Couple of questions...

[carlmthompson]

Tyre wise, I would get them fitted at somewhere you trust that has a proper Alloy Wheel fitting machine (some of the older ones damage the rims).
You might also want to try http://www.johnsonstyres.com/acatalog/about.html as they seem pretty competitive on prices inc. Delivery.

As for your MOT, take it to the cheapest garage that does MOT's you can trust. Also, you can take it in up to four weeks before your old certificate expires. If it fails, as long as it's not dangerous, you can then take it to anywhere you want to get the repairs done, and it will be all legal. I have a trusted garage (no good to you being in Newcastle!) that does MOT's for £24. This is much better than the £40 plus VAT an OPC or indy will charge!
Oh and if you take it in before your MOT expires, providing you give the old cert. to the tester, your new cert will run from the expiry date of the old one!

 

[Guest]

have you looked at etyres.co.uk? They come round in a van and fit them for you! Either way, just hang around when they fit them, and make sure they don't do anything stupid like sticking the balance weights on the outside face of the wheel. (or not fit new valves etc etc.)

I find that once you've found a guy who can do MOT's, stick with him. I have a guy who does all of our cars. (A renault, vectra, triumph and the 944). No need to go to a specialist. When you book it in, if they can fit it in in 5 minutes, then generally they are not a "used" garage (usually for a reason.....). Avoid, and go somewhere with a little bit of a queue (but not too much....) When you go, don't just phone them. go down, and see if they are nice an frindly. a grumpy MOTer is the last thing you need.

 

[sawood12]

I havn't had any personal experiance of the internet tyre companies that you mention but a friend of mine has. He was forced to use a garage that I do have experience of and that I wouldn't trust again with my granny's shopping basket. He had a bit of a nightmare with them and after all that he only saved a few quid per tyre against the place I eventually used after being messed around so much and telling them where they could stick their business. I suppose my advice would be to find out in advance which garage you would have to use to tyre fitment and if you are happy with them then I can't see any problems.

In terms of MOT's I don't see any reason why you would benefit from using a Porsche Specialist. An MOT is an MOT irrespective of the car. I use a Porsche Specialist for servicing and other jobs I percieve as needing a mechanic with specific Porsche experience but for all other jobs and MOT's I use another trusted garage which I used all the time before Porsche ownership. Trusted mechanics are worth their weight in gold and i'm lucky enough to know 2.

The rules of the MOT used to be that if it failed you had 1 week to revisit the MOT garage for a free re-test leaving you free to choose whether to fix the car yourself, at another garage or at the same garage. If you use a different garage for your re-test you will incurr another test fee. However I've just heard that the rules have recently changed and you now have to pay for re-tests even if you go back to the original garage within 7 days. In any case you are not forced to keep your car at the garage/test centre until it passes - that is generally called theft!!

Good luck with the MOT - i've had 2 now 1st needed some brake pipes, 2nd passed with flying colours!

 

[mik_ok]

I find Blackcircles quite expensive.

I personally go for:-
- mail order tyres nice & cheap
- fitting somewhere suitable.

I got Drivers in Glasgow to fit my last set ~ they're used to dealing with alloys much larger and more expensive than mine so it was no issue. £7.50 a corner inc valve & balance.

I'm sure there must be similar places in Edinburger that you could trust (?)

Peter at Motortune did my last MOT. I'm planning to use him again (in a couple of months) simply 'cos he seems like an emminantly trustworthy chap (which is worth plenty), and with his knowledge he'll spot issues that a "mainstream" garage would miss. Conversely he won't let you replace things that don't need replaced.

 

[timig]

Wow, thanks for that! Didnt expect quite so many replies so quickly...Peter at Motortune is the one who services the car as i agree he certainly does seem like a trustworthy guy; so i wanted to check if it was worth him doing the MOT - he gets pretty busy so if there is something that needs doing, it might be tricky getting the car in and out in 7 days to save me going for re-test (if it needed Porsche expertise as you point out Scott).

As for the tyres, Scott confirmed exactly what i thought, the garage BC recommend/is contracted to is apparently 5 minutes from my house and no-one i know seems to be aware of it, think i will try and take them to the guy who works on my little honda granny wagon (car for the missus you understand!), though that etyres thing sounds great, the guy can just come to work and do it there for me, great!

 

[Fen]

Beware on the MoT question. Since the new computerised system came in if your car fails you can of course take it away, but if you so much as leave the premises you will need to pay for a full retest (I had to get my wife to pick me up when the 306 failed on a lambda sensor rather than drive home and back next day when the part was in). Also if your car fails an MoT and you subsequently drive past an ANPR camera it will come up as an MoT failure, and you may well get pulled and not having a valid MoT you don't have valid insurance, regardless of how long the certificate had to run before the test. A car may pass on Monday and have 12 months ticket, but if it is tested again on Tuesday and fails then the Tuesday result supercedes the Monday one.

 

[timig]

Thanks Fen, I was sure that i had read one of your previous posts that suggested that the car should not leave the testing site. I guess with that in mind, it might be better all round to take the car to the indy, that way if anything that requires the services of an indy, at least it is there and i wont have to pay for a re-test! It also avoids the problem of encountering an ANPR camera and the associated insurance implications.

 

[Alpine]

I have just had my MOT done by Leeds City Council. It was done in a depot where they do the MOTs for buses and bin wagons. Apparently all Councils are offering this service, and it is slightly cheaper (£40) than the standard fee (£45). There is no incentive at all in them failing you (and then hoping they will get the repair work) and the service i got was spot on.

 

[Guest]

The MOT sutuation you describe isn't quite true Fen. The current rules (well, they were 10 days ago when I had an MOT done) are that if the car fails, you can take it away to get the problem fixed elsewhere. As long as you return by the end of the next day, they just check the rectification work and don't have to do a full re test.

