Horsebox failed Pre MOT check :-(

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Tamsin123

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Help, I'm clueless when it comes to horseboxes and mechanical issues! I'm shocked that my Horsebox has failed it's pre-MOT check. I've only had it for one year; it must have passed a year ago, prior to buying it? I've been told it's failed on the below, which including labour charges is going to cost between 1-2k, never budgeted for this expense as thought it would pass with flying colours. Am I being conned as never even heard of some of the things below? Also any ideas what would cause all these leaks and items that need replacing in just a year, as I've only put a few thousand miles on it in year and thought it was in good order, was driving amazingly!
- Oil leak to top of engine
- Power steering oil leak
- Complete set drag links offside & nearside
- Track rod ends offside & nearside
- Downpipe corroded
- Back lights inoperative (pos. bulbs)

Background it's on a 2002 Iveco with 40,000 miles, been a horsebox all it's life and yes mileage is right, was ex demo and then never used.
 
Seems a lot but horeboxes are money pits (speaking from experience). Are you able to get a second opinion?

Having said that, it depends on what is causing the oil leaks. It could be the labour charges that are sending the bill sky high.
 
My advice would be to do the lights, it will fail if they are not working, steam clean and take it in to the test yourself, it will be unlikely to have anything bad enough to stop you driving home afterwards even if it fails, you can then get the work done required to pass on a retest. The oil leaks will need doing at some time if they are not bad enough for a fail, you can do things when it suits you, my experience with pre tests was the garages will do anything that may need doing over the next 10k, they forget that horseboxes often do only 2-4k a year they are not used commercially so things do not wear out at the same rate.
Since I started taking my box in for testing it has required far less work to get through each test.
 
Thank-you, I agree I was suprised and shocked to see so many things which needs repairing as it's been driving fine, I will push back on what exactly needs to be done to get it to pass as MOT expires on 31 Aug :-( so haven't go much and need the lorry every weekend too!
 
be positive said:
My advice would be to do the lights, it will fail if they are not working, steam clean and take it in to the test yourself, it will be unlikely to have anything bad enough to stop you driving home afterwards even if it fails, you can then get the work done required to pass on a retest. The oil leaks will need doing at some time if they are not bad enough for a fail, you can do things when it suits you, my experience with pre tests was the garages will do anything that may need doing over the next 10k, they forget that horseboxes often do only 2-4k a year they are not used commercially so things do not wear out at the same rate.
Since I started taking my box in for testing it has required far less work to get through each test.
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I no longer do a pre check MOT for the above reason. We keep it well maintained though. The only time I ever had a pre mot check I was faced with a long list of issues and a potentially mega bill but was advised by (a VERY experienced) mechanic to put it in for its MOT and see what happens. It passed!
 
An MOT is always at the testers discretion, which means that something one tester will pass another will fail. All of the items on that list could cause a failure, but it depends just how bad they are and how the tester views them during the test.

For a van of that age the list is not surprising. Track rods and links will wear, downpipes do corrode and it's an 11 year old van so it's all to be expected. Have you had it serviced while you have had it? These things should have bee flagged up in the service so you had prior warning. We always provide customers with a note of anything we find that could affect their next MOT. Even if you're only doing low mileage you should have an inspection service carried out to make sure all is ok.

I would also do the lights, clean up the engine oil leak and present it for testing with you're fingers crossed, but these things will need attended too eventually even iof it does pass.

It drives me nuts when folk think their cars & vans don't need maintenance because they only do a little mileage - rubber components degrade whether the car is moving or not, same with metal bits corroding. I'd argue we see more issues in low mileage cars that sit about than ones that do a lot of miles and thus get more regular servicing.

Driving fine is not an indicator a car will pass an MOT, the MOT is designed to find issues before they break, not after.
 
Can't help on specific things they've listed but I normally spend about £1k getting mine serviced and mot'd each year, it's older than yours with twice the mileage but always needs a few things doing and it gives me piece of mind that it's all ok, trick is to find a mechanic you can trust
 
Drag links and ball joints are a safety issue and could result in a prohibition at test. They are a very common problem on an Iveco . Afraid typical of low mileage they need using.
Which iveco is it and does the cab tilt as this will have a large bearing on cost.
 
