mot repair cost

[robdex1]

Had my car in for MOT and it failed. Its a 2007 Honda jazz se. It failed for brake pipe excessively corroded offside front. And also parking break efficiency below requirements. It also failed for an airbag issue which I already knew about and am looking It to getting sorted. The garage told me they don't know the exact cost of the repair without getting it up on the ramp to dismantle and have a proper look but he estimated a ballpark figure of £500. Don't know much about cars but for a brake pipe and parking issue doesn't that seem excessive. Ignore the airbag issue that is being sorted elsewhere

[stevemcs]

Sorry but yes it needs to go on a ramp, some brake pipes are easy, some are a pain - mercs and transits, normally we would allow 3-4 hours on them.

[andrebar]

Has anyone confirmed that the handbrake actually needs repairing? Quite often some adjustment will get them back up to MoT requirements. With my Volvo thats an annual 30 minute driveway ritual.

For that brake repair I’d expect a ballpark £100 - £150 from my local Indy.

[stevemcs]

Again as a guide, we would charge £45 to strip, lean and adjust the rear brakes. If yours has rear discs it’s most likely the caliper

[robdex1]

andrebar said:

Has anyone confirmed that the handbrake actually needs repairing? Quite often some adjustment will get them back up to MoT requirements. With my Volvo thats an annual 30 minute driveway ritual.

For that brake repair I’d expect a ballpark £100 - £150 from my local Indy.

No they didn't say the issue with the handbrake just that it's below minimum requirements. Not quite sure where he got the £500 from. I think maybe he is overestimating cos he already knows I am hesitant about doing anything as my airbag repair is £550 plus labour so maybe he is thinking he doesn't want to waste his time looking at it when I may not even go ahead with the repair

[andrebar]

robdex1 said:

andrebar said:

Has anyone confirmed that the handbrake actually needs repairing? Quite often some adjustment will get them back up to MoT requirements. With my Volvo thats an annual 30 minute driveway ritual.

For that brake repair I’d expect a ballpark £100 - £150 from my local Indy.

No they didn't say the issue with the handbrake just that it's below minimum requirements. Not quite sure where he got the £500 from. I think maybe he is overestimating cos he already knows I am hesitant about doing anything as my airbag repair is £550 plus labour so maybe he is thinking he doesn't want to waste his time looking at it when I may not even go ahead with the repair

Sounds a bit like the number was plucked from thin air & as Steve mentioned earlier the car really needs to go back up on a ramp before anyone can give you a more definitive estimate

[Shedding]

It does sound a bit steep. The handbrake is probably a seizing rear caliper or brake shoes. A front brake pipe is short so should be easy but will probably be seized into the brake hose and therefore that will need to be either carefully separated or replaced too.
These are things that can be done relatively easily with Youtube and some basic tools and you probably need to do this to run a 16 year old car economically.

PS: if doing brake pipes, make sure to buy a flaring tool of this type (or generic copy) https://www.amazon.co.uk/Draper-BPF-SAE-Hand-Held-... rather than another type. Much easier to get good flares.