7 year MOT gap

[Calmulhoon]

Thinking of buying a Rav 4 for camping etc. MOT history has a 7 year gap.Yeah it might have been stood or parked on a barn but 7 years? Advice needed please; Run for the hills or have a look?

[steveo3002]

go look at it ...might have sat in a heated garage or up to its sills in mud all that time

[Calmulhoon]

What should I be looking for? I'll obviously give it a run but are there things I need to visually check without dragging a mate with me? I'm clueless.

[Trevor555]

It could have been kept/used abroad in that time?

What has the seller said?

[Trevor555]

Calmulhoon said:

What should I be looking for? I'll obviously give it a run but are there things I need to visually check without dragging a mate with me? I'm clueless.

Drag a mate with you if you're clueless.

Underbody corrosion is just one of the things you need to check for.

[Calmulhoon]

I'll need to get a mate first.. Thanks, one area to consider.

[Carbon Sasquatch]

Can the seller not explain ?

The first thing I'd do is ask them - then decide whether that's credible

[Calmulhoon]

Not contacted seller yet. Thought there might be something glaringly obvious I hadn't considered, trying to get some advice first.

[Carbon Sasquatch]

Abroad is all I can really think of - but then it should also have been registered overseas & the v5 will only show it returning to the UK.

Sniff test really - ask the seller & decide

[Welshbeef]

Carbon Sasquatch said:

Abroad is all I can really think of - but then it should also have been registered overseas & the v5 will only show it returning to the UK.

Sniff test really - ask the seller & decide

Possibly doing some bird (porridge /jail time).

Possibly in the forces / overseas

[Funky Squirrel]

Only mainland MOT show on the online portal. If car was elsewhere eg Norn Iron then it will be missing there.

[SydneyBridge]

Would Mot show if it was on a private plate for a while?

[HustleRussell]

SydneyBridge said:

Would Mot show if it was on a private plate for a while?

This.

[cuprabob]

SydneyBridge said:

Would Mot show if it was on a private plate for a while?

Yes.

As previous post has said, it could have been in Northern Ireland during the missing period.

[Carbon Sasquatch]

cuprabob said:

SydneyBridge said:

Would Mot show if it was on a private plate for a while?

Yes.

As previous post has said, it could have been in Northern Ireland during the missing period.

If NI then it will also show as an import on the v5 - and number of owners will start from the point of import. It will also show as an import on any 'check' type databases.

[samoht]

Carbon Sasquatch said:

If NI then it will also show as an import on the v5 - and number of owners will start from the point of import. It will also show as an import on any 'check' type databases.

GB-sold cars can go to NI and come back to GB and not show as imported, nothing different from a car that's always lived in GB apart from a gap in the online MoT history.

[Carbon Sasquatch]

samoht said:

GB-sold cars can go to NI and come back to GB and not show as imported, nothing different from a car that's always lived in GB apart from a gap in the online MoT history.

You'd have thought so - but sadly not the case.

I had a GB registered car - it went to NI for a few years & then came back. The DVLA & DVA are not linked up.

It shows as an imported car with DVLA & shows up as such on HPI checks. So CarWow & the like won't value it.

It doesn't help that it is referred to as a UK import - rather than a GB import which all adds to the confusion..

Confirmation source, HPI -

https://www.hpi.co.uk/guides/vehicle-jargon-terms-...

[Decky_Q]

You've got an unusual result, I live in NI and work in England so have taken cars back and forth for years and never had any import markers put on any car or commercial. Once the English reg is looking a bit older I swap to a NI reg to hide the age, and still no import markers.

I think DVA or whoever's cocked yours up, you cant import export to the same jurisdiction as far as i know (I'm maybe 20 vehicles in at this point).

ETA thinking about it, in order to import a car you would have to go through IVA, NOVA, and then apply for reg plates, this did not happen coming from NI, I am pretty sure of it unless proven otherwise.

Edited by Decky_Q on Friday 1st July 15:33

[georgeyboy12345]

Calmulhoon said:

Not contacted seller yet. Thought there might be something glaringly obvious I hadn't considered, trying to get some advice first.

Have you contacted the seller yet? What did they say?

[MrGTI6]

HustleRussell said:

SydneyBridge said:

Would Mot show if it was on a private plate for a while?

This.

100% not this.

Possibly used in NI (or abroad), or maybe it had been off the road in that time. How many miles did it cover during that 7-year period?