My beloved B has just failed it's MOT.

Reasons for the failure (including cost of parts & labour) is below -

Near & offside rear shock absorbers leaking fluid - £49 each shock + £67.50 labour.
Centre exhaust has a hole with leak of gasses - £229.45 for the exhaust + £45 labour.

Total cost of parts & labour = £439.95

Does the above sound reasonable?

The exhaust on the car is a DTR exhaust (bought in 99). On the receipt it states "Lifetime guarantee. Non-transferable.". Does anyone know if the "non-transferable" relates to the exhaust being transfered to a new car or does it relate to the "lifetime" ownership by the person who bought the car? (The exhaust was fitted by the previous owner of the car.) Obviously this may have a huge impact on the cost of repairs.

Any thoughts or advice from anyone would be much appreciated.

relates to the owner AFAIK,so lifetime warrenty for the owner at the time.however if oyu have the reciept just og back and tell them its got a hole.unlikely they will query it and its worth a try

Top tip!! Do the work yourself!!! Replacing the shocks is easy and you will find a guide on www.barchettamondo.co.uk

Have a look at the rear shocks on your B, its only 2 bolts each side !! come on £67.50 labour! Even if you go out to Halfords and buy a new jack and socket set thats only going to be £35 and you get to use the tools over and over again.









It’s also the same for the middle exhaust box, its only 4 bolts!! I have done these jobs on my B and I am only a medical IT engineer and have not had a single days mechanic training.

Save yourself a load of money and give it a go!!!! Plus once you have done it you will never need to pay to have it done again on any car you own.

I had a CV boot go on my B and I paid £95 to get it fixed, when the other one went a few months later I said stuff it and had a go myself, sure it was a few hours work but the satisfaction once I had finished the job was fab, plus the bill for the second was a grand total of £13, that’s £82 I can spend on something else for the car!! Well I spend it on tools, so I can take on bigger and bigger jobs on the car when things show up.

A few B owners on this forum have already done the jobs you are talking about and would be happy to pass on info on doing the jobs. Well I know I am.

That’s the thing I like about a B, it’s a simple (ish) car to work on, so it’s nice to get your hands dirty now and again.

Rant over, I am off ;-) Doc Orange Peel



PS £229.45 for the exhaust !! shop around if I was you.

After 3 weeks my B is now back on the road (just in time for the cold weather .

After taking the Doc's advice I replaced the rear shocks myself - easy job!
Then had a look at the exhaust and could only find a tiny hole so filled that with some gun gum.

After the advice of a mate who told me I was being ripped of by the MOT centre took the car to a new garage that they recomended.

The B failed again - on different things! Headlights too low and the emissions (probably caused by a small crack in the exahust).

Took it away again. Found the "crack in the exhaust". (The very front of the exhaust was missing a bolt holing it together. Replace the bolt - fix the leak!). Played about with the light heights till they looked about right and then took it back.

Pass!!

Lesson learnt -
1) Never go back to the first garage - rip off merchants.
2) Do the work yourself - it is easy.

Money saved - about £260!

The exhaust will need replacing but I can save up for that now.

Next stop - new alloys!:slayer:

See having a go yourself is the way forward !! thats what I love about the B, you can still do 70% of the things yourself with a few tools and a bit of internet reading up. Nice work

FYI shop around for the parts for your exhaust as you will save £££££££ trust me.

I ended up getting a new front downpipe £110 and stainless middle box and back box for £150.

The only thing I am on the look out for now is a sports CAT and stainless manifold but parts like that dont come along everyday.

on the web you are looking at:
Sports CAT £300 !!!!
Stainless manifold £500 !!!!



Doc Orange Peel