To Whom it may concern,
I am writing to you following the MOT test of my Ford Puma (Registration R154 RCY) carried out by ATS Euromaster at 122 Coity Road, Bridgend on 9th May 2009, which has left me concerned and significantly out of pocket.
The car had failed the MOT on a few areas of corrosion to the bodywork and emissions/Lambda readings being out of tolerances (Please see attached pictures showing MOT failure forms). I had the corrective work carried out at a significant cost to myself and had the car re-MOT'd at another garage on 19th June 2009 due to tight time constraints. This second garage found a significant number of additional faults that should have been picked up during the first MOT at ATS. These faults include...
Offside front brake pipe excessively corroded [3.6.B.2c]
Offside rear brake pipe excessively corroded [3.6.B.2c]
Nearside rear brake pipe excessively corroded [3.6.B.2c]
Offside rear coil spring incomplete [2.4.C.1a] **DANGEROUS**
Offside rear (main) suspension arm has excessive play in pin/bush [2.4.G.3]
Nearside rear (main) suspension arm has excessive play in pin/bush [2.4.G.3]
There were also a number of advisories that were not picked up on. I have attached several pictures showing the areas of concern. The following is a link to a 22MB ZIP file containing several more photos of each component. Unfortunately, I was unable to attach them to the email due to the 10MB attachment limit. Please also find the links below to two videos showing the play in the nearside and offside trailing arm bush. I am no mechanic but even I can see that the bush requires replacement.
http://m0nkfish.co.uk/PumaPictures.zip - Zip file containing more photos.
http://s36.photobucket.com/albums/e42/Mikey_Monkfish/Puma/?action=view¤t=100_6932.flv - Video of nearside trailing arm bush
http://s36.photobucket.com/albums/e42/Mikey_Monkfish/Puma/?action=view¤t=100_6936.flv - Video of offside trailing arm bush
I approached the ATS branch earlier today and spoke to who I assume to be the Manager and also the person that carried out the MOT. They were both less than helpful regarding the matter and had suggested I take it up with Llynfi Lane Garage and VOSA. I found the attitudes of both members of staff to be both arrogant and, worst of all, totally ignorant of my complaint and concerns. Had the car been checked thoroughly in the first instance, I would have known the full extent of the faults and I very much doubt I would have carried out any correctly work on the car, opting to break it and/or sell it for spares. As it happens, I have spent in excess of £300 having corrective welding work carried out, purchasing a new lambda sensor, oil, plugs and filters to service the car in preparation for the re-test. The additional failures on the car that have been picked up by the second garage are already totalling £350 and that cost may well increase further. The car is probably worth £800-900, so the repairs aren't economical.
My other concern is that had I had the car re-tested at ATS and it had passed because the same faults were missed the second time around, I'd have been driving around in a car wholly unsuitable for use on public roads. The consequences of a piece of spring coming free and fouling the wheel don't even bear thinking about, especially given that I travel on the M4 a lot.
I would appreciate it if you could confirm when you have received this email and keep me informed of the progress of any investigative action that may result. Should any further clarification or information be required, I am available on my mobile: xxxxx xxxxxx.
Kind Regards
), the sort of sporty cars I'd be wanting (Corsa D SRi, Fiesta ST, Focus ST, Fiat 500 Abarth, Clio 197) are all around 15k and even with 2k off I still can't realistically afford the finance.