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[Osaze]

Took the Omega for a half price MOT at an 'auto centre' of a place beginning with 'Hal' and ending in 'fords' 

They passed it first time last year but with a list of advisories that went to the moon and back.
Anyway, it failed on
-split wiper
-excessive play in RH track rod (was an advisory last year)
-corroded brake pipes (as above)
-LH headlight beam not precise enough
-CO emission fail at 0.8 v. 0.3%

Now I know you all need a laugh so here are the prices they quoted to repair
-£17 for wipers
-£123 for track rod
-£68 for brake hoses
-£240 for a headlamp unit
-£250 for a cat

I hear council run MOTs are better cos they have no vested interest in failing you/selling you s**t.
Could possibly go there tomorrow for a second opinion to see what is actually really a concern. Would that be worth it?

In any case I'm thinking of just getting the main costly parts off the internet and getting them fit on.
Any other thoughts?

[JamesV6CDX]

The cat you COULD get cheaper second hand and fit yourself if you wanted to.
Same with the headlights.

For new parts though, their costs are not that expensive. Yep they'll be using pattern bits (not as good as known good second hand GM) but to the man in the street, this quote isn't a ripoff...

[feeutfo]

-£17 for wipers             Vx cheaper iirc
-£123 for track rod          Febi bilstein from factors
-£68 for brake hoses.      Rubber? Breakers here
-£240 for a headlamp unit.    Breakers here, or depo copy £80, or fix the adjusters

What engine?
-£250 for a cat                Do not fit pattern cats they are all shite. Breakers on here...although this needs further investigation.

[Osaze]

-£17 for wipers             Vx cheaper iirc
-£123 for track rod          Febi bilstein from factors
-£68 for brake hoses.      Rubber? Breakers here
-£240 for a headlamp unit.    Breakers here, or depo copy £80, or fix the adjusters

What engine?
-£250 for a cat                Do not fit pattern cats they are all shite. Breakers on here...although this needs further investigation.

Sorry, they were the small steel pipes towards the rear  - 2.0 16V estate.
What sort of cat would your typical tyre/exhaust place fit?
Where is this breakers you speak of?

[jonny2112]

'Breakers'' would be a term used to describe a number of members who often dismantle or 'break' cars, and who therefore may be able to help you with various parts 

[Bionic]

Motto is surely NOT to go to the various so called AUTOCENTRE type of place and ask around where others have had a mot done and then keep going back because the service was honest and fair. Autocentres types, whatever their name such as haflords and sh*tquick are in it for the money and then to rip you off with the often above retail prices they charge you for their parts. Funny they will not let you supply your own and that says it all 
Take the word of mouth advice from regular users of the same place and when you find one that suiys you stick to it. Its better to pay a bit more than to pay more in the long run for rip off repairs manjy of which might well have been advisories at worst. Never forget that in their world it is the profit margin that rules and cheap mot test fees are their bait to draw the gullible in.
Hope you take this advice, pass it on and have better luck next time. Have you tried to get a member to have a look at the repair situation for you? Daz (DLK) is very helpful and it might be worth a PM to him. He is the one I use when needed.............

[freecall666]

Took the Omega for a half price MOT at an 'auto centre' of a place beginning with 'Hal' and ending in 'fords' 

They passed it first time last year but with a list of advisories that went to the moon and back.
Anyway, it failed on
-split wiper
-excessive play in RH track rod (was an advisory last year)
-corroded brake pipes (as above)
-LH headlight beam not precise enough
-CO emission fail at 0.8 v. 0.3%

Now I know you all need a laugh so here are the prices they quoted to repair
-£17 for wipers
-£123 for track rod
-£68 for brake hoses
-£240 for a headlamp unit
-£250 for a cat

I hear council run MOTs are better cos they have no vested interest in failing you/selling you s**t.
Could possibly go there tomorrow for a second opinion to see what is actually really a concern. Would that be worth it?

In any case I'm thinking of just getting the main costly parts off the internet and getting them fit on.
Any other thoughts?

PM sent

[Marks DTM Calib]

Headlights should be sortable by fixing the adjusters and cleaning the lenses (not the mirroring!)....I would say 30 quid for that little job.

