subframe. But if they are doing a free retest then why not. But if you're paying out again, then I wouldn't.
As for how safe the subframe is, I think you have enough knowledge to assess that yourself. But from a testers point of view, I always assume the car will be sold the next day, so is it safe for somebody who has no idea about it.
Edited to add
Yes the free retest is only at the station that did the test.
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I get your point but if I see fresh repairs I am allowed to knock (sound) magnet, etc to check for metal. If I saw welded repair patch on a subframe, then I'd be looking very hard elsewhere too
I’d say it doesn’t include the day it failed and I’d also say that Saturday is not a working day. However, like the initial test fee, the partial retest fee is the maximum they can charge and it is in no way compulsory- they could give MOT's away for free if they wanted to. They’d be a pretty shìtty garage if they charged you a retest fee if they are the ones that give you a retest date beyond the 10 day limit. I suspect they’ll say something like "As it’s after the 10 days, we won’t charge you but we must now carry out a full test" to cover up their mistake in missing the subframe. If you were a particularly vindictive person, you could threaten them with a retrospective appeal - this is usually an appeal for a car that has passed but shouldn’t have and that’s no different from a car that has failed but should have failed on far more, if you see what I mean. If they were to be served with such an appeal, they’d be in trouble for missing something serious. Just sayin'. You must take it back to the same station that failed it for the retest.
Thanks guys. This is a really convenient garage in the next village, so I can put the bike in the back of the car, leave the car with them for the day, and cycle back home. Family run firm with a good reputation, and I've been taking all our cars there for some years and have never disagreed with any of their MOT decisions. The fails have always been "fair cops" and they have (I think) been as kind as possible on marginal things like my old Alfa's handbrake (which would have struggled to meet MOT requirements when new)! I'd like to think that this is a one-off cockup by a very inexperienced tester (he did look very young, but increasingly these days, I find myself saying that about a lot of people... including policemen)... 
I'd really like not to fall out with them if I can help it.
I don't mind the partial retest fee (if they choose to charge it - previously, they haven't), as it will be a lot cheaper than a subframe, but really wish they'd just bloody done their job properly before I threw time and money at it.
Anyone want 2 gallons of 5W40....?
On the plus side, if the 10 days starts the day after and they don't count Saturdays, I'll only be 8 days in by Tuesday.
I'd really like not to fall out with them if I can help it.I don't mind the partial retest fee (if they choose to charge it - previously, they haven't), as it will be a lot cheaper than a subframe, but really wish they'd just bloody done their job properly before I threw time and money at it.
Anyone want 2 gallons of 5W40....?
On the plus side, if the 10 days starts the day after and they don't count Saturdays, I'll only be 8 days in by Tuesday.
I'm sure your dad will value your lad's safety over nostalgia.
Keep it , wash it, roll it around your drive, leave it to gather moss.
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The traditional definition of working days does not include weekends so it's probably that.
Funny enough, we got the daughter a Honda Jazz...
...bloody horrible thing, but so far, pretty indestructible.
You don't know my dad!
Meh... I'm just a terrible parent - that's all there is to it! The other son is driving round in a 1990 Alfa which doesn't even have ABS or any airbags!
Seriously, if I thought the Landy was "dangerous" he wouldn't be anywhere near it. It'll be interesting, (if they DO carry out a full retest and fail it on the subframe), to see if they put a "Dangerous - do not drive" fail note on there...
Dad also has a few cognitive issues, sadly. Sometimes he doesn't know my mum is dead, so I daresay he won't really believe his Landy got scrapped. I might get more if I broke it than if I sold it. Engine smoke emissions were remarkably good...
When I think back to some of the cars I learned to drive or drive around in, your Landy seems like a minter. Mrs Mottie-to-be nearly lost a handbag out of a hole in the floor of the footwell in a Corsair I once owned!
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Same here.
I learnt to drive in a scrap of a fiat 850, proper rust bucket breaking down every other day and leaking from everywhere.
Brakes were almost non existent but that was a good reason to learn how to reduce speed with gears...
