V70 Suspension: MOT advisories - ballpark repair costs

[marcb]

Our 2005 2.5T V70 (112,000 miles) has passed its MOT as usual but with advisories. It's been some time since I've had any work done on it so wondering what is worth doing and how much parts + labour. We are in Hackney, London.

Front disks/pads - obviously will do these but what should I be paying.
Think I'll also change the brake fluid.

Anti-roll bars front and rear - corroded not seriously weakened.

Rear coil springs - corroded.

On another note - it has four recent tyres as someone slashed all of them when parked not far from home. I ride my bike down there now...

[Kev0607]

Originally Posted by marcb

Our 2005 2.5T V70 (112,000 miles) has passed its MOT as usual but with advisories. It's been some time since I've had any work done on it so wondering what is worth doing and how much parts + labour. We are in Hackney, London.

Front disks/pads - obviously will do these but what should I be paying.
Think I'll also change the brake fluid.

Anti-roll bars front and rear - corroded not seriously weakened.

Rear coil springs - corroded.

On another note - it has four recent tyres as someone slashed all of them when parked not far from home. I ride my bike down there now...

I can't really give an exact figure on labour, as prices vary between different garages/locations. Plus, it depends on if you're using genuine parts or aftermarket. Here's an approximate guess;

Rear coil springs corroded - Nothing to worry about. So long as they aren't cracked, they're still fine. You could, if you wanted, spray them with some kind of rust protection at home yourself. I wouldn't be so concerned with rusty springs... its a 19 year old car.

Anti roll bar links - £70 for the rear. £60 for the front. Good brand like Lemforder.

Front discs - £140-£150 for say Brembo

Front pads - £50, also Brembo

Brake fluid isn't dear. You can get 1L of that for around £11.

So parts wise, you'd be looking around £340 ish...

Labour probably 3.5 hours, that's replace the brakes, drop links front and rear and change the brake fluid. As you're in London according to your profile, that could be more expensive than other places in the country. Say £80 per hour as a rough guess... £280.

Ball park figure, £650 + VAT to have it all done.

[100K+]

I read OP as anti roll bars, not the drop links, ( which are a usual fail point)
As Kev0607 says don't worry about "corroded" comments 99% of time its of no significance..
If it is Anti roll bars, I'd treat as per spring
Cheers Bob

[Tannaton]

Originally Posted by 100K+

I read OP as anti roll bars, not the drop links, ( which are a usual fail point)
As Kev0607 says don't worry about "corroded" comments 99% of time its of no significance..
If it is Anti roll bars, I'd treat as per spring
Cheers Bob

^^^^^^^ That, don't worry about the "corroded but not seriously weakened" comments. It's just a frustrated testing not finding anything more on a 20 year old car.

[Andymharrison]

Originally Posted by Tannaton

^^^^^^^ That, don't worry about the "corroded but not seriously weakened" comments. It's just a frustrated testing not finding anything more on a 20 year old car.

+1 on that, took our old Kia to a dealer, came back with a list of failures as long as your arm, including brake pipes severely corroded and dangerous.

Seemed odd as nothing at all year before so took it to a small back street garage, he wiped the pipes over with a damp cloth and said, not corroded at all, like new under the mud. Passed it with a single advisory.

Used him for many years now, sadly he's slowly winding down due to the complexity and cost of working on newer cars.

[Roy V70 850]

Had corroded springs on MOT ever since I bought the car 5 years ago. In fact for the last 2 MOTs, they gave up putting in on. I also get suspension corroded. I replace the parts when they become serious and ignore the rest, otherwise you’re into spending a Huge amount of money.

Also the dmf has been chattering since I bought the car. Still holding out on this one. Hope the parts are still available when it finally needs doing.

———————————————————————
2004 V70 D5 163bhp 180k miles manual.

[Kev0607]

Originally Posted by 100K+

I read OP as anti roll bars, not the drop links, ( which are a usual fail point)
As Kev0607 says don't worry about "corroded" comments 99% of time its of no significance..
If it is Anti roll bars, I'd treat as per spring
Cheers Bob

Yes, good point. I missed that.

Its probably not the drop links, its the anti-rollbar's themselves that are rusty. A bit of spray should sort that.

[Georgeandkira]

"Brake fluid isn't dear. You can get 1L of that for around £11."

It's not just the cost of the brake fluid.
Opening each bleeder valve in turn will take time as will activating the ABS controller (to rid it of old fluid too).
If any bleeder nipple breaks, they'll either address it or let you live with it.

Do MOT inspectors notice shorn (broken) bleeder nipples?

I'm just pointing this out because a number like 11 UKP might lay the groundwork for tummy upset when the bill comes.

[stuart bowes]

if you're bleeding brakes definitely makes sense to buy a set of nipples in advance and just swap them out as you go

I find they chew up quite easily especially if it's not been done in a few years. and they're so cheap

[Georgeandkira]

"I find they chew up quite easily especially if it's not been done in a few years. and they're so cheap"
That's for sure but you often can't find them.