[Kevin Wood]

Has any diagnosis been done to determine that the emissions problem is the cat and only the cat? Or have they just picked a nice expensive part to swap?

Did you get a printout of the whole emissions report (you should have done)?

Can you post the details?

[Lazydocker]

I'm willing to bet my £1 that the emissions could well get within spec without replacing the cat.

Headlamps - The fail was for beam pattern so (assuming they are projectors/clear lenses) give them a good refurbish and polish on the external lense and the pattern will crispen up again.

Wiper - Consumable item... Replace the pair

Track Rod End - You had warning last year As said, decent quality pattern part. Be warned that they are generally a PITA because they have seized

Brake pipes - Again, warned last year. Should have rubbed them down lightly and greased them. You may still get away with doing this but if not, replace.

TBH, although it looks bad, it's probably not as bad as it seems. If you can DIY then it could probably be repaired for under £100 If not then there's labour to consider. But, and this is a big but, even at the prices they have quoted (£698 if they do everything as they have quoted, which I'd like to think they won't ), could you buy another known and trusted car for the same amount of money with a full MOT?

New to you, 2nd hand cars are always a gamble and you never know what you're going to end up with

[omega3000]

I'm willing to bet my £1 that the emissions could well get within spec without replacing the cat.

Headlamps - The fail was for beam pattern so (assuming they are projectors/clear lenses) give them a good refurbish and polish on the external lense and the pattern will crispen up again.

Wiper - Consumable item... Replace the pair

Track Rod End - You had warning last year As said, decent quality pattern part. Be warned that they are generally a PITA because they have seized

Brake pipes - Again, warned last year. Should have rubbed them down lightly and greased them. You may still get away with doing this but if not, replace.

TBH, although it looks bad, it's probably not as bad as it seems. If you can DIY then it could probably be repaired for under £100 If not then there's labour to consider. But, and this is a big but, even at the prices they have quoted (£698 if they do everything as they have quoted, which I'd like to think they won't ), could you buy another known and trusted car for the same amount of money with a full MOT?

New to you, 2nd hand cars are always a gamble and you never know what you're going to end up with

You aint kidding 


I took mine to the same mot place and found they were quite reasonable and informed me of anything that should be looked at and replaced before the next mot ..got the mot half price as well . As said it looks quite bad the list you have but diy it and save a packet as i did although i replaced quite a lot before the mot and came out with just advisories on rear tyres 

[Osaze]

Busy at work but thanks for the replies and PM.
I spent a lot of money on it last month, for reasons I don't wanna go into right now (me being an idiot the main one), thinking there wasn't anything too wrong with the rest of the car.

The headlamps are the refractor type i.e. not clear see-thru to a projector bulb (mine aren't xenon).
I guess it's not good to have different headlamp units?

This is the CO result. They just said it was the cat, I don't think they did anything to determine it was that on it's own or not.

[henryd]

Busy at work but thanks for the replies and PM.
I spent a lot of money on it last month, for reasons I don't wanna go into right now (me being an idiot the main one), thinking there wasn't anything too wrong with the rest of the car.

The headlamps are the refractor type i.e. not clear see-thru to a projector bulb (mine aren't xenon).
I guess it's not good to have different headlamp units?

This is the CO result. They just said it was the cat, I don't think they did anything to determine it was that on it's own or not.

I'm wondering how hot they let the engine get before doing the test ,as the readings dropped quite a bit between first and second runs

[05omegav6]

Surely if the cats were playing up the Lambda would be off personally I'd give it a decent service, whilst I was at it

As for the rest of the bits all pretty straight forward and all readily available either new or second hand

[Osaze]

The soap opera continues...

Was talking to a garage who were not surprised the big H failed it, and they said to just bring it in so they could have a look at whether they were real issues. Their technician did the exhaust thing and thinks it needs a new oxygen sensor, not a new cat. 

The light bulb in the headlamp unit just needs turning around he said.

The corrosion issue he reckons 'they always put that' and just needs a bit of smoothing, although he didn't inspect this.

Should have a track rod arrive for me tomorrow anyway, from OmegaSpareParts.