Discussion
In the past year i've come across 3 cars, 2 that i've bought that have had what I believe to be dodgy MOT's.
First was my Subaru Forester, advertised by the seller as having "12 months MOT with no advisories", on the test drive I noticed the exhaust was blowing, anyway I got money off for that and bought it. When I got it home the brake hose connections were all rusted in a barely unrecognisable lump, brake pads were very low and I could see through the other side of the exhaust. The MOT was only 3 days old! So I believe that either a) The MOT tester is a muppet or b) It was done as a favour or a mate or something.
Secondly a Micra again with no advisories although only 2 months MOT, it was dark and pissing down so I didn't get on the floor to look underneath, the engine bay looked immaculate and the crossmember which seems to rust was excellent. When MOT came around the fail list was 2 pages and the advisories 3! Now I understand some things happen over a year, but from nothing to holes in the floor and extremely weak metal all around? I don't think so.
Thirdly a Legacy I looked at recently, same story, although this time I was much more cautious, long story short, rusty leaky heap with 11 months MOT.
None of the MOT's were the same garage, I think this problem is wide spread, some people think "yeah it's got an MOT who cares?" But i'd rather someone actually look at my car. It was a miracle the Micra didn't fall apart
Anyone else have similar stories? I wonder if this needs to be taken up with VOSA or just my bad luck.
First was my Subaru Forester, advertised by the seller as having "12 months MOT with no advisories", on the test drive I noticed the exhaust was blowing, anyway I got money off for that and bought it. When I got it home the brake hose connections were all rusted in a barely unrecognisable lump, brake pads were very low and I could see through the other side of the exhaust. The MOT was only 3 days old! So I believe that either a) The MOT tester is a muppet or b) It was done as a favour or a mate or something.
Secondly a Micra again with no advisories although only 2 months MOT, it was dark and pissing down so I didn't get on the floor to look underneath, the engine bay looked immaculate and the crossmember which seems to rust was excellent. When MOT came around the fail list was 2 pages and the advisories 3! Now I understand some things happen over a year, but from nothing to holes in the floor and extremely weak metal all around? I don't think so.
Thirdly a Legacy I looked at recently, same story, although this time I was much more cautious, long story short, rusty leaky heap with 11 months MOT.
None of the MOT's were the same garage, I think this problem is wide spread, some people think "yeah it's got an MOT who cares?" But i'd rather someone actually look at my car. It was a miracle the Micra didn't fall apart
Anyone else have similar stories? I wonder if this needs to be taken up with VOSA or just my bad luck.
You should have definitely contacted VOSA.
There's no comeback on consumables like brakes or tyres - lets face it, you could drive the car 100 yards from the MOT station, light up the tyres and make them illegal.
On corrosion elements though that would be a straight fail, that aren't even listed advisories, it can revert back to the MOT station for up to three months after the issue date.
There's no comeback on consumables like brakes or tyres - lets face it, you could drive the car 100 yards from the MOT station, light up the tyres and make them illegal.
On corrosion elements though that would be a straight fail, that aren't even listed advisories, it can revert back to the MOT station for up to three months after the issue date.
SlimRick said:
I used to work across the road from a small car dealership. Went in to buy a T5 estate and the dealer said he would put 12 months MOT that afternoon. Amazingly, the car passed an MOT 2 hours later without even being moved off the forecourt.
It does still happen, not as much as it used to with electronic MOT's, but it certainly still happens.Personally, I think it is madness by any dealer to do this as there are only two things you can get in serious trouble for selling used cars and that is selling something which is dangerous or misdescribed. If a car has just passed a (genuine) MOT at point of sale and you write the correct make and model on the invoice you're covered for 90% of the things you can end up in court for.
I took on my sisters Ka as a very cheap run around, with 12 Months MOT. It was parked up in a garage un used for 2 months while I sold a couple of cars and got round to using it. Having not checked the car over before it was put in the garage I was a bit shocked to find that it had gone through the MOT with 2 snapped springs a large rust hole but the filler cap and 4 very very cracked tyres. It was taken to the MOT center by a different garage, so either it was done as a favour to a mate, or the MOT place couldnt be bothered as they knew they wouldnt get any work out of it.
te condition cars helping 
daveinaravecave said:
With a lot of people not having a bit of spare cash, can you blame them?
Hell no, if money is a bit tight then it's perfectly fine to sell potentially lethal deathtraps to random members of the public.It's the people with a bit of disposable income that do this which disgust me, clearly they are far more guilty.
Problem is we have to work to minimum standards, take the Ka above, snapped springs yes, well maybe, VOSa lost in court to an owner of a BMW who stated that although incomplete they could not fall from the car, those that know 3 series models will agree thay are set deep in the lower arm.
Corrosion around the filler cap, outside the 30 cm limit for suspension or seat belts? if so it's an advise
Cracked tyres, can you see the cords? no? pass and advise.
The MOT favours the presenter not the garage hence the stupid brake disc deal where we cannot really fail them, we have to be sure they are about to fall apart to fail them, pads 1.5 mm is the fail, ask yourself how we can measure them to tell,remeber we can't remove anything during the test..
The test is not hard to pass, any car that fails has either been presented badly (no washer fluid, bulb not working) or really should not be on the road ( apart from the daft reg plate fails)
Corrosion around the filler cap, outside the 30 cm limit for suspension or seat belts? if so it's an advise
Cracked tyres, can you see the cords? no? pass and advise.
The MOT favours the presenter not the garage hence the stupid brake disc deal where we cannot really fail them, we have to be sure they are about to fall apart to fail them, pads 1.5 mm is the fail, ask yourself how we can measure them to tell,remeber we can't remove anything during the test..
The test is not hard to pass, any car that fails has either been presented badly (no washer fluid, bulb not working) or really should not be on the road ( apart from the daft reg plate fails)
Athlon said:
Problem is we have to work to minimum standards, take the Ka above, snapped springs yes, well maybe, VOSa lost in court to an owner of a BMW who stated that although incomplete they could not fall from the car, those that know 3 series models will agree thay are set deep in the lower arm.
Corrosion around the filler cap, outside the 30 cm limit for suspension or seat belts? if so it's an advise
Cracked tyres, can you see the cords? no? pass and advise.
The MOT favours the presenter not the garage hence the stupid brake disc deal where we cannot really fail them, we have to be sure they are about to fall apart to fail them, pads 1.5 mm is the fail, ask yourself how we can measure them to tell,remeber we can't remove anything during the test..
The test is not hard to pass, any car that fails has either been presented badly (no washer fluid, bulb not working) or really should not be on the road ( apart from the daft reg plate fails)
What he said.Corrosion around the filler cap, outside the 30 cm limit for suspension or seat belts? if so it's an advise
Cracked tyres, can you see the cords? no? pass and advise.
The MOT favours the presenter not the garage hence the stupid brake disc deal where we cannot really fail them, we have to be sure they are about to fall apart to fail them, pads 1.5 mm is the fail, ask yourself how we can measure them to tell,remeber we can't remove anything during the test..
The test is not hard to pass, any car that fails has either been presented badly (no washer fluid, bulb not working) or really should not be on the road ( apart from the daft reg plate fails)
Valgar said:
In the past year i've come across 3 cars, 2 that i've bought that have had what I believe to be dodgy MOT's.
I noticed the exhaust was blowing
brake hose connections were all rusted
brake pads were very low
None of those are necessarily any problem for MOT.I noticed the exhaust was blowing
brake hose connections were all rusted
brake pads were very low
As for your tales of rust, that's always very much a matter of opinion for the MOT tester.
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