Am I being unreasonable? Poor MOT history
Discussion
Hey fellas, so I've been chasing after a nice example of sporty car for around 15k, seems like there's plenty around but most of my viewings were disappointing to say the least.
Anyway, I need some reality check here. Would following fails/advisories put you away/made you question about the upkeep of the car:
Do not drive until repaired (dangerous defects):
Nearside Rear Tyre has ply or cords exposed (5.2.3 (d) (ii))
Monitor and repair if necessary (advisories):
Oil leak, but not excessive (8.4.1 (a) (i))
Front Brake pad(s) wearing thin (1.1.13 (a) (ii))
Offside Rear Inner Tyre worn close to legal limit/worn on edge uneven wear (5.2.3 (e))
Nearside Rear Inner Tyre worn close to legal limit/worn on edge uneven wear (5.2.3 (e))
Offside Rear Nail in tyre ()
Rear Brake pad(s) wearing thin (1.1.13 (a) (ii))
Rear Brake disc worn, but not excessively (1.1.14 (a) (i))
If you are about to do an MOT surely you would check most basic consumables on your car? When I brought it up to a dealer I've been told that I'm wasting their time and it has nothing to do with actual vehicle maintenance, and I've been denied viewing.
What are your thoughts?
Anyway, I need some reality check here. Would following fails/advisories put you away/made you question about the upkeep of the car:
Do not drive until repaired (dangerous defects):
Nearside Rear Tyre has ply or cords exposed (5.2.3 (d) (ii))
Monitor and repair if necessary (advisories):
Oil leak, but not excessive (8.4.1 (a) (i))
Front Brake pad(s) wearing thin (1.1.13 (a) (ii))
Offside Rear Inner Tyre worn close to legal limit/worn on edge uneven wear (5.2.3 (e))
Nearside Rear Inner Tyre worn close to legal limit/worn on edge uneven wear (5.2.3 (e))
Offside Rear Nail in tyre ()
Rear Brake pad(s) wearing thin (1.1.13 (a) (ii))
Rear Brake disc worn, but not excessively (1.1.14 (a) (i))
If you are about to do an MOT surely you would check most basic consumables on your car? When I brought it up to a dealer I've been told that I'm wasting their time and it has nothing to do with actual vehicle maintenance, and I've been denied viewing.
What are your thoughts?
It needs tyres and a set of brake pads. Normal wear and tear items.
If the MOT was done by a garage like one local to me then even if you ask them to service it and replace tyres prior to the MOT then they still MOT it first and fail it before fixing what you already asked them to fix.
If the MOT was done by a garage like one local to me then even if you ask them to service it and replace tyres prior to the MOT then they still MOT it first and fail it before fixing what you already asked them to fix.
Tyres and brakes close to being done but not actually needing to be done is the kind of silly stuff that shouldnt be an issue unless youre one of those people that has enough money to get things done way earlier than necessary.
The nail, well it happens.
The badly worn tyre with cords exposed - maybe an issue.
Most people dont ever check this stuff though.
The nail, well it happens.
The badly worn tyre with cords exposed - maybe an issue.
Most people dont ever check this stuff though.
Sconner said:
If you are about to do an MOT surely you would check most basic consumables on your car?
The vast, vast majority of people don't.The MOT check, for them, is when the need to replace these consumables comes to light.
My Dad used to run an MOT station. We had cars failing all the time for wiper blades, blown bulbs, tyres, brakes, etc.
It doesn't suggest a fastidious owner, but then fastidious owners are very rare so I wouldn't pass up the opportunity to buy the car if it otherwise checks out OK.
To me it screams that the owner doesn't care about the car and/or ran it on a shoestring. Those are the sorts of advisories I would expect to see on a £1K shed, not on a £15K sportscar.
If the car was otherwise immaculate then it wouldn't put me off, but I suspect the whole car is going to be in a similar state to the tyres and brakes.
If the car was otherwise immaculate then it wouldn't put me off, but I suspect the whole car is going to be in a similar state to the tyres and brakes.
Joey Deacon said:
To me it screams that the owner doesn't care about the car and/or ran it on a shoestring. Those are the sorts of advisories I would expect to see on a £1K shed, not on a £15K sportscar.
