Oddness in MOT history

[2Btoo]

A friend is looking for a new (to him) car. Budget is limited and he's not a car nut so I'm roped into help, which I am very happy to do.

Came across CU04 NYS and checked the MOT history. How can this happen:

24th Jan 2022, mileage 153812, passed MOT with a set of advisories
24th Jan 2022, mileage 153813, failed MOT with almost the same set of advisories plus some rust, tested at a different MOT station

I can understand that different inspectors have different views on what is a pass and what is a fail but how can it pass at one station, then be immediately taken to another station a mile away for a re-test and fail?

And how come the rust that made it fail wasn't even picked up as an advisory earlier on in the day? (Do modern Mercs rust that quickly?)

[ARHarh]

cloned car maybe? Pretty good clone though if they got the mileage the same.

[Scrump]

As this is recent and the car is for sale maybe a prospective purchaser wanted a new MOT test so the seller arranged the first one (with their friendly garage). Prospective purchaser had it taken to their preferred local garage where it failed so they did not buy the car.

[2Btoo]

Scrump said:

As this is recent and the car is for sale maybe a prospective purchaser wanted a new MOT test so the seller arranged the first one (with their friendly garage). Prospective purchaser had it taken to their preferred local garage where it failed so they did not buy the car.

Yes, that's a good explanation. Thanks.

[Chubbyross]

Scrump said:

As this is recent and the car is for sale maybe a prospective purchaser wanted a new MOT test so the seller arranged the first one (with their friendly garage). Prospective purchaser had it taken to their preferred local garage where it failed so they did not buy the car.

This, I reckon.

[steveo3002]

id take a guess at someone wasnt happy /trusting of the first mot and wanted a second opinion at another garage

[2Btoo]

CheesecakeRunner said:

That car is a shed though. Looking back at the last few years it’s failed most MOTs first time, then been re-presented the same day and passed. So it’s not been looked after, never been prepped for an MOT, and then only had the bare minimum done in order to pass.

Walk. There’s plenty more E class around.

It's a total shed, and there's not a long enough bargepole in the world for me to want to have anything to do with it. However at the <£2k end of the market then pickings are currently thin, and thinner still if you want something Focus sized or bigger with a reasonable service history and an MOT which will offer good service for a few years.

[anonymous-user]

Chubbyross said:

Scrump said:

As this is recent and the car is for sale maybe a prospective purchaser wanted a new MOT test so the seller arranged the first one (with their friendly garage). Prospective purchaser had it taken to their preferred local garage where it failed so they did not buy the car.

This, I reckon.

Agreed, there is a very dodgy collection of car yards on the same industrial estate to me that just happens to have a garage and MOT centre right next door. I have walked around in the past when I have been bored, and checking the MOT history on some of these cars is interesting as the recent MOT is advisory free, yet the previous year they had numerous advisories......

I am guessing this car is for sale at a similar site, a car park or piece of waste ground on an industrial estate with a porta cabin as the office. The keys will be in a big cardboard box, and if you want to drive a car you hand over your driving licence, whether any of these cars are taxed or insured is not mentioned but most likely not. Depending on how long it has been there they will have to get out the jump pack and it will eventually cough into life. The people running it will have a massive air of dodginess about them, so bad that you wonder why people even buy from them as there is no way you are getting your money back.

All the cars will be near end of life, the roughest examples possible. Tyres will be all different budget brands, paint looks like it has been washed with a brillo pad and they will be absolutely filthy inside and smell like a combination of cigarettes, wet dog and cheap car cleaning products. Brake discs rusty, wheels ruined, lights completely clouded over as if the car has cataracts.

If you read the google reviews they will all be one star apart from the odd, obviously fake 5 star review from one of their friends.

How close am I?

[2Btoo]

Joey Deacon said:

How close am I?

Dunno ... because my assumption is the same as yours and hence we're not going anywhere near it!