Discussion
Thinking of buying a new car and checked the MOT history. The car is 11 yrs old so unsurprisingly various issues have been flagged over the years and the car has failed a couple of MOTs. However, it passed the last two MOTs with no issues raised. Is there anything in particular that I should look out for in the MOT history that should affect my decision to buy it?
I can't afford a new car and buying second-hand cars always feels like a minefield if you don't know much about cars.
An 11 year old car is by no means old. There are plenty of 59/60 plate cars around in good nick. as an 11 year old car, I assume it is a pure ICE and not a hybrid. Check for rust, including brake pipes. The engine and transmission should be fine if looked after. Any issues will be rust (or it could be perfectly clean in that respect). Some suspension items, bushes etc, may need replacing, as will perhaps brake discs and pads. Check the tyres have good tread, are a reasonable make, and are ideally are matched across axle.
Pica-Pica said:
An 11 year old car is by no means old. There are plenty of 59/60 plate cars around in good nick. Check for rust, including brake pipes. The engine and transmission should be fine if looked after. Any issues will be rust (or it could be perfectly clean in that respect). Some suspension items, bushes etc, may need replacing, as will perhaps brake discs and pads. Check the tyres have good tread, are a reasonable make, and are ideally are matched across axle.
Agree with this completely. I have two 16-year-old cars, both of which passed their last MOTs with no advisories. A decent 11-year-old car should be able to last another decade.Suspension, brakes, rust and tyres are common wear parts that might pop up. As Scrump said, checking to see whether problems have appeared repeatedly as advisories/fails then only eventually been fixed or if they’ve been addressed promptly gives a good indication of how well the car has been looked after.
Sometimes you can see the same problems appearing as advisories for a number of years and then appearing as a fail and only been fixed then. If there’s lots of evidence of this, I’d want to investigate the condition of the car more closely.
Geep said:
Thinking of buying a new car and checked the MOT history. The car is 11 yrs old so unsurprisingly various issues have been flagged over the years and the car has failed a couple of MOTs. However, it passed the last two MOTs with no issues raised. Is there anything in particular that I should look out for in the MOT history that should affect my decision to buy it?
I can't afford a new car and buying second-hand cars always feels like a minefield if you don't know much about cars.
OP if you're not sure & you really like the car then maybe get inspected before you buy it, what type of car were you looking for?I can't afford a new car and buying second-hand cars always feels like a minefield if you don't know much about cars.
Geep said:
Thinking of buying a new car and checked the MOT history. The car is 11 yrs old so unsurprisingly various issues have been flagged over the years and the car has failed a couple of MOTs. However, it passed the last two MOTs with no issues raised. Is there anything in particular that I should look out for in the MOT history that should affect my decision to buy it?
I can't afford a new car and buying second-hand cars always feels like a minefield if you don't know much about cars.
What make/model is it?I can't afford a new car and buying second-hand cars always feels like a minefield if you don't know much about cars.
ARHarh said:
Realistically an 11 year old car is at the end of its life. If it passed the last 2 MOT's with no issues it would appear to be well.looked after and therefore probably a good buy.
End of its life? Pity the people like me who have a 2012 and 2004 car and even more decrepit 2008 and 2009 cars in the family. They must all be s
tters waiting for the scrap heap. OP pay more attention to the service history and maintenance than the MOT history.
edc said:
ARHarh said:
Realistically an 11 year old car is at the end of its life. If it passed the last 2 MOT's with no issues it would appear to be well.looked after and therefore probably a good buy.
End of its life? Pity the people like me who have a 2012 and 2004 car and even more decrepit 2008 and 2009 cars in the family. They must all be stters waiting for the scrap heap. OP pay more attention to the service history and maintenance than the MOT history.
Who did the last 2 MOTs?
If previous MOTs have flagged things like wipers/worn tyres etc I wouldn't worry.
But if they flagged corrosion, oil leaks etc I'm always suspicious about those issues suddenly disappearing and no other issues being flagged on subsequent tests. Of course all the issues will likely have been fixed, but if its being sold by a garage or someone in the trade I'm always wondering if they have used their regular friendly mot man to pass it.
And lol at an 11 year old car being at the end of its life! Market values of "old" cars would say otherwise!
If previous MOTs have flagged things like wipers/worn tyres etc I wouldn't worry.
But if they flagged corrosion, oil leaks etc I'm always suspicious about those issues suddenly disappearing and no other issues being flagged on subsequent tests. Of course all the issues will likely have been fixed, but if its being sold by a garage or someone in the trade I'm always wondering if they have used their regular friendly mot man to pass it.
And lol at an 11 year old car being at the end of its life! Market values of "old" cars would say otherwise!
ARHarh said:
edc said:
ARHarh said:
Realistically an 11 year old car is at the end of its life. If it passed the last 2 MOT's with no issues it would appear to be well.looked after and therefore probably a good buy.
End of its life? Pity the people like me who have a 2012 and 2004 car and even more decrepit 2008 and 2009 cars in the family. They must all be stters waiting for the scrap heap. OP pay more attention to the service history and maintenance than the MOT history.
As others have said, check the MOT history for corrosion (ie in the vicinity of suspension mountings, sill etc). Rusty subframes aren't great but I wouldn't worry too much about a mention of surface rust on them as that can be treated or ultimately a new one can be bolted on. If brake pipes have corroded and then have been replaced, that's a win. Significant oil leaks not so good. Stuff like bushes and brake discs, shock absorbers are just standard wear items and wouldn't worry me at all as long as they have been replaced or the price paid reflects they need replaced.
