Lorry failed MOT need to rant!!

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NooNoo59

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Last year I managed to buy a lorry after my husbands aunt left us some money, this was the only thing I wanted having managed with a beat up Shogun and borrowed trailer for years. I have presented it for MOT this year and have discovered that it has excessive corrosion in the cab mountings and will cost a small fortune to correct. It was sold to me with a years mot with no advisories. The two mechanics that have inspected it are of the opinion that this level of corrosion has not happened within the year that I have owned the vehicle and I have had a conversation with the garage that presented the vehicle for MOT last year and he said its not his conversation to have! I have contacted the DVSA and await their response. I am so annoyed that I trusted someone with my precious cash! Anyone had similiar experience??
 
Think it depends on the examiner, some are more harsh than others, also it depends how it's used. Driving on wet gritted roads in winter can really speed up corrosion according to our mechanic. Did you have the vehicle inspected prior to sale ? If so it possibly would have been picked up then but if it was in a condition to pass it's last plating then it its entirely possible the last owners weren't aware
 
I don't imagine there is anything that can be done about it as the trouble is MOT corrosion does seem to rely a lot on opinion IME (my situation had 3 for, 2 against). Did you get anyone to check it at the time of/just after purchase? I did and the seller had been totally straight as yes it did have an MOT and they understandably thought it fine so it was stressful for both of us. But when pushed the MOTing garage paid for quite a lot of work to be done as I don't think he had confidence in the junior staff who had done the MOT in his name.
Having had two local trusted garages look at it and provide me with a comprehensive list of issues the only way of dealing with it was to put an MOT complaint to VOSA and have them look at it, (which would have screwed me a bit had they declared it unroadworthy). It didn't get to that point obviously but that was within weeks of the previous MOT- I think there was a 12 week time limit to put it in as a complaint but it was a few years ago now.
 
I can't add anything useful but wanted to say, how frustrating! I completely understand how annoyed you must feel. I hope you can get some answers.
 
When I bought mine it had been parked on a bark covered area at the stables. This had caused corrosion beyond what would normally happen in a year. The previous owners were none the wiser and had not realised that parking on bark, mud or grass would cause such a problem
 
Iveco/Cargo are notorious for rusting. You could check online to see the MOT history but it is probably too late to do anything about it now.

Would it be worth putting the body onto a different(newer) chassis rather than patching up the current cab?
 
I sympathize that your lorry has issues but surely buying an older truck comes with a fair bit of buyer beware in itself?

To be honest as a truck owner I wouldn't even know where the rust you are talking about could be and if it wasn't plainly visible to you when you purchased it you can assume the owners were none the wiser. Just because it passed an MOT does mean that it was checked thoroughly and should be completely problems free especially being older.
 
fawaz said:
I sympathize that your lorry has issues but surely buying an older truck comes with a fair bit of buyer beware in itself?

To be honest as a truck owner I wouldn't even know where the rust you are talking about could be and if it wasn't plainly visible to you when you purchased it you can assume the owners were none the wiser. Just because it passed an MOT does mean that it was checked thoroughly and should be completely problems free especially being older.
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I agree it’s perfecrly plausible that the owner had left the garage to maintain the vehicle and they were unaware of the rust. The garage would have known I’m sure. A similar thing happened to a friend, her mechanic was charging her for things that he hadn’t done and she had no idea until someobody else looked at it.
 
Same thing happened to me! Checked the previous MOT and all looked good, took it in and it failed spectacularly...got it fixed up and it's fine now but i was so angry, I don't know who had done the previous MOT's but like you the garage said there was no way that amount of corrosion had happened in a year. It's frustrating as you tend to think everyone is honest but you can't trust everyone sadly.
 
I am afraid that with a 51 plate wagon I would expect a few nasty shocks. Fords and rust do seem to go together.

I sold my 53 plate one in 2014 because we started to have nasty shocks (Daf). Mine have been delivery wagons for the first 5 years of their life. Generally I have bought the wagon at 5 years old, converted them to a horsebox and had another 10 years with them. Then sold and repeat. This has proved most cost effective in terms of not having big bills.

There are some boxes that go on and on, but generally they are in the minority. Barn storing them means less chance of rust, as does not driving in winter, but that is not real world for most boxes.

I doubt the last owners thought they were pulling a fast one. I doubt you will be able to 'do anything' other than fix it as it is nearly 20 years old and you have owned it for nearly a year.
 
