Free MOT Offer - is there a catch?

[curiousgeorge]

I was going to take up Audi's offer of a free MOT.

Has anyone had any eperience with this? My dad took his car to Kwik Fit for a 'free' MOT and they wouldn't let him take it back without paying to have work done, ended up spending over £300.

Is there any risk at an Audi dealer?

[zollaf]

kwik fit were obviously breaking the law. your dad should have contacted trading standards. there is no risk at any garage, so long as you know your rights.

[dorkingvw-audi]

Hi,
I would be a little skeptical about a free MOT. Their site says "retests are chargable". If you have a split wiper blade or a brake light bulb out the car will fail, that in theory means you will need to pay for a re-test. Your better of finding somewhere locally that offers a reduced MOT test free and free re-testing as we do.
Hope that helps.
Amy @ Tutts of Dorking
www.tuttsofdorking.co.uk

Ps LOL at Kwik-Fit...... where do they get their front from?! Daylight robbery!

[sooty]

Hi,
I would be a little skeptical about a free MOT. Their site says "retests are chargable". If you have a split wiper blade or a brake light bulb out the car will fail, that in theory means you will need to pay for a re-test.

Hmm I never thought about that.

I guess that if you go to a normal garage then you pay your MOT fee and if there for example is a faulty bulb you can pay for the bulb have it fitted and pass the MOT without having to do a retest?

[dorkingvw-audi]

Yes exactly ;)

[stuart]

You get nothing for nothing in my opinion.....

Stuart

[davidfbmw]

i used the free mot last year and they failed it on a number plate light,they replaced it and just charged for the part.
the way it works is if it fails the either do the repairs or the mot is chargable

[curiousgeorge]

So if it fails I can't just take it elsewhere for a second opinion without paying?

Surely that's against the law. If they're giving me a free MOT then that covers the labour involved finding the fault.

Otherwise what's to stop them making up a fault which will mean mepaying them either way??

And I don't get this 'retest' rubbish. They should test it once, fix any faults and be done with it. Why would you have to retest a wiper you've just replacerd?

[davidfbmw]

So if it fails I can't just take it elsewhere for a second opinion without paying?

Surely that's against the law. If they're giving me a free MOT then that covers the labour involved finding the fault.

Otherwise what's to stop them making up a fault which will mean mepaying them either way??

And I don't get this 'retest' rubbish. They should test it once, fix any faults and be done with it. Why would you have to retest a wiper you've just replacerd?

fraid not,like i said mine failed,they rung me up so i told them to repair it,they rang later to say it was done and when i got there it was going back in for a retest on a number plate light.
they had to change all the unit at a cost of approx £10

[AxeMurderer]

There was no catch for me.

It passed the free MoT, they gave me a lift to work and back, cleaned the car, and investigated a couple of non-MoT faults. All for £0.

If I have any gripe, they could have tried to sell me a new(er) car...

Parklands, Gloucester - credit where it is due.

[Eshrules]

So if it fails I can't just take it elsewhere for a second opinion without paying?

Surely that's against the law. If they're giving me a free MOT then that covers the labour involved finding the fault.

Otherwise what's to stop them making up a fault which will mean mepaying them either way??

And I don't get this 'retest' rubbish. They should test it once, fix any faults and be done with it. Why would you have to retest a wiper you've just replacerd?

A retest isn't always a full retest. Some are partial, something like a wiper you ought to have sorted yourself before you MOT'd it so one would suggest pointing the finger at yourself for that one....

as for the free MOT, if you're not happy with the terms under which it's offered, you don't have to take it, it's an opt-in offer and would hardly be worth their while doing if they didn't charge you for the repairs and/or MOT.

[NickPicks]

I had my last MOT test at Audi under their free offer. They took it to a local MOT tester, who failed it on a split CV gaiter, and a worn track rod end. Both of which were reasonable (When I had the alignment done, they said the rod end was worn but not excessively - different opinion)
Audi phoned me to let me know and gave me prices. I said I'd think about it and collected the car. They'd also cleaned it for me.

Total cost £0.

I was going to do the work myself, but it was snowing, so I got my local garage to do it and test it.

I thought it was a good service. It's obviously a loss leader in the hope that if it fails you'll jsut get them to do the work for the convenience.

For those of you who have had to pay for a retest following a blown bulb / defective wiper blade: Didn't you walk around the car and check the lights, wipers and horn work just before taking it in for the test? I know we can't all get underneath to check the condition of things like exhausts and suspension, but checking the lights is a couple of minutes work and saves the hassle of a fail for such a simple thing.

[RickT]

You get nothing for nothing in my opinion.....

Stuart


I have used Audi for my last 2 MOTS, not had any issues, ie.. no fails, and either has my dad or a couple of mates..

My dads is booked in again in a couple of weeks for his next free one..

The reason Audi are doing this is to get private customers into the dealerships, to try and sell cars, plus, try and get your business if your car does need anything.

If you car needs anything, get audi to quote it, then go to another garage and get the work done which they advise you to change on the fail sheet, then PAY for a MOT, your still not losing anything, as the car SHOULD of failed at any other MOT station.

Some AUDI dealerships DO NOT EVEN have their own MOT bays and testers, they sub contract it to another local approved garage to carry out the test.