I'm always more suprised when anything does pass first time - car, 4x4, lorry....I must have a collection of battered old things....(I do have a collection of battered old things!)

Track rod ends/linkages are standard wear and tear type items.

Leaks could be something as simple as seals that have degraded over time.

Corrosion almost to be expected on a horsebox as they sit still so much

Lights will go at any opportunity!
 
Tamsin123 said:
Help, I'm clueless when it comes to horseboxes and mechanical issues! I'm shocked that my Horsebox has failed it's pre-MOT check. I've only had it for one year; it must have passed a year ago, prior to buying it? I've been told it's failed on the below, which including labour charges is going to cost between 1-2k, never budgeted for this expense as thought it would pass with flying colours. Am I being conned as never even heard of some of the things below? Also any ideas what would cause all these leaks and items that need replacing in just a year, as I've only put a few thousand miles on it in year and thought it was in good order, was driving amazingly!
- Oil leak to top of engine
- Power steering oil leak
- Complete set drag links offside & nearside
- Track rod ends offside & nearside
- Downpipe corroded
- Back lights inoperative (pos. bulbs)

Background it's on a 2002 Iveco with 40,000 miles, been a horsebox all it's life and yes mileage is right, was ex demo and then never used.
Click to expand...
So this is a pre MOT check presumably done by a garage and not by VOSA. It is much better to take it in for the test and see if it fails. A qiick pressure wash to clear away any old oil ,so they can tell if it is really leaking and not just minor seepage. Drag links and trackrod ends are easy to do and not particularly expensive. A new test requirement has been brought in requiring that the rubber gaiter on these must not be split . This has caused a number of otherwise servicable lorrys to fail. Best to let vosa tell you if they want some changed rather than the garage.Corroded downpipe , not a failure unless it is actualy blowing (exhaust pipe). All pretty minor stuff. £1000 including parts test and vat .
 
Scarlett said:
Driving fine is not an indicator a car will pass an MOT, the MOT is designed to find issues before they break, not after.
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Sorry but this is not true. An MOT is only a snapshot of the roadworthyness of a vehicle. They are most definately not designed to find issues BEFORE they break. As an example I took a vehicle to a VOSA test station for a second opinion because I was so concerned about the level of corrosion on the chassis. The test station manager informed me that they couldnt fail the vehicle until tha chassis actualy snapped. Preventative maintenance is achieved by regular and adequate inspections by trained mechanics.
 
Story of my life.

Having just spent £1800 on our 23 year old lorry.. And it still failed (on something daft) so spent an additional £50 getting that fixed + £61 RE test fee I am feeling a little peeved on the lorry front.
Ours may be ancient but only done 40k miles (true miles as well)..sadly most of the work is welding or expensive parts as rare and hard to come by.

Lorries are money pits - as said above.. Best advice I've been given is get it inside out of the weather and paint the underside with wax oil every year/every other year.

I'd do as a poster said above, get the light fixed and then take it in.. Then you get a list of exactly what it's failed on.. It can go from the plating centre to be repaired legally I think...
 
I dispensed with these so called pre mot checks years ago. They were costing me a fortune.

Now I get it steam cleaned (indeed most years I just clean it myself with a donestic pressure washer) and see what it fails on and then get that fixed.

Some years I get a few things listed on the mot as advisory items and I used to get those fixed over the coming year but one year I forgot and they weren't even picked up at the next mot so now I don't even do those.

Having said all this though I did have to replace an iveco drag link this year because the rubber bush was perished. £85 for the drag link and about an hour to replace it.
 
My dad's business is essentially maintaining plant and HGV vehicles. He hates horseboxes for the simple reason that unlike other lorries which are continuously working horse boxes sit idle for long periods and tend to experience far more problems as rubber rots, seals split etc.
Having a pre MOT inspection is a curse and a blessing if they put it through a Plating without one and it fails then owners are not happy and if they do a pre check then they can be accused of doing unnecessary work.
Despite my dad doing what he does our lorry has previously failed for things like seat belts etc. silly things that were missed when concentrating on important things like brakes.
I'd say £1500 to service a lorry per year is about right, they are expensive and costly when things go wrong. I'd tend to go by personal recommendation when using a fitter to do your lorry. My dad says on average you need 10% of the lorry's worth per year as a backup for repairs and maintenance etc.
 
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