Can i ask why does parking on bark, mud or grass cause an issue with corrosion? Is it due to the moisture that the lorry is theoretically standing on?
 
It is possible that the corrosion could have been an advisory if someone else had done it, as it is so subject to opinion. But in a year it can easily go from advisory to failures sadly.
Very frustrating, but that’s vehicles for you.

That being said, because my husband works in vehicle recovery I always get someone else to look at a vehicle, I don’t trust mechanics as my husband will say himself that a lot of them bodge things and MOts can be similar
 
There are harsher and more lenient garages, it may not be something the old owners were aware of. You do need to have all lorry’s independently inspected, and this can be done for a small fee before purchase. MOTs provide pretty limited assurance, for example they don’t look at the lorry floor at all.

I would try and shop around for quotes for the welding, it may be an independent welder or local lorry man (versus garage) can do it for a lot less. I think it is an unpleasant job, and people don’t want to do it. Hopefully someone on here might be able to recommend a Kent welder.
 
The problem with horsebox lorries are the deeper side panels they use. This restricts the airflow around the chassis and in the winter traps the water, moisture and condensation.
A normal lorry has far more ventilation and thus dries out quicker. Having looked at loads of lorries it is amazing how corrosion takes hold.

When your lorry was tested last year I am sure it already was corroding but the level of degradation had not reached the level that caused the subsequent MOT failure.

Even the truck I built in 2016 with new steel mountings has already started to corrode. I had to spend the summer underneath it with a large tin of Hammerite protecting the outriggers and rear chassis hangers.

It is a really hostile environment and all lorries need this preventative maintenance to prevent the dreaded tin worm taking hold....
 
flying_high said:
There are harsher and more lenient garages, it may not be something the old owners were aware of. You do need to have all lorry’s independently inspected, and this can be done for a small fee before purchase. MOTs provide pretty limited assurance, for example they don’t look at the lorry floor at all.

I would try and shop around for quotes for the welding, it may be an independent welder or local lorry man (versus garage) can do it for a lot less. I think it is an unpleasant job, and people don’t want to do it. Hopefully someone on here might be able to recommend a Kent welder.
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This will have been tested at a VOSA station or by a Vosa tester they are more consistent and it would make little difference. A year is a long time and a lot can happen. That particular place is such an issue that if im looking at a Eurocargo its the first thing I ever look at. As from experience Testers scrutinise it because it has been found to be a weak place mainly through people not keeping the drains clear that come out there so routine maintenance is lacking . I would suggest anybody with a Eurocargo take note of this as it will come and bite them at some stage if not kept free from blockage. . Its not the end of the world and is a relatively inexpensive fix a couple of hours welding and the jobs done. 2-3 hundred pounds will fix it
OP if you had taken it to a decent place for the pre inspection they would have picked it up before it went for test . I am sorry to state the obvious but welcome to the world of owning a commercial vehicle rather than a car most lorry owners will tell you if you get away with under 1k for the test you are doing well.

Not sure this will help your mind OP but contrary to some other views and based on my experience that particular issue can easily be OK one year and not the next the corrosion is internal and doesnt show externally until it has come through. Anybody EVER looking at an IVECO Eurocargo the first thing ever to look at before you get carried away with how prety it looks . Pop the front open and look at the state of the metal work around the the two large rubber hinge mountings that support the the cab on the chasis .Why your there also check out how corroded the water and air pipes are at the front just behind the bumper.
 
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HollyChops said:
Can i ask why does parking on bark, mud or grass cause an issue with corrosion? Is it due to the moisture that the lorry is theoretically standing on?
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Its not theoretical, it is . Always park on concrete if you can otherwise a moist micro climate develops underneath the vehicle .
 
Totally agree with Popsdosh as above...a commercial vehicle gets used most days so it has constant heating and air circulation..
A horse box will sit there often for weeks on end in a damp puddle...

They do need constant attention unfortunately...
 
I am sorry OP, unfortunately thats older trucks for you. Mine (Merc) is very good underneath (and is older than yours) but I've had it four years and it's cost just about £1K per year (one year it was £1400) to plate-even though everyone says there's not much wrong with it. Next thing to sort is the ramp as its blown a little at the top, still usable but needs fixing. refurbing ramp?£800.
 
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