Should MOT Advisory Notes be given to you by the seller?

Hi, 6 months ago (end of December 2009) I bought a Vauxhall Astra which had to have an MOT before I could collect. My car passed and I was given a copy of the MOT Certificate.

I have just had to put the car in for a service as it had done 50K miles. It has just cost me £800 as not only did it need a service, but it needed new brakes on back and front as there was nothing left on them whatsoever. I mentioned the brakes when I bought it and was told that it was just because it had been sitting on the forecourt for a few months. It also needed: - air conditioning serviced, cam belt, two new front tyres, back driver side suspension. I've also been advised that for it's MOT in December 2010, I will need a new exhaust as the outer skin is totally corroded, two new back tyres and one of the front brake pipes is corroded.

I only had a 3 month warranty with the car, is there anything that I can go back to the garage with as I cannot believe that the car should have passed the MOT in December?? As a minimum I would have thought the advisory notes should have been given to me, so that I could have made an informed choice about the car?
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  • Gordon_Hose
    Gordon_Hose Posts: 6,259
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    I had the same thing once, (mine involved a leaking fuel tank and badly fitted brakes). The dealer wasn't interested, Trading Standards weren't interested, and VOSA wouldn't inspect the car or the MOT centre...so basically I had to repair it all.

    Does it say there should be an advisory note on the MOT certificate the dealer gave you? If not, there was no advisory sheet to give you.

    The problem you have though, is that the things you list are all wear and tear, and might not have been an MOT advisory/fail at the time the MOT was done.
  • harveybobbles
    harveybobbles Posts: 8,973 Forumite
    edited 10 August 2010 at 1:41PM
    Wonder if the OP used KwikFit...?

    Also, End of December is 7 and half months ago.

    Why dont people just use Council run MOT centres !!!!!!...?!
  • steveo3002
    steveo3002 Posts: 2,731
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    hmm yeah theres a chance youve gone to somewhere thats trying to drum up some work for themsleves

    cam belt and service are nothing to do with the mot , sounds like youve made a years use out of the car and brakes n tyres are consumables
  • Hammyman
    Hammyman Posts: 9,913 Forumite
    Lindav3148 wrote: »
    It also needed: - air conditioning serviced, cam belt, two new front tyres, back driver side suspension. I've also been advised that for it's MOT in December 2010, I will need a new exhaust as the outer skin is totally corroded, two new back tyres and one of the front brake pipes is corroded.

    I only had a 3 month warranty with the car, is there anything that I can go back to the garage with as I cannot believe that the car should have passed the MOT in December?? As a minimum I would have thought the advisory notes should have been given to me, so that I could have made an informed choice about the car?

    All of the above in your rant, apart from brake pipes, are SERVICE ITEMS that wear in normal use. You'd find that the warranty didn't cover them. The "corroded brake pipe" is pretty much a con on anything built in the last decade as there aren't many made from steel anymore.

    As for passing the MOT? December is 9 months ago and two of the items in your rant aren't even testable and the exhaust only fails if it leaks - the fact its got rust is irrelevent. I can go through a set of tyres in just over a year so its well within the realms of possibility for perfectly legal ones at MOT time to need replacing in 9 months - hell, my car passed its MOT in June and I've just had to buy two rear tyres.
  • Strider590
    Strider590 Posts: 11,874 Forumite
    Hmmm..... why do people seem to think that its normal for a car to go THIS wrong?

    Get a good second opinion on that MOT and go to a council run MOT centre
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  • cyclonebri1
    cyclonebri1 Posts: 12,827 Forumite
    Lindav3148 wrote: »
    Hi, 6 months ago (end of December 2009) I bought a Vauxhall Astra which had to have an MOT before I could collect. My car passed and I was given a copy of the MOT Certificate.

    As a minimum I would have thought the advisory notes should have been given to me, so that I could have made an informed choice about the car?


    1) the car passed it's mot

    2) no you don't have to be given the advisories

    3) given you are looking at a car that assumdly is legal, and has just passed a VOSA test, what more can you expect???????????????????????
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  • The dealer binned the advisory notice when I bought my last car. Wasn't a problem as I just checked the online MOT database. Although it is a bit shady of the dealer binning it when it says on the actual certificate that an advisory notice was issued. Specially when they hadn't done anything about the advisories.
  • Hammyman
    Hammyman Posts: 9,913 Forumite
    Strider590 wrote: »
    Hmmm..... why do people seem to think that its normal for a car to go THIS wrong?

    Because, apart from the brake pipe, all of the parts mentioned are SERVICABLE ITEMS THAT WEAR OUT FROM USE and have a limited life. The OP is merely unlucky that there have been several all worn out at roughly the same time but it does happen. My car needed two new tyres this week. The rear brake pads are low and so are the fronts but the fronts will need the discs changing as well. Its just unfortunate that they're all going to need doing within 3 weeks of each other. Its just the way it happened.

    As for a second opinion - IT WAS SIX MONTHS AGO. There is no way in hell to ascertain what the state of the parts the OP is whinging about was 6 months ago AS THEY ARE ALL CONSUMABLES.
  • peachyprice
    peachyprice Posts: 22,346
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    Lindav3148 wrote: »
    Hi, 6 months ago (end of December 2009) I bought a Vauxhall Astra which had to have an MOT before I could collect. My car passed and I was given a copy of the MOT Certificate.

    And how many miles have you driven since the last MOT?
    Accept your past without regret, handle your present with confidence and face your future without fear
  • Dave101t
    Dave101t Posts: 4,157 Forumite
    an advisory is...advice. not law.
    Target Savings by end 2009: 20,000
    current savings: 20,500 (target hit yippee!)
    Debts: 8000 (student loan so doesnt count)

    new target savings by Feb 2010: 30,000
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