Nose-to-tail parking and the small things that fail the MOT
Around Bensham Manor and the streets off the High Street, Victorian terraces have parking on both sides and room for one car at a time. Cars park nose to tail and edge past each other with inches to spare. That's how number plates get cracked, rear lamps broken and door mirrors knocked once too often. A plate that's damaged or hard to read, a mirror so damaged that the view behind is lost, or a lamp lens broken so the bulb shows white light to the rear can all fail the MOT.
None of those are expensive, but they're frustrating to fail on. It's worth walking round the car before the test with the lights on. Check the number plates are secure, clean and legible, that the indicators, brake lights and number plate lamps all work, and that the horn sounds. Simple items like these can often be put right in minutes, and if the car is with us for the test we'll quote before replacing anything.
The main roads bring bigger wear. The A23 London Road queues towards Thornton Heath Pond, and Brigstock Road past Thornton Heath Library is narrow and busy with buses, so both are hard on brakes. Plenty of Thornton Heath cars are older petrols and diesels doing private hire or daily commuting, so pads, discs and suspension bushes often appear on the advisory or failure list. If the car fails, we explain each item plainly and give you a written quote, and the partial retest within 10 working days is free if the repair is done here.
We're about 5 miles away. Take Thornton Road from the Pond to the Lombard roundabout, then the A236 west past Therapia Lane and across Mitcham Common, and turn left down Carshalton Road into Hackbridge. The test takes 45 to 60 minutes, and repairs carry our 3-month workmanship warranty.