Thanks guys - I tried. Politely explained to the mech that as a free
floating assembly, VW said the wheels would effectively be "dangling"
when the car is jacked, and what he described as "excessive movement"
they considered normal. Explained that for this reason VW test Mk3
suspensions *on the ground*, with a shaker plate, and routinely pass
cars brought to them which have failed MOTs on this technicality.

So he says, come down he'll show me the problem. He jacks up the car,
puts a bar under a front wheel and demonstrated that the wheel could
be lifted up and down by approx an inch, said other side is the same.
I said OK.. that's expected according to VW.. and doesn't it strike
you as odd that both sides behave exactly the same? Now *I* would't
know if an inch is too much movement (opinions pls..) but this was
adamant he wouldn't pass it unless the top mounts were replaced, so
I'm getting nowhere.

Also I read that...    http://www.motester.co.uk/st7.html
"...unless that joint is really ready to ‘pop-out’, the VOSA creed is
“pass and advise”"

Anyway, took it to another MOT centre it passed.

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I think this is good advice.  Try and resolve it amicably, and with a
bit of luck they will refund you.  If not, I think you certainly
should be able to take the matter further.  You should not have to pay
for defective services, and an MOT is no different. Whether the best
option is to sue for such a small amount of money (remember you will
need proof that they got their advice wrong - they new MOT certificate
from another garage alone may not be sufficient) or complain through
the authorities is another matter.

Many years ago I made the same mistake when testing a VW and on that
occasion the customer had simply returned to the garage and it was
quickly sorted out without any fuss. Less experienced testers do make
these mistakes from time to time.

j

Just had a test centre fail my Mk3 Golf, cause : "front macpherson
strut has excessive movement in the upper support bearing assembly".
This is reported for both front sides. He said when the car was
lifted, there was 1cm (or 1in.. can't remember) of play.

I have since spoken to VW and two other garages, and they all say this
sort of play is standard by design - VW said they have never seen a
car fail an MOT with such a fault on one side, let alone both.

One of the other garages I spoke to offered to double check this for
free, and will do the MOT for free (charging only if it passes). They
only do MOTs, so are obviously not scouting for work. However I've
already paid the initial tester and have 10 days for a retest. I feel
if they are in error I'm owed my money back, but I don't know how to
approach this situation. I'm guessing if I straighten them out on this
point and go back for the restest, there's a chance other faults and
expenses may materialize.

Any suggestions on how to deal with this?

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