dodgy MOT?

liney

I have bought a 'banger' with the intention of driving it for a few months while i get used to driving then replace it after Christmas - i passed my test 3 weeks ago.

The problem is that the car i have bought with 12 months MOT done on the 2nd July, and driven barely 55 miles since, according to another garage needs a new steering rack, has 3 illegal tyres amoungst other more minor faults which i would have expected.

Now on this basis i doubt the car has a legitimate MOT and plan to confront the garage owner on his return on Saturday - i bought the car last Saturday and did only 40 miles between Saturday and Tuesday when i took it to the other garage.

It is my understanding upon doing some research that it is a criminal offense to sell an unroadworthy vehical, and that even second hand cars should be fit for purpose (ie useable and roadworthy). Am i correct, and legally entitled to a refund? I don't think i will have any problem proving these safety faults were present when he sold the car to me given the length of time and distance travelled since the MOT certificate.

steveo3002

theres contact details on the mot...you can ring and they'l say if its a genuine certificate

if it is real ...id ask about what can be done as you think the car shouldnt have passed, they may inspect it again if its within a certain time limit

liney

VOSA will inspect my vehical after speaking to them, and confirm if should or shouldnt have passed. It has only done 50 miles since the MOT, so they say whatever faults they find they can safely say would have been present at the point of sale and then i can go to trading standards while they investigate the MOTing garage.

I do not want the car fixed though. I want a refund. I feel i have been sold a car with a core safety problem and even if they said it was replaced, id have to pay another garage to check as they are obviously untrustworthy.

Conor_3

steveo3002 wrote: »

theres contact details on the mot...you can ring and they'l say if its a genuine certificate

Completely pointless. You can still issue a genuine certificate without ever having inspected the car.

anewman

Have you checked the tread depth and tyre condition yourself? It could be that they are legal but nearly illegal. Also, some wear in the steering rack is acceptable. But both these things would normally be picked up and mentioned on an advisory notice.

Keith

Tyres could have been swapped to another car after the MOT, remember it only needs to be legal for 30 minutes of the year.

My car passed it's MOT without a spare making it legal, when I got home I put the spare back in the car (with illegal) tread, the car now would fail an MOT.

And yes, I know I should change the tyre, I keep forgetting when I'm at Costco!

liney

I completely understand the point about the tyres, but the steering rack actually needs replacing according the garage. The wrong shaped battery is in the car meaning it isnt connected safely, amoungst the other minor faults.

I am not being overly picky as i know it's an old car well past it's best, but the fact i have been sold a car with a core safety fault, and i did actually mention the front tyre at the garage and was told it was fine and would have been rejected by the MOT garage, has piddled me off more than a little bit.

Aside that, has anyone actually returned a car quoting the Road Traffic Act, and the fact that any car, even a second hand car sold has to be roadworthy unless it is specifially sold as 'Spares or Repair'?

Volcano

Be cautious: You could be running off to trading standards solely on the information of one garage who may be wrong/trying to get money out of you for work that doesn't need doing.

To save possible embarrassment, get the opinion of a couple of other MOT garages too.

liney

Volcano wrote: »

Be cautious: You could be running off to trading standards solely on the information of one garage who may be wrong/trying to get money out of you for work that doesn't need doing.

To save possible embarrassment, get the opinion of a couple of other MOT garages too.

The mechanic/garage is someone i use for company vehicles all the time. He isn't interested in touching the car, and has advised me not to get it fixed, but get a refund. He wouldn't even take any money for looking at it for me so i'm pretty sure it's genuine.

I would completely agree if it was any other garage though, thanks

anewman

liney wrote: »

The mechanic/garage is someone i use for company vehicles all the time. He isn't interested in touching the car, and has advised me not to get it fixed, but get a refund. He wouldn't even take any money for looking at it for me so i'm pretty sure it's genuine.

I would completely agree if it was any other garage though, thanks

Still, it's probably best to go armed with two independent inspections if possible, just so it looks good

vaio

Steering rack wear is often subjective particularly in its early stages. Tyres less so but I think you are going to struggle given it was three weeks ago the MOT was done and what could have happened since.

What sort of money are we talking about?