Help with my failed MOT.

[sollybolly]

Hi all I hope you can help me. My Clio 2004 1.4 just failed it's MOT and I need some advice. Here is what my certificate says:
- Parking brake lever has no travel. (Quote £65+)
- Tyre has ply or cords exposed offside front *Dangerous*
- Tyre tread below minimum requirement nearside front
- Road wheel badly damaged nearside front inner
- Rear wheel bearing rough when rotated nearside
Would it be much cheaper to source and fit my own front 2 tyres? They are stock tyres but the garage couldn't give me a quote on new tyres/fitting today so not sure how much they will charge. Where could I find new tyres and dispose of my old tyres?
I plan on getting the parking brake and rear bearing changed professionally.

Thanks for you or help.

 

[Ads29]

I imagine the rear brakes wold need cleaning up and adjusting, and obviously the bearing changed (as you said being done by the garage)

As for tyres give some local tyre fitters a ring and give them the tyre size or possibly reg if they're the original size wheels, you'll probably need to source a new (second hand) wheel too to replace the one the mot statiom has failed also. As for prices see what price the garage doing the work gives you and use it when phoning around to see if you can get a better price

 

[sollybolly]

I imagine the rear brakes wold need cleaning up and adjusting, and obviously the bearing changed (as you said being done by the garage)

As for tyres give some local tyre fitters a ring and give them the tyre size or possibly reg if they're the original size wheels, you'll probably need to source a new (second hand) wheel too to replace the one the mot statiom has failed also. As for prices see what price the garage doing the work gives you and use it when phoning around to see if you can get a better price

Thanks for your reply! Why would I need the back brakes cleaned up if the bearing is being changed?
You say I need to also get a new wheel, isn't that the same thing as getting new tyres? The damaged wheel is on the front which needs replacing anyway.

 

[charltjr]

Can't quite believe I'm explaining this but the wheel is the metal bit that sits inside the rubber bit, which is the tyre. Changing the tyre does not mean the wheel gets changed.

If you've a badly damaged wheel as the MoT says you have then that's a safety hazard because it could crack, collapse or fall apart.

The back brakes are likely to need cleaning up and adjusting for the handbrake to work properly. The bearing is a separate issue.

 

[sollybolly]

Excuse my ignorance, although I know the different parts already I didn't know I could get the tyre changed separately from the wheel. It was my understanding that the whole wheel and tyre must be changed together. If it saves me money to have the one wheel's tyre only changed and the other wheel and tyre changed I will do that.

Is my understanding right?

 

[Ads29]

Yes that's exactly it, in theory if the wheel isn't ever damaged then it would last the lifetime of the car, obviously if damaged badly enough it will fail an mot (as yours has) otherwise it is just a case of having the tyre/s replaced once worn, idrally before reaching the legal limit (or through the limit and into the structure of the tyre as yours has)

 

[sollybolly]

Yes that's exactly it, in theory if the wheel isn't ever damaged then it would last the lifetime of the car, obviously if damaged badly enough it will fail an mot (as yours has) otherwise it is just a case of having the tyre/s replaced once worn, idrally before reaching the legal limit (or through the limit and into the structure of the tyre as yours has)

Thanks, I will look into that. Is it likely to cost more than £40 to replace just the tyre tread? Because that's the cost of having a whole new wheel fitted and I may as well get them both done if it costs the same.

 

[James363]

Tyres should be about £40 ish depending on size, look on black circles website, they are quite good, they come out and fit the tyres to the car for you. Getting new wheels with tyres on for £40 is not always a great deal, since the tyres on there may be worn out, so there's not a lot of point replacing a wheel you don't need to replace.

 

[sollybolly]

Tyres should be about £40 ish depending on size, look on black circles website, they are quite good, they come out and fit the tyres to the car for you. Getting new wheels with tyres on for £40 is not always a great deal, since the tyres on there may be worn out, so there's not a lot of point replacing a wheel you don't need to replace.

That sounds interesting. Wouldn't I need to have identical wheels on the front for it to be balanced? If I had one tyre replaced and the other whole wheel replaced I worry they would be unbalanced.

 

[James363]

When you buy your replacement wheel, make sure it looks the same as the one you take off. Type clio wheels into ebay and look for one that looks the same. Ideally all four wheels should match, or it looks horrible. Alternatively, if you upload a pic of your car I'll have a look and send you some ebay listings for matching wheels.

 

[sollybolly]

When you buy your replacement wheel, make sure it looks the same as the one you take off. Type clio wheels into ebay and look for one that looks the same. Ideally all four wheels should match, or it looks horrible. Alternatively, if you upload a pic of your car I'll have a look and send you some ebay listings for matching wheels.

Thank you very much! I shall post some photos tomorrow morning.