I know this is the case, because that's exactly what happened to me when I had my old Cotroen MOT'd last week. It failed on a dodgy tyre, and I was told that as long as I was back before the end of the following day, they would just need to check the new tyre.

Some garages might try to tell you that they will have to charge you for a full re test, but then some garages will tell you that they have to charge you for a lot of things that they don't.

It's always a good idea to spend a bit of the time that you're waiting for your car reading the notice that they have displayed that tells you all the rules for re tests and appeals etc.[]

 

[Guest]

I dunno how recent this page is, but the rest of the site seems pretty OK.

http://www.motester.co.uk/retest.html

alternatively, have a good search here: http://www.vosa.gov.uk . Those guys are the guys who look after the MOT guys! [] (although if their search engine is anything to go by, I'm sure they love red tape and have 40,000 forms for all sorts of things! [] )

 

[Fen]

ORIGINAL: JamesH

The MOT sutuation you describe isn't quite true Fen. The current rules (well, they were 10 days ago when I had an MOT done) are that if the car fails, you can take it away to get the problem fixed elsewhere. As long as you return by the end of the next day, they just check the rectification work and don't have to do a full re test.

I know this is the case, because that's exactly what happened to me when I had my old Cotroen MOT'd last week. It failed on a dodgy tyre, and I was told that as long as I was back before the end of the following day, they would just need to check the new tyre.

Some garages might try to tell you that they will have to charge you for a full re test, but then some garages will tell you that they have to charge you for a lot of things that they don't.

It's always a good idea to spend a bit of the time that you're waiting for your car reading the notice that they have displayed that tells you all the rules for re tests and appeals etc.[]

Well you may be right, but I don't know what the test station had to gain beyond causing me aggro by saying I couldn't take it away. What they actually said was that on the new computerised system they have to enter the mileage and if it has increased to any degree between tests the car needs a ful test. The place I use is the place that MoTs both my and my wife's cars as well as servicing my wife's so I doubt they would make something like that up when they were getting the car to fix the next day even if I took it home. My guess is one of the following; they don't understand the new rules properly and have interpreted them more severely than they should have, your garage is a little more flexible in the mileage being different from the original one, perhaps because they know you well? (my money is on this option as I can't see there being an official 1 day rule) or that your place is still not using the computerised system so have far more scope to do as they please. Bottom line is to check with specific test stations, I guess.

 

[danmason]

Beware on the MoT question. Since the new computerised system came in if your car fails you can of course take it away, but if you so much as leave the premises you will need to pay for a full retest

This is definitely an issue with the computerised systems, although I've also heard about the 1-day rule, which would be just as much a pain for me as it's highly unlikely I could source any necessary parts and fit them within that time period. Taking it to my Indy suits me, as for their £40 fee they do all the checks on the car, fix anything that's wrong, and then take it around the corner to the MoT centre for re-checking (although my last 2 Porsche MoTs haven't actually needed any fixes). So essentially a guaranteed pass, with any needed bits already on the shelf.

 

[timig]

Hi

Car just been MOTed and passed first time, with a couple of advisories on the discs and the rear shocks. Was just looking for the Eurocarparts sticky on this forum to get an idea of prices for these, but couldnt find it - have we lost our discount?

Also, one other question that is perhaps harder to answer. My alarm has started to go off every couple of hours for no apparent reason and it is starting to annoy my neighbours, thus far the solution is to disconnect the battery which is not ideal as everytime i want to drive the thing i have to crawl through the boot. Anyone got any ideas why the alarm might be going off? Checked all the doors and windows are all sealed properly etc. I did notice a small fly hanging around the dashboard yeterday but thought nothing of it - surely he (or indeed she) can't be setting off the alarm???

Any ideas truly welcome
tim

 

[Guest]

The alarm going off could be just about anything. The only way of finding out for sure is to get in there and start testing for shorts etc.

Have you checked the flash code of the alarm to check what triggered it? In case you didn't know, when your alarm has gone off, the LED will flash in a certain sequence when you disarm it. The sequence can be decoded to indicate what caused the alarm to trigger. That would at least give you a good idea where to start looking.

Something that it could be. In the past I have had an alarm starting to false alarm when the battery is getting a bit tired. Because it couldn't hold charge properly, the alarm was detecting the voltage drop and triggering. It's one of the easier things to test, before you start grubbing around in the electrics of the car, or paying somebody to do it for you.

 

[mik_ok]

eurocarparts discount info HERE. Not a sticky any more (not sure why, but they are not a forum "contributor" so maybe a sticky was unfair in the 1st place?)

I'd recommend you go for Sebro discs ~ my front zimmermanns were replaced under warranty when they warped......and the new ones are starting to go again [] My callipers are fully refurbed so I believe it's the discs.

 

[mik_ok]

PS - you need to phone Stu now to get a response - he's been promoted.

Re alarm - mine did this. Alarm BrainBox in rear nearside boot cavity was just damp - took it out and dried it and it was fine.

Don't pull your battery out - simply pull the fuse if it's constantly going off.

 

[Mikie_gb]

eurocarparts discount info HERE. Not a sticky any more (not sure why, but they are not a forum "contributor" so maybe a sticky was unfair in the 1st place?)

it is hardly free advertising though, since it costs them 10% of items sold.

Re alarm - mine did this. Alarm BrainBox in rear nearside boot cavity was just damp - took it out and dried it and it was fine.

Errrrr, if there are any likely car thieves on this forum, please note that I have an aftermarket alarm system and my control unit is not as stated above and is else where in the car. I also have the best immobiliser fitted right now in the form of a beggered clutch.....