Are there any car mechanics about?

[bobmac]

I need some advice please.
I'm looking for a new (new to me) car and I found a nice Nissan Leaf not too far away.
The dealer had it mot'd yesterday and although it passed there were 2 advisories
Nearside and offside Front Lower Suspension arm pin or bush worn but not resulting in excessive movement (5.3.4 (a) (i))
Is this going to be expensive to fix in the future and should it put me off buying the car?
It's this car

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classi...na&fuel-type=Electric&postcode=ng348xf&page=1

Thanks for any advice

 

[Blue in Munich]

The mechanic I’m currently having a beer pre match with reckons 2 hours labour, a 4 wheel alignment afterwards and parts. 4 wheel alignment down this way is £150ish but that is the most expensive part of the country.

The rub with the parts is the arms can either be an exchange unit with the bushes already fitted so it’s just a simple swap over or you buy the bushes as a separate item so arm off, drive the old bushes out, press the new ones in and refit. The latter is the cheaper option in terms of parts but will put the labour up as the time will be longer.

You don’t want to know his parts estimate as he’s a Jaguar and Aston Martin mechanic 😳

 

[bobmac]

Thanks. A hefty bill then

 

[Blue in Munich]

Depends on the actual prices your way Bob. Don’t know how much garage labour is your way and the actual parts prices.

What would worry me more than the actual bill is why an relatively new and low mileage car (I assume haven’t checked your link) would need them; my near 13 year old 95,000 mile Subaru hasn’t needed any suspension parts in my 10 years and 80,000 miles of ownership... 🤔

 

[bobmac]

Its a 2015, 22,000 miles

 

[Blue in Munich]

Barge don’t with it touch pole a.

Rearrange. 😉

 

[chrisd]

HID has a 15 plate Leaf Bob and its sailed through Mot

 

[GreiginFife]

So the dealer has MOT'd it and is happy to sell it with advisories? That would ring bells in my head.
Decent dealer would take the hit on that to ensure 100% road worthiness.

I am a mechanic, although not worked as one for 20 years but still keep my hand in.
Labour of about £40-50 per hour is normal and parts of about £70 per side (not sure if the pin can be replaced without the whole arm as most are pressed in constructions these days) 2-3 hours depending on any corrosion to release bolts etc.

Just ballpark mind and depends if the pin is a unit part or can be bought individually.

If done right, it shouldn't affect balance or tracking.

 

[bobmac]

I've emailed the dealer about the problems, no reply yet

 

[Slime]

In my experience, some MOT testers are just too fussy.
The car is a used car, so the bush are going to have some degree of wear on them. The movement is not excessive.
My immediate thought would be .................. why mention it!
It wasn't worth mentioning 1200 miles earlier when the car had it's previous MOT.
I'd ask the dealer to change them, but that alone wouldn't put me off the car.

 

[drdel]

Its a 2015, 22,000 miles

If that type of car has suspension issues at 22,000 I'd be wonder whether the low mileage has been adjusted or that it had a particularly hard life what's the wear like on the pedals/seats. How many owners and are they contactable?

What's the HPI and DVLA MOT record?

 

[bobmac]

The dealer is going to replace them, along with new discs and brake pads already done.
Collect on Monday

Thanks everybody

 

[GreiginFife]

In my experience, some MOT testers are just too fussy.
The car is a used car, so the bush are going to have some degree of wear on them. The movement is not excessive.
My immediate thought would be .................. why mention it!
It wasn't worth mentioning 1200 miles earlier when the car had it's previous MOT.
I'd ask the dealer to change them, but that alone wouldn't put me off the car.

This is the fault of the rule changes IMO. Testers have been left with too much discretion and subjectivity on things like "too much play". Old rules were fine but, again, DoT changed for change sake.

 

[Slime]

The dealer is going to replace them, along with new discs and brake pads already done.
Collect on Monday

Thanks everybody

Wow, they're going to have to fix them quickly.
Don't collect in the morning, it probably won't be ready.
Oh, and make sure you bed the new pads/discs in properly. A couple of hundred GENTLE miles will probably do it.

 

[Piece]

The dealer is going to replace them, along with new discs and brake pads already done.
Collect on Monday

Thanks everybody

If Dealer wants to sell then dealer needs to fix advisories, so the above is the right answer.

 

[richart]

Wow, they're going to have to fix them quickly.
Don't collect in the morning, it probably won't be ready.
Oh, and make sure you bed the new pads/discs in properly. A couple of hundred GENTLE miles will probably do it.

Can’t imagine Bob doing anything but GENTLE miles.

 

[User62651]

I need some advice please.
I'm looking for a new (new to me) car and I found a nice Nissan Leaf not too far away.
The dealer had it mot'd yesterday and although it passed there were 2 advisories
Nearside and offside Front Lower Suspension arm pin or bush worn but not resulting in excessive movement (5.3.4 (a) (i))
Is this going to be expensive to fix in the future and should it put me off buying the car?
It's this car

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201911023959962?price-to=11000&onesearchad=Used&onesearchad=Nearly New&onesearchad=New&year-from=2015&price-from=10000&advertising-location=at_cars&make=NISSAN&model=LEAF&radius=1500&sort=relevance&aggregatedTrim=Tekna&fuel-type=Electric&postcode=ng348xf&page=1

Thanks for any advice

Getting this done on our hyundai next week, think it's metal on metal now! -£440 quoted but we're also getting the anti roll bar linkages done too (they are cheap, it's the suspension arms that cost). 2 hours labour priced so parts costs mainly. Probably be cheaper if it was a ford. Not good but they've really worsened since advisories in summer.

 

[USER1999]

Surely the best way to bed in new brakes is to hammer them. Braking like driving miss daisy will achieve nothing.

 

[GreiginFife]

Wow, they're going to have to fix them quickly.
Don't collect in the morning, it probably won't be ready.
Oh, and make sure you bed the new pads/discs in properly. A couple of hundred GENTLE miles will probably do it.

It's a Leaf, there isn't anything BUT gentle miles...

 

[USER1999]

It's a Leaf, there isn't anything BUT gentle miles...

Surprisingly quick over the first 3 ft.