Rick

Rick

[royleblue]

I was a bit confused at the two options on the Audi website so I called my local dealer, but the girl I spoke to didn't seem to know much either.
The way I read it to get the free MOTs you need to have the car serviced at an Audi centre. I had mine serviced at my local Skoda dealer (easier to get to and half the price) so I think I will have to go for the £49.99 MOT insurance offer. Am I reading this right?
I was going to take it to Audi anyway for its first MOT so if it fails on anything that is covered by the warranty they can fix it.

[NikB]

I have also used the free MOT, I took my car in and they mot'd it, wash it, hoovered it gave me a courtesy car for the day and had a smile and a passed MOT certificate for me when I returned, thank you Lincoln Audi,
and for the scepticts out there my car has 135k on the clock, but granted if it had of failed I'm sure I would have been happy paying for the repairs as I hadn't paid the £40-50 for the MOT :-)

I guess I'm trying to say it worked for me.

[RickT]

Does anyone have the link??

it seems they are no longer offering this ??

This is the only link i found

[6910ewan]

You get nothing for nothing in my opinion.....

Stuart
Well...............i took up the offer via Glasgow Audi and after doing the front brakes myself the car flew the MOT and not only did they valet the car but they also waved the £20 fee for the courtesy car !!

[nortona6]

Teeside Audi tried to rip me off with fabricated faults twice, declined fix offer and went elsewhere as I knew the faults highlighted were not faults. Infact this dealer missed a very badly worn CV joint which could have been fatal if traveling at motorway speed.
Needless to say I complained but to no avail, totally impempetant if you ask me and would not use this service again.....ever.

[Eshrules]

Teeside Audi tried to rip me off with fabricated faults twice, declined fix offer and went elsewhere as I knew the faults highlighted were not faults. Infact this dealer missed a very badly worn CV joint which could have been fatal if traveling at motorway speed.
Needless to say I complained but to no avail, totally impempetant if you ask me and would not use this service again.....ever.

what would be handy is if you could post up the fail sheet from Audi and the subsequent pass sheet from the 2nd garage.

I'm intrigued as to what faults a main Audi dealer would fabricate, I'd have hoped their franchise was worth too much to them to risk such practices

[nortona6]

what would be handy is if you could post up the fail sheet from Audi and the subsequent pass sheet from the 2nd garage.

I'm intrigued as to what faults a main Audi dealer would fabricate, I'd have hoped their franchise was worth too much to them to risk such practices

This is what I thought regarding a main Audi dealer. Sorry unable to post fail and pass certs, no scanner. I have a meeting with The Head of Business tomorrow so will keep you posted on outcome. He wants the mechanic and myself to inspect the car, so see what happens!!!!

[nortona6]

Well...............i took up the offer via Glasgow Audi and after doing the front brakes myself the car flew the MOT and not only did they valet the car but they also waved the £20 fee for the courtesy car !!

I wish....I wish....I wish. Thats spot on and good on your local dealer

[amac23]

Ok for me at Shrewsbury Audi. Very helpful, talked me through some points of concern. Car failed on a tyre. I brought the car back three hours later with a new tyre and got a pass. First class service.

[karena]

I regret using this promotion - took my tt in to oxford audi and it failed on emissions (done 40,000 miles) - 'unsure' if it would pass if they renewed the middle box and ofcourse it did pass but cost me a lot, next time will get it mot's elsewhere.

[Eshrules]

I regret using this promotion - took my tt in to oxford audi and it failed on emissions (done 40,000 miles) - 'unsure' if it would pass if they renewed the middle box and ofcourse it did pass but cost me a lot, next time will get it mot's elsewhere.

but the middle box would have still needed fitting? if it cost that much, wouldn't it have been wiser to pay the MOT fee and get it repaired elsewhere?

[benjie]

Had my second free MOT done yesterday at Swindon Audi (used the offer last year too) and car passed, 2 advisories, car cleaned in and out (and the inside was dirty) also got taken home in a lovely 2.7TDI A4!

[karena]

mine was cleaned externally. would have been good to have the inside cleaned, but hey ho will be going elsewhere in the future - anyone recommend a good independent audi garage in the oxford area:D

[curiousgeorge]

Just reporting back, had my MOT at Audi Whetstone with a full service and there were no extra charges, even charged me a bit less than the quoted £249.

Also cleaned inside and out, but no spare oil this time.

Just realised from the Audi web site) that the free MOT offer is only valid if you have your car serviced at the same time...

[b1llyf1sh]

Had my free MOT at Northampton Audi today and I was very impressed. Passed with 2 advisorys, rear pads and cracked front numberplate. They did an interim service for £99 and offered a courtesy car, but I didn't need one. Couldn't be happier. I've never been near a main dealer for service items before and now I see no reason to go anywhere else

[SAiLO]

I went for it last year with my '04 a3 and it passed no problems. Docklands Audi.

[royleblue]

Had my A4 MOTd today at Teesside Audi. Didn't cost a penny even though I didn't get it serviced there. Took about an hour while they kept me topped up with coffee and buscuits. Car paased without problem and they also carried out a 'health check' - fluids, pads etc. Cleaned inside and out. Even painted the tyres. My faith is restored :D

[vwcabriolet1971]

It would be prudent to check the terms & conditions of the "free offer"

[benjie]

It would, and it is genuinely free. Used it twice now & the car passed both times. It was returned to me cleaned inside & out both times and they replaced a few bulbs free of charge.