Anyone clued up on MOT speak?

[Benbay001]

A car i am looking to buy has failed its MOT this year on the following
Nearside Rear and offside rear of outer sills Suspension component mounting prescribed area is excessively corroded (2.4.A.3)

It then passed a month later.
It is now up for sale 4 months later.
I want to make sure it wasnt bodged just to get it through the test.
What does the fail mean and how can i check it?
The car is a MK2 MR2
It has since driven a further 3000 miles, so i am not overly concerned.

Cheers!

[JimmyConwayNW]

you can see what it failed on and then when it passed.

https://www.gov.uk/check-mot-history-vehicle

the MOT station details will be present so you could ask them

[marshalla]

MOT manual:

http://www.motinfo.gov.uk/htdocs/m4s02000401.htm
http://www.motinfo.gov.uk/htdocs/m4x0c000001.htm

[HustleRussell]

Sounds like the car has corrosion to the sills close to where the rear beam bolts onto the floor. It could've been re-tested at a more 'lenient' garage (worth checking!) or somebody has affected some kind of repair. In which case, have a good look at the area, check for remaining corrosion, clumsy patches, inconsistent/lumpy finish to paint/underseal etc, and have a good poke about with a screwdriver. Also lift the rear seat squab, boot carpet etc and check any visible sections of the floor. It's not a huge cause for concern if a half decent repair was made.

[J4CKO]

Work back from the wheel to where it joins the suspension, then work back from there to where the suspension joins the body, have a good prod round and look with a torch, ask what work was done.

You should be concerned, it is possible to mask rust and take a car to another MOT station, it will be fairly apparent if an MOT standard patch has been applied, but then it may be a piece of aluminium stuck on with bathroom sealant and covered in underseal (have seen it), all the MOT test has is a little awl and a toffee hammer to prod around.

[M4cruiser]

Yes, I agree with the posts so far. The correct way to fix this fault (in my experience) is welding the sill. If it was done it should be obvious from a low viewpoint. Most welding will be covered with black paint or underseal, but could then be covered in the correct colour paint.

If a small area on each side then the repair could have been just be 2 hours labour - not too bad.

[Benbay001]

HustleRussell said:

Sounds like the car has corrosion to the sills close to where the rear beam bolts onto the floor. It could've been re-tested at a more 'lenient' garage (worth checking!) or somebody has affected some kind of repair. In which case, have a good look at the area, check for remaining corrosion, clumsy patches, inconsistent/lumpy finish to paint/underseal etc, and have a good poke about with a screwdriver. Also lift the rear seat squab, boot carpet etc and check any visible sections of the floor. It's not a huge cause for concern if a half decent repair was made.

The car was retested at the same garage and passed, which is reassuring.
So this isnt corrosion on the part where the suspension strut bolts to the chassis, right?

[morgrp]

sounds like terminal rot is setting in - I'd avoid it as it'll only go somewhere else shortly after - not worth it on a car of that type - plenty of decent cheap Mk2 MR2's out there

[Benbay001]

morgrp said:

sounds like terminal rot is setting in - I'd avoid it as it'll only go somewhere else shortly after - not worth it on a car of that type - plenty of decent cheap Mk2 MR2's out there

Ok. Thank you

[Krikkit]

Actually I'd say the opposite - there's very few rust-free examples out there. If a repair's been done then it's definitely worth a further enquiry, if it's not a bodge then very much worth shortlisting imo.

[HustleRussell]

Benbay001 said:

HustleRussell said:

Sounds like the car has corrosion to the sills close to where the rear beam bolts onto the floor. It could've been re-tested at a more 'lenient' garage (worth checking!) or somebody has affected some kind of repair. In which case, have a good look at the area, check for remaining corrosion, clumsy patches, inconsistent/lumpy finish to paint/underseal etc, and have a good poke about with a screwdriver. Also lift the rear seat squab, boot carpet etc and check any visible sections of the floor. It's not a huge cause for concern if a half decent repair was made.

The car was retested at the same garage and passed, which is reassuring.
So this isnt corrosion on the part where the suspension strut bolts to the chassis, right?

Good stuff. Nah, it won't be where the strut bolts in, those will be towards the top of the engine bay somewhere won't they? I don't know the MR2 rear suspension layout specifically but I'd assume that being that the corrosion is in the sills, the corrosion is too close to a suspension pick-up point perhaps for a trailing arm, radius arm, control arm etc etc. Basically you need to get your head under the sills at the rear close to the wheel arch and look for evidence of repairs within 300mm of the end of the sill, paying particularly close attention to the locations where any suspension components are bolted on.

[Benbay001]

The car was looked at today by my mums boyfriend, he inspected it throughly.
It seems in great condition.
I think i am going to go for it.
Cheers for all your input.