Scrapping cars with minor issues
Discussion
Was thinking today that most of my cars that I've sold have never passed another MOT after I've sold them.
That's despite them all being well maintained, regularly serviced and items that fail replaced as required. The kind of cars that will often fail on one or two fairly inconsequential items, suspension bushes, wheel bearing, that sort of thing.
Made me wonder how many cars are scrapped that have had no work done on them at all outside of warranty and then consumables, maybe the odd droplink here and there but at the first sign of anything more major they're binned at the MOT expiration. If I was guessing I'd say 80% of 10-15 year old cars are scrapped with only financially economical repairs required.
That's despite them all being well maintained, regularly serviced and items that fail replaced as required. The kind of cars that will often fail on one or two fairly inconsequential items, suspension bushes, wheel bearing, that sort of thing.
Made me wonder how many cars are scrapped that have had no work done on them at all outside of warranty and then consumables, maybe the odd droplink here and there but at the first sign of anything more major they're binned at the MOT expiration. If I was guessing I'd say 80% of 10-15 year old cars are scrapped with only financially economical repairs required.
ChocolateFrog said:
Was thinking today that most of my cars that I've sold have never passed another MOT after I've sold them.
Have the cars failed an MOT, or is there just no record of any more MOT passes?If they've not failed an MOT, there are a number of other reasons why it might not have had another. The car could have been crashed and written off, it may have broken down catastrophically (timing belt etc), or it might have been exported.
I'm still slightly intrigued by what happened to my wife's car which was in really good condition when we sold it to one of the online sellers at about 6 years old for far more than I was expecting (it was peak post-covid car shortage). It never had another MOT, nor was it taxed ever again.
My wife reckons it fell off the transporter after they picked it up (the driver collecting it didn't seem particularly competent!), but I suspect the more likely and rather less dramatic reason will be that it's been exported.....
In some cases it can be down to owners being scared off by overly pessimistic / shonky mechanics. Last year my sister (clueless about cars) was a bit of a div. Her Swift had broken down, cant remember the exact problem now. She had it recovered to a garage who spent a couple hours diagnosing and telling her it was pretty borked, would require engine stripping, machining etc and estimating a bill of about £1500+
I said sounds a bit much give me a chance to have another mechanic look at it. She didnt and arranged for it to be collected for about £400 scrap. I said hold on if you are intent on that my bro in law is a mechanic and could do with a bit of money I'll get him to come and pick it up, he will give you a bit over the scrap value for it and fix it and sell. No she just wanted it gone, couldnt even wait 1 bloody day. So it was taken away for "scrap". Local dealer bought it, rather gallingly the dealer located next to the garage my bro in law works at! so my bro in law ended up doing most of the bloody work on it, think it cost about £300 all in to fix it and the dealer sold it for £3200.
I said sounds a bit much give me a chance to have another mechanic look at it. She didnt and arranged for it to be collected for about £400 scrap. I said hold on if you are intent on that my bro in law is a mechanic and could do with a bit of money I'll get him to come and pick it up, he will give you a bit over the scrap value for it and fix it and sell. No she just wanted it gone, couldnt even wait 1 bloody day. So it was taken away for "scrap". Local dealer bought it, rather gallingly the dealer located next to the garage my bro in law works at! so my bro in law ended up doing most of the bloody work on it, think it cost about £300 all in to fix it and the dealer sold it for £3200.
Problem is, it might be too expensive for a non-mechanical person to fix. I bet the guy mentioned in the YT video doesn't pay a garage to do all the work on the scrap cars he's picking up.
And on the other side, if you sell the car rather than pay £1k to get it through an MOT, you then have to deal with idiots who think a £500, 20 year old car will be as fresh as a brand new 2024 car that you pick up from a main dealer. Bangernomics attracts a lot of people because of how cheap it initially sounds but they don't go in with their eyes open. Or they're stupid.
And on the other side, if you sell the car rather than pay £1k to get it through an MOT, you then have to deal with idiots who think a £500, 20 year old car will be as fresh as a brand new 2024 car that you pick up from a main dealer. Bangernomics attracts a lot of people because of how cheap it initially sounds but they don't go in with their eyes open. Or they're stupid.
My daughter and son-in-law bought something rather newer to replace the by now well sha$$ed Mk1 Focus which I had passed down to them.(it was in fair nick when I parted with it!).
Bloke wanted it for a demolition derby but so as not to upset dad they sold it to a scrapper who carted it off on a beaver tail.
It could well have ended up in a demolition derby anyway, but at least we didn't know its fate and unlikely to meet an MoT again.
Bloke wanted it for a demolition derby but so as not to upset dad they sold it to a scrapper who carted it off on a beaver tail.
It could well have ended up in a demolition derby anyway, but at least we didn't know its fate and unlikely to meet an MoT again.
Because, in addition to the suspension bush it's actually going to fail on, the bodywork is tatty, the sills and most of the rear suspension components are rusting, the DMF judders in cold weather, it burns oil, it's damp in the boot, the heated rear window no longer works, something drains the battery if you don't drive it for three days and your wife constantly tells you she's embarrassed to be seen in it.
All fixable (bar the last one, possibly), but only if you're happy for it to become an ongoing project.
All fixable (bar the last one, possibly), but only if you're happy for it to become an ongoing project.
Dogwatch said:
My daughter and son-in-law bought something rather newer to replace the by now well sha$$ed Mk1 Focus which I had passed down to them.(it was in fair nick when I parted with it!).
Bloke wanted it for a demolition derby but so as not to upset dad they sold it to a scrapper who carted it off on a beaver tail.