If the car was otherwise immaculate then it wouldn't put me off, but I suspect the whole car is going to be in a similar state to the tyres and brakes.
Well my £50k ish sports car has had similar advisories over the last few years. Pads wearing thin three years ago, No report on same pads two years ago, Pads wearing thin again (on same pads) last year, still no wear sensors triggered and when i take it to the dealer for services, where they measure them properly they still have 30% plus of life even now. Similar with tyres, reporting low tread when 3.5mm at minimum point.If the car was otherwise immaculate then it wouldn't put me off, but I suspect the whole car is going to be in a similar state to the tyres and brakes.
Some testers just seem to report these if they think they might be a problem before the next MOT if you do 20k miles in the year, its fair enough but doesnt mean the owner is lax on maint.
I knew the tyres on my £5k sports car were low when I put it in for its first MOT in my ownership.
My reasoning for not changing them was that if it failed on a laundry list for different things, I'd probably be cutting my losses and feel salty about just dropping £500 on a set of shiny new Michelins only to not get to enjoy them.
As it happened, it sailed through with 1 advisory that wasn't tyres - so got treated to a nice new set of boots (and a rear drop link to tick off the remaining advisory!
).
I'm not sure I'd have the same attitude with a £15k car as a £5k one ... but could see how someone else would.
My reasoning for not changing them was that if it failed on a laundry list for different things, I'd probably be cutting my losses and feel salty about just dropping £500 on a set of shiny new Michelins only to not get to enjoy them.
As it happened, it sailed through with 1 advisory that wasn't tyres - so got treated to a nice new set of boots (and a rear drop link to tick off the remaining advisory!
).I'm not sure I'd have the same attitude with a £15k car as a £5k one ... but could see how someone else would.
I don't wanna put an advert to not shame this dealership as the opinions are mixed. But for those interested it's a Focus ST-3 from 2016 advertised just shy of 16k, came in from part exchange.
On another note, just finished viewing Astra VXR GTC with off colour front bumper, closer inspection revealed inside panels were not matching. Seller was very surprised of course
I'm growing tired of this, I might just roll with lease deal and have it over with
On another note, just finished viewing Astra VXR GTC with off colour front bumper, closer inspection revealed inside panels were not matching. Seller was very surprised of course
I'm growing tired of this, I might just roll with lease deal and have it over with
Lots of people buy cars without really understanding the ins and outs. My wife would never even consider checking brake pads, that's why MOTs are so important. Doesn't mean she doesn't care about the car.
Equally, a recent service on my shed came back warning me that the front tyres were down to the cord right on the inside. They'd only been changed 18 months and 8k miles ago and looked fine elsewhere. Tracking was out but I never noticed! Shameful
Equally, a recent service on my shed came back warning me that the front tyres were down to the cord right on the inside. They'd only been changed 18 months and 8k miles ago and looked fine elsewhere. Tracking was out but I never noticed! Shameful
Muzzer79 said:
Sconner said:
If you are about to do an MOT surely you would check most basic consumables on your car?
The vast, vast majority of people don't.The MOT check, for them, is when the need to replace these consumables comes to light.
My Dad used to run an MOT station. We had cars failing all the time for wiper blades, blown bulbs, tyres, brakes, etc.
It doesn't suggest a fastidious owner, but then fastidious owners are very rare so I wouldn't pass up the opportunity to buy the car if it otherwise checks out OK.
Your average 'non car' person is simply not capable (nor interested in) checking discs, pads, oil leaks etc prior to an MOT - that's what the MOT is for.
Those items sound like a car that hasn't been well looked after, possibly thrashed and sold on quickly before a service or bill was due. Not too surprising for the type of car but would warrant a good close inspection as long as the price took the above into account.
More worrying is the attitude of the dealer. If that is an indication of how they will be with you before a purchase then if you have problems later they don't sound the helpful types.
They are a fairly common car so I would be tempted to find another.
More worrying is the attitude of the dealer. If that is an indication of how they will be with you before a purchase then if you have problems later they don't sound the helpful types.
They are a fairly common car so I would be tempted to find another.
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