General My coupe failed MOT

[bondbond611]

The guy told me two brake pipes, rear exhaust and rear brake caliper need to be replaced and quoted me £520 to get all these done, I'm so broke that has anyone got any idea where to get the 2nd hand parts so that it'll pass the test, your suggestion will be greatly appreciated..... :worship:

 

[coupedave]

Hi sorry to hear about your mot failure!!

Try login onto www.fccuk.org/forum
A font of knowledge and help about coupes, everyone is really friendly on there and best put a couple of posts up, maybe one in "technical problems" and one in the "parts wanted" section.
Did they specify what the actual problems where?

 

[dave]

thats a lot was that dealer, specialist or back street ?

what area are you in?

 

[bondbond611]

Thanks guys for your prompt reply, I live in South of Birmingham and it's only a small garage, neither specialist nor dealership, that's why I was tat the estimation of £520 to get these things done and the guy didn't sound really sure whether the rear brake caliper need to be replaced or not.... That's why I'm looking for alternatives rather than authorise the work. Thanks for the tip, i would post it to other area and hopefully someone can help out.... i've been told brake pipes is £50 each and i need two...

 

[dave]

take it to this guy, hes a top man, knows the cars inside out.
http://www.motor-mech.co.uk/

 

[custard]

£50 each for brake pipes may be for a fiat pipe but thats not needed.
if its a solid pipe it can be made up for a lot less.
if its a flexi pipe then you could get a set of goodridge hoses for less than £100

caliper may need overhauled.
liam had a good place for overhauling calipers

edit: https://www.fiatforum.com/lets-talk...ke-caliper-refurbishment.html?highlight=brake

 

[coupedave]

I'd do what Dave suggested and take it to Motor-Mech.
If it's front brake pipes I got a full set of flexi and rigids from Fiat for £60.
Take it to Paul at Motor-Mech.

 

[pinin__prestatyn]

Another vote for motor-mech from me.

 

[mburns120]

Have used Paul at Motormech as well earlier this year for a clutch and front wishbones - you won't find much better (and cheaper) than Paul.

 

[wotnowarninglight]

Deffo Motormech... Just recently had my Stilo serviced there, even though I live in Derby... just could not get anywhere near his price Friendly, knowledgable and totally BSfree

 

[bondbond611]

Deffo Motormech... Just recently had my Stilo serviced there, even though I live in Derby... just could not get anywhere near his price Friendly, knowledgable and totally BSfree

Yes, I can tell he is knowledgable but the problem is I have to wait for 2 weeks before he has time to see my car.. anyway, been doing some search this morning and it should cut the cost by half.. and I wont use that garage again.... expensive, not knowledgable and no free re-test :bang:

 

[sammiboo]

He is very busy, he is always in demand!!

My car was serviced there two weeks ago. I booked it in several weeks before!! He did an excellent job though

 

[custard]

if i was you i would book it in for 2 weeks time and in the mean time source what parts you can
eg pipes,calipers
and get the work done

 

[jug]

if its the copper brake lines then you can get them made at most motor factors cheap, i paid £35 for a full set on my escort a couple of years ago. fitting is easier than cooking a sunday roast. a 500ml bottle of good quality brake fluid will be £3.75

a rear caliper will be £10 from a scrap yard if you remove it yourself, again a very easy job and one to do at the same time as the brake lines (if it failed on rear brake lines)

again rear exhaust is a scrapyard/breakers job, depending on how much exhaust you need expect to pay up to £100, thats what i paid a couple of months ago for a full exhaust including back pipie, cat, front pipe and lambda sensor. if you only need the back box i'd expect to pay £25 max, and again very easy to fit.

if you have a spare weekend and at the very most £100 i see no reason why you cant get the parts and then fit them.

when fitting new brake lines there is a certain order you need to bleed the brakes, usually front right, then rear left then front left then rear right. if you dont get the order right no fluid will come out. a haynes manual is probably a good idea if you arent confident about it.

just think of the satisfaciton you'd get from doing it yourself, plus you can spend the money you save on prezzies for yourself as a reward.

 

[bondbond611]

Thanks all guys for the advice, I took the car to another garage that I trust and hopefully he can give me some good news whether the caliper needs to be fixed or not.