BMW 3 Series Compact E36 - M.O.T. (competent or incompetent technicians??)

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Tue 14 Jun 2011 20:47
BMW 3 Series Compact E36 - M.O.T. (competent or incompetent technicians??) - Davey C.

My 7 year old car was MOTd in March 2011 and passed for 12 months. Last week I suffered brake failure due to corroded brake pipes. BMW have replaced the pipes at a cost of £1000. How can brake pipes become unserviceable within 3 months?.....or has the MOT been carried out by someone who is incompetent.?. Should I report the MOT station to VOSA?.

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Tue 14 Jun 2011 23:06
BMW 3 Series Compact E36 - M.O.T. (competent or incompetent technicians??) - madf

Lots of brake pipes on a BMW...

Unless you are 100% certain you paid for ALL pipes to be replaced before...

Edited by madf on 14/06/2011 at 23:07

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Wed 15 Jun 2011 10:11
BMW 3 Series Compact E36 - M.O.T. (competent or incompetent technicians??) - injection doc

the problem with brake pipes is that the most serious corrosion takes place within the mounting clips, so where the pipe is retained by the clip the water and salt is also retained and causes the corrosion ! The problem with the MOT is that its a visual inspection and many pipes are hidden due to their routing ! When I was MOT testing if pipes were even slightly suspect I used to put on the advise sheet, just to cover myself.

I can understand your feelings and haveing a pipe burst is not a nice experince and to be honest , normally if a pipe is that weak it normally burst on the brake tester ! had quite a few do that !

But in answer to your question if the pipe burst in an obscure place then its likley the tester would not of seen it !, many pipes are hidden by heat shields, petrol tanks, and axles etc

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Wed 15 Jun 2011 19:00
BMW 3 Series Compact E36 - M.O.T. (competent or incompetent technicians??) - Pyranha

My 7 year old car was MOTd in March 2011 and passed for 12 months.

No it didn't; it passed on that day, and just means that on that day the pipes met the requirements of the test, not that they would still be fine the next day, or three months later.

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Tue 30 Jul 2013 18:30
BMW 3 Series Compact E36 - M.O.T. (competent or incompetent technicians??) - vmturbo

I think that you will find reporting bad MOT test stations to VOSA to be a complete waste of time.

One bad test station failed a friends classic BMW for "excessive play in the steering" so my opinion was asked (I used to be a Machine-Load-Control-and-Automation-Systems-Technician at British Leyland many years ago so I know what's what when it comes to cars) The big beemer had a steering box so I asked how the tester checked for play. "Oh he did it on full lock." was the answer.

Hmm, when ones car has a steering box the check for play in the steering must only be done with the road wheels pointing straight ahead. It does make me wonder which mental hospitals some of the testers come from as often they just don't have a clue.

At another place the incompetent tester argued that my Range-Rovers master cylinder was faulty. It was Christmas time and a large lathe needed to be moved ASAP otherwise it was going for scrap. Now that Rangie had such good brakes that it could just about do a hand-stand but the idiot was adamant that the master cylinder was leaking. With most test stations closed I was stuck with this bad one so a BRAND NEW master cylinder was ordered on overnight delivery from Brakes International. The brand new master cylinder which had cost me over £100 was also declared to be faulty! Basically the bloke did not understand Diesel Brake Creep (i.e. as the vacuum pump pulls a harder and harder vacuum the servo boost increases so the pedal dips slightly)

That's another bloke who deserves to be sacked (I heard later that he has been sacked!)

You just cannot get the right staff anymore!

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Fri 2 Aug 2013 14:51
BMW 3 Series Compact E36 - M.O.T. (competent or incompetent technicians??) - James Brown

Hi,Thanks for sharing this but not all your content is fully easy to understand to me, but it is definitely interesting and worth reading.

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