Skyedriver said:
ARHarh said:
Realistically an 11 year old car is at the end of its life. If it passed the last 2 MOT's with no issues it would appear to be well.looked after and therefore probably a good buy.
Rubbish
(2005 Exige, 2005 GT3, 2and my recently purchased 2009 Lexus IS250)
Really appreciate all the comments. The car is a Seat Ibiza estate - I need a fairly spacious boot for work, and this car is also in a low road tax bracket.
The MOT history is minor things until 2018 when minor damage to windscreen is mentioned and a minor oil leak to monitor.
In 2019, the only advisory is ‘Rear exhaust box outer shell corroding but box still solid’. About 7000 miles done from 2018-19.
The following year only about 4000 miles done, and then it fails MOT for:
Exhaust carbon monoxide content after 2nd fast idle exceeds default limits (8.2.1.2 (b))
Nearside Windscreen washer provides insufficient washer liquid (3.5 (a))
Oil leaking excessively from engine (8.4.1 (a) (i))
Is the carbon monoxide failure likely to be the corroding exhaust box outer shell mentioned in 2019?
The next day it passes a new MOT with no advisories.
The following year only about 2000 miles done, and then it passes MOT in Sept 2021 with a nearly illegal tyre as the only advisory.
Advert shows photos of service slips - but 2014 & 2015 are missing. The ones that are shown mention ‘Air cleaner’ being done a couple times, ‘Dust and pollen filters’ once, ‘Fuel filter’ once, and various oil changes. Presumably, these are all common maintenance tasks as they are just tick boxes on the sheets.
Another photo is of work carried out - no date but I guess it’s 2019 or 2020:
-Turbo Actuator (replaced and programmed) - cost about £340 parts and labour.
-The other items were about £20 each… oil filter, air filter, fuel filter, spark plugs, oil
My guess is that the owner sold or part-exchanged the car to the dealer in 2020 because they had to pay quite a bit to get it through the 2020 MOT. I think the car has been on the dealer’s yard for about a year. Perhaps not surprising as it’s not a very desirable car, or is it a very bad sign that they haven’t sold it in that time?
According to a price-check website, the asking price is bang on for a private sale but slightly under what a dealer would charge - so maybe the dealer has reduced it to get rid of it. The price-check assumes good condition. The total mileage done is average for the age of the car.
The car seems in good condition for the age (from photos). I don’t have insurance to test drive, but would a test with the dealer driving be enough, or is it worth me paying for a temporary insurance to test drive it myself?
The MOT history is minor things until 2018 when minor damage to windscreen is mentioned and a minor oil leak to monitor.
In 2019, the only advisory is ‘Rear exhaust box outer shell corroding but box still solid’. About 7000 miles done from 2018-19.
The following year only about 4000 miles done, and then it fails MOT for:
Exhaust carbon monoxide content after 2nd fast idle exceeds default limits (8.2.1.2 (b))
Nearside Windscreen washer provides insufficient washer liquid (3.5 (a))
Oil leaking excessively from engine (8.4.1 (a) (i))
Is the carbon monoxide failure likely to be the corroding exhaust box outer shell mentioned in 2019?
The next day it passes a new MOT with no advisories.
The following year only about 2000 miles done, and then it passes MOT in Sept 2021 with a nearly illegal tyre as the only advisory.
Advert shows photos of service slips - but 2014 & 2015 are missing. The ones that are shown mention ‘Air cleaner’ being done a couple times, ‘Dust and pollen filters’ once, ‘Fuel filter’ once, and various oil changes. Presumably, these are all common maintenance tasks as they are just tick boxes on the sheets.
Another photo is of work carried out - no date but I guess it’s 2019 or 2020:
-Turbo Actuator (replaced and programmed) - cost about £340 parts and labour.
-The other items were about £20 each… oil filter, air filter, fuel filter, spark plugs, oil
My guess is that the owner sold or part-exchanged the car to the dealer in 2020 because they had to pay quite a bit to get it through the 2020 MOT. I think the car has been on the dealer’s yard for about a year. Perhaps not surprising as it’s not a very desirable car, or is it a very bad sign that they haven’t sold it in that time?
According to a price-check website, the asking price is bang on for a private sale but slightly under what a dealer would charge - so maybe the dealer has reduced it to get rid of it. The price-check assumes good condition. The total mileage done is average for the age of the car.
The car seems in good condition for the age (from photos). I don’t have insurance to test drive, but would a test with the dealer driving be enough, or is it worth me paying for a temporary insurance to test drive it myself?
Edited by Geep on Friday 18th February 09:45
SMMT shows that for the UK the average age at scrappage is/was (for the latest figures) 13.9 years. (https://www.smmt.co.uk/industry-topics/sustainability/average-vehicle-age/), which apparently works out around 105k miles on average.
None of which really answers the OPs question... I would suspect that at this age/mileage it is all about the individual car's condition. Take a good look at it or if unsure, get someone else to.
None of which really answers the OPs question... I would suspect that at this age/mileage it is all about the individual car's condition. Take a good look at it or if unsure, get someone else to.
ARHarh said:
Realistically an 11 year old car is at the end of its life. If it passed the last 2 MOT's with no issues it would appear to be well.looked after and therefore probably a good buy.
Utter nonsense.Buy on condition OP. If the car appears well maintained and servicing etc is all up to date, then it should be a good buy.
I only consult MOT history for red flags like structural corrosion, mileage discrepancy etc.
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