What happens when an MOT garage damages your car doing the MOT?

Question

I took my diesel car for its MOT. It failed on emissions. They replaced oil, air filter, put in fuel cleaner etc. They then took the car out the garage to run the cleaner through and warm up the car prior to the emissions test. I did not know they had taken it out till I arrived at the garage and it wasn't there. Whilst they were out the cambelt snapped. As my car was a P reg escort effectively they have written it off.

They never mentionned that cam belts may go during the 'smoke test'- I have since been told this. Apparently I should have been provided with a government leaflet that mentions this as well

I was wondering if anyone else has had similar or knows where I stand. From my point of view they have had my car in for an MOT done minor work and then written it off. My initial contact with garage suggests that they think I should either take the car away in the current state and pay for the work done or that I should let them fix it and pay hundreds of pounds more to them

The cam belt was changed at 35 000 miles 4 year ago. I have a receipt for this. It has done another 25,000 since then.

Answer 1

ouch!! bad luck, you could photo all damage, take to a totally different garage to get a quote to put things right and take that to the dept. of standards and fair trading through local council. could you go back to the garage and explain, asking them to suggest a remedy, courtesy car etc,
write to local paper to warn others if you are short changed. peace

Answer 2

The garage is responsible for establishing that the car is fit for carrying out the test as far as it possibly can. Once they have carried out the pre-test checks and feel that a test is OK any damage is their responsibility. Providing all pre-test checks are carried out. If they were in any doubt then they should have refused that part of the MOT test and explained why
Now that said if the belt had been replaced some 25,000 miles earlier then you would have expected it to have lasted longer than it has so I think you may have a case to check with the belt manufacturer with regards a warranty claim
Now I have been an MOT tester for many years and I am not happy with the way in which a diesel smoke test is carried out. No engine was ever designed to run at full throttle OFF load and it is therefore inevitable that sometimes engines are going to give up . I have made this point to VOSA on each and every visit but the stock answer is that they consulted with manufacturers and the 3 second full throttle situation is not going to give any cause for concern to a regularly maintained engine. I DO NOT AGGREE

The fact that your timing belt failed on a roadtest would indicate to me that the belt or associated parts this time were to blame for the failure and not the actual emmission test

On finishing the garage is likely to have been offered many times to insure against this possibility with regard to MOT testing and many garages do insure, I know I do but also many do not and VOSA are not likely to take on your claim despite them formulating the diesel smoke test "badly"

I hope that the garage will put their hands up on this one and at the very least establish exactly what has failed and if the fault is with them try to put things right. Not all garages are ripping you off but some are. Good luck

I don't altogether think that Mike C knows what he is takling about and whilst you do have the right to sue it could be an expensive road if you loose and I think that you might. As you indicate that the belt did not break on the MOT test all possible precautions must have been taken. If you authorised the MOT repairs to be carried out ie. oil change etc. then that garage would have possibly had the need to roadtest the car after the repairs were done. I do think the belt change 25k previous providing the tensioners etc were changed is the better option or the insurance of the garage.

Would be nice to hear the conclusion of this

Answer 3

I'm an mot tester and I won't start a diesel mot unless there is proof that the belt maintenance has been done, or the vehicle isn't due one yet. Belts very rarely snap during smoke tests, but as they were road testing your car after the mot it's irrelevant. The garage doesn't have to provide you with the leaflet you describe, they just have to have it. The warning is also on the statuary poster VOSA provide with the prices on it.
Where you stand at the moment is to pursue the company who made the belt, and the garage that fitted it as it has obviously failed for some reason or other. The garage could claim on their insurance, but probably won't want to.
Just remember, as you've said the belt was changed 4 years and 25,000 miles ago, the garage not asking you about it wouldn't have mattered as it's failed within it's service shedule.

Answer 4

Legally you are obliged to pay for the work done. A timing belt does not snap unless the car hasn't been properly maintained. So unless you have service history confirming the belt, tensioner and pulleys were changed at the recomended intervals then you have no recourse.

When was the belt, tensioner and pulleys last changed? If it is within the proper time/mileage limits you may be able to get recourse through the person who previously did the work or the belt manufacturer.

While the MOT doesn't cover the car being required to leave the garage. They can argue that the work you authorised prior to the test required the car being run to get the fresh oil and fuel cleaner through the system.

You appear to be blaming someone else for the fact you didn't properly maintain your vehicle.

Answer 5

This is a bit tricky. Logic would suggest that if they broke it then they shoud pay to fix it.
But... They would argue that in order to perform the emmisions part of the test, they have to rev the engine hard and this can cause cambelts to fail if they are in poor condition. Unles you can prove that the cambelt was in good nick (ie have receipt from cambelt change and can demonstrate it had done significantly less than the suggested mileage between cambelt replacements as recommended by the vehicle manufacturer I think you might struggle to prove negligence by way of the garage.

Answer 6

Binary options let users trade in currency pairs and stocks for various predetermined time-periods, minimal of which is 30 seconds. Executing trades is straightforward. The system uses user-friendly interfaces, which even an 8 years old kid, can operate without having to read any instructions. But winning trades is Not easy.
Binary trading is advertised as the only genuine system that lets users earn preposterous amounts of money in ridiculously short period of time. Advertisers try to implicate as if you can make $350 every 60 seconds; if it was true then binary trading would truly be an astonishing business.
However, does it make any sense? Can every trader make tons of money in binary trading? Who is actually paying all the money or the profit to traders?
The first challenge is finding a trustworthy binary broker; secondly, you need to find a binary trading strategy, which you can use to make profits consistently. Without an effective trading strategy, there is no way you can make money in this business.
Learning a profitable trading strategy is possible, You should watch this presentation video https://tr.im/4f450
It's probably the best way to learn how to win with binary option

Answer 7

if u had your cam belt regularly checked / changed & it snapped while the garage had it then i would have thought they were insured for such accidents, being a deisel car driver myself i can't say that i'm familiar with this being a problem, i'll most certainly look into that when i next have an mot,
i would seek advice from trading standards

Answer 8

the sale of goods and services act states that the person supplying the service should take reasonable care of your possetions while working on them in this case your car as the government requires that the garrage is to hand out a leaflet on the emmitions test prior to the mot then this only streanthens your case i would SRTONGLY sugest that you consult a solicitor as soon as practicable like monday morning best of luck

Answer 9

I'm not sure. But cam belts don't just snap at will, they are usually very worn and really should be replaced in good time due to all the trouble they cause when they snap. What mileage had the car done and why hadn't you got it replaced before?

Answer 10

Hi there,
The leaflet they should have handed you will have explained what checks and the smoke test itself. The test station should have asked you for information with regards the t/belt life or if you had any knowledge of it being changed.
If they have not asked for your permission to carry out a smoke test or it breaks whilst the pre warming is being carried out, then it's the test stations responsibilty. They SHOULD have asked you before hand for any info or if you were not sure they should have either refused to test the car on the grounds of the age of the belt or had you sign a letter waiving any responsibilty on their part. If the test station check the testing station guide, it outlines this so.
If you have any problems contact VOSA ( veh operator serv assoc) or email me and I will forward the section and page number for your ref from testing guide.
Hope this helps