It could well have ended up in a demolition derby anyway, but at least we didn't know its fate and unlikely to meet an MoT again.
Never understood stuff like, in terms of offended what will happen to my car after I no longer need it. Bloke wanted it for a demolition derby but so as not to upset dad they sold it to a scrapper who carted it off on a beaver tail.
It could well have ended up in a demolition derby anyway, but at least we didn't know its fate and unlikely to meet an MoT again.
If the price is right and hands shaken, then a deal is done! Whether you then feed it caviar in a humidity controlled dome for the next 100 yrs, or drive it off a mountainside that afternoon for your YT short… I simply don’t care because it’s no longer mine!
captain_cal said:
Could have been put on a private plate?
I know my old 944 passed exactly one MOT after I sold it, and it's definitely not exempt yet, or anywhere near to being scrap..
I'm pretty sure that if a car goes onto a private plate, all trace of it disappears from things like MOT history and DVLA Vehicle Information. If and when the private plate is moved on once more, to another vehicle, the original reg number is re-issued to it and the history reappears like it was never gone - including things like MOT data from tests done when it was on the private plate.I know my old 944 passed exactly one MOT after I sold it, and it's definitely not exempt yet, or anywhere near to being scrap..
mikey_b said:
captain_cal said:
Could have been put on a private plate?
I know my old 944 passed exactly one MOT after I sold it, and it's definitely not exempt yet, or anywhere near to being scrap..
I'm pretty sure that if a car goes onto a private plate, all trace of it disappears from things like MOT history and DVLA Vehicle Information. If and when the private plate is moved on once more, to another vehicle, the original reg number is re-issued to it and the history reappears like it was never gone - including things like MOT data from tests done when it was on the private plate.I know my old 944 passed exactly one MOT after I sold it, and it's definitely not exempt yet, or anywhere near to being scrap..
I've often wondered the same thing. I sold an E Class with 142k on the clock and in great working order. It passed it's next MOT at 160k and then expired a year later and never got renewed. I did wonder if that car had gone to another country though.
My first Saab though, sold it with an MOT to someone who drove 200 miles to come and get it. No issues with price and off they went.
Same MOT expired and they tried to test it 9 months after that with a space saver on and it failed, managed to pass it two weeks later in which time it had lost 24k off the mileage. That was in 2017 and hasn't been MOTd since. Was all fine when I sold it though, so no idea what the hell happened there! haha
My first Saab though, sold it with an MOT to someone who drove 200 miles to come and get it. No issues with price and off they went.
Same MOT expired and they tried to test it 9 months after that with a space saver on and it failed, managed to pass it two weeks later in which time it had lost 24k off the mileage. That was in 2017 and hasn't been MOTd since. Was all fine when I sold it though, so no idea what the hell happened there! haha
Many will meet their end in minor bumps and scrapes where the insurance declare total loss and uneconomical to repair.
Most people don't want the hassle of buy back and private repair and then having the issue of a car with a marker on it making it more difficult to sell in the future.
Most people don't want the hassle of buy back and private repair and then having the issue of a car with a marker on it making it more difficult to sell in the future.
BlackStang5point0 said:
mikey_b said:
captain_cal said:
Could have been put on a private plate?
I know my old 944 passed exactly one MOT after I sold it, and it's definitely not exempt yet, or anywhere near to being scrap..
I'm pretty sure that if a car goes onto a private plate, all trace of it disappears from things like MOT history and DVLA Vehicle Information. If and when the private plate is moved on once more, to another vehicle, the original reg number is re-issued to it and the history reappears like it was never gone - including things like MOT data from tests done when it was on the private plate.I know my old 944 passed exactly one MOT after I sold it, and it's definitely not exempt yet, or anywhere near to being scrap..
Of course there may be a better explanation, but it's the best I can come up with, and it's not the first car I've seen that happen to.
Dogwatch said:
Bloke wanted it for a demolition derby but so as not to upset dad they sold it to a scrapper who carted it off on a beaver tail.
It could well have ended up in a demolition derby anyway, but at least we didn't know its fate and unlikely to meet an MoT again.
Personally I would love for a car I had sold to end up in a demolition derby, I would have to go and watch it go out in a blaze of glory.It could well have ended up in a demolition derby anyway, but at least we didn't know its fate and unlikely to meet an MoT again.
Most of the £500ish cars (pre Covid prices)I have sold in the past never seem to be entered for another MOT even though I was fairly convinced they would pass again.
I guess when cars were dirt cheap people couldn't even be bothered to enter it for an MOT and just bought something else? They were bought by the sort of people who give you a sob story over the phone that their old car had died/been written off and they needed one today to travel to see their dying father etc.
One guy told me had owned loads of Civics and that his brother owned a body shop and he was going to get it sorted out.
He didn't even bother putting it in for a test. One thing I have learnt from all this? Buyers are liars and will tell you any old crap to get a car cheaper.
mikey_b said:
The history is retained for sure - but if you don't know the private plate that someone else has put on it, you can't find it. Like my old Lexus IS200, which was 'vehicle details could not be found' for about 5 years shortly after I sold it, and then suddenly appeared again with history intact, including all the MOTs for those 5 years. And it seems unlikely to be a coincidence that the 'date of last V5C issued' was a few weeks earlier than when it reappeared.
Of course there may be a better explanation, but it's the best I can come up with, and it's not the first car I've seen that happen to.
Yes, I see where you're coming from now and that makes sense. Of course there may be a better explanation, but it's the best I can come up with, and it's not the first car I've seen that happen to.
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