The MOT gamble?

[mjb1]

So, I'm selling one of my vehicles - it's a car derived van. But the MOT runs out in 10 days time. It's 9 years old, and I'm hoping to get about £1600 for it.

The question is, do I try and sell it with practically no test left on it (which must be off putting to any potential buyer), or do I try and put it through a new test at cost to myself? If it passes, then it should easily increase the value by more than the cost of the test, but if it fails, I could be facing a significant repair bill, or the prospect of selling it much cheaper. I've owned it for over five years and it has never failed a test before, so I think it's worth a shot.

What to do?

[alfabadass]

It's going to look suspicious selling it before the MOT but it'll still sell IMO

[danjama]

Attempt to sell. If it doesn't sell before the test, do the test. Then edit the ad/price to reflect.

[inman999]

A full MOT is worth a couple of hundred quid I reckon so I'd be inclined to put it through. It will make it much more saleable even if you don't make anymore money overall.

[hornetrider]

Give it an MOT. I wouldn't touch a car with <1 month MOT with a six foot pole.

[555 Paul]

strange question this one, I'd put it through an MOT because if it fails badly you've only lost £45 but if it passes (with little cost/effort) you've added several hundred pounds to it's value.

I'd stick it through an MOT after a basic visual if I were you.

[AdvanceRoadcraft]

MOT it. It's not so much that it will shoot up massively in price (it might and I wish you well) but it will be a vastly more saleable proposition to many more buyers - making for a much easier sale.

[mjb1]

555 Paul said:

strange question this one, I'd put it through an MOT because if it fails badly you've only lost £45 but if it passes (with little cost/effort) you've added several hundred pounds to it's value.

I'd stick it through an MOT after a basic visual if I were you.

If it fails badly, then I either have to sell it as unroadworthy (and loose considerable value on the sale), or pay a repair bill that could cost more than the 'couple of hundred' a pass will add to it's value.

[philmots]

Should have half an idea yourself?

Do all your lights work?
Are all tyres legal?
Does it brake in a straight line?
Does it sit level?
Any nasty knocks or bangs from suspension?

Etc etc...

If it drives like it always has then I'd put it through.

[mjb1]

philmots said:

Should have half an idea yourself?

Do all your lights work?
Are all tyres legal?
Does it brake in a straight line?
Does it sit level?
Any nasty knocks or bangs from suspension?

Etc etc...

If it drives like it always has then I'd put it through.

Of course, there are one or two things that are possibilities - an occasional knock from the front suspension, possibly a broken coil spring (although last time it had that problem, it passed 2 MOTs and was only picked up by a tyre fitter!). And last year it had an advisory of slight play in the steering. Since it's all computerised now, I guess the tester will see last years advisories on the screen and be particularly thorough in those areas.

[aj520d]

I have a warning "spanner" on my dash because one of the glow plugs need changing. Will it fail the MOT because of that??

[maxmc2]

aj520d said:

I have a warning "spanner" on my dash because one of the glow plugs need changing. Will it fail the MOT because of that??

In 6 months time it will.

[Riknos]

danjama said:

Attempt to sell. If it doesn't sell before the test, do the test. Then edit the ad/price to reflect.

This.

I did the same when selling my bike. Thought it wasn't selling due to the short MOT (<2 months), so booked it in for an MOT early, with the hope a full 12 months will sell it. Day before the MOT was due a couple of Polish blokes viewed it and bought it.

They probably didn't care about an MOT anyway as it was then not insured for a while until they took it to Poland with them...