MOT Advisory when bought car

j0nathon2

I bought a used car from the franchised dealer 8 months ago. The car was MOTd after I paid the deposit. When I picked up the car, I was flashed the MOT certificate and told all was well.

When I got home it was then I noticed the advisory was "Yes", but there was no advisory attached. I emailed the sales person asking and he said he would get it, he emailed me about a week later saying he was still trying to sort it out. I took the car back for am unrelated recall and I asked them if they would find the advisory and ensure whatever it was was fixed. At this point I had no idea what it was, they said it was probably something minor like a brake pad and they will have replaced it after they had done the MOT. The sales person saw me at the dealership and asked them to get me a copy, and of course they didn't!

Turns out now it was a warning with play on the steering, I found this out online. Should this break, where do I stand? I paid what the car was worth in perfect condition, it was only four years old. I would expect something like that to be fixed at the time, and had I known I would have pursued this. If it breaks now, they're obviously going to claim 8+ months of use would be the problem, and it well could be, we just wouldn't know!

Weird_Nev

8 months ago you might have stood somewhere.

Now? You stand no-where.

I'd bung it in for this years MOT (and I'd tell the tester to check as it was an advisory and garages HATE changing steering racks in general as it's a lot of hassle!) and see if it comes up again as an issue, unless you've noticed anything wayward with the steering or handling in which case I'd be looking to get a new rack/column sorted from a breaker to be fitted.

An advisory is only an advisory. Something to be aware of (i.e. tyres are low and might not survive to the next MOT test date) rather than anything dangerous.

j0nathon2

It sounds about right.

Dodgy selling tactic though, hide the faults and then when they're found you can blame the usage of the car. Had I known at the time, and I did try and find out, on several occasions, I'd have not settled for anything other than it being fixed. In my opinion, while not dangerous, it's an imperfection and I paid the top end of the price bracket, had I known this as I looked at the car I would have expected a reduction to match the costs of repair or I would have walked away altogether.

The steering actually feels tight, it barely turns without the wheels following.

What is annoying is the dealer MOTd it themselves - it's not like there was lots of hands or movement to lose the advisory is it!

Weird_Nev

Yep, same happened to me: Paid top whack for a very nice car, then found out the suspension was failing (and not covered under their bog paper warranty)... Still, I got the replacement cost direct from the garage in the end.

If the steering feels ok I'd ignore it tbh, and just bung it in for this years MOT.

j0nathon2

Thanks.

Just need to find somewhere decent, and cheap to service and MOT it! Never had a car I bothered to service in the past, the average prices I am seeing are £170 for the service alone, seems steep!

mikey72

Popular trick, hiding the advisory. At least there should be no problem proving the dealer sold the car with a known fault, if they did the mot themselves. It's proving how bad it was, and how much worse it's got.

Joe_Horner

An advisory for play in the steering is just that - advisory. In other words, the tester considers there to be a little more play than he's expect in a "perfect" system but not enough to be a problem at the moment.

Normally if the advisory is for "play in steering" rather than a more specific "play in <insert component here>" it will be slight general wear throughout the system (maybe half a dozen joints + the rack), none of which is enough to be specified on its own. That will NOT lead to your steering "breaking" any time soon

If you can't feel any play, you also can't be certain they didn't actually fix the play before you picked it up - it's unlikely but not impossible, and if they had it wouldn't clear the advisory online.

Finally, note that things like play are, to a great extent, down to the tester's judgement so you might well find it's not even mentioned on the next MOT unless you draw their attention to it!

gilbert_and_sullivan

If it fails the MOT there's nothing to stop you returning to the selling dealer to ask them to contribute, they'll probably say no, if they do....

....When its time to buy another car, return to the dealer when you are bored and let them waste hours plying you with coffee, when they think they have you hooked, remind them as you leave why you won't be buying.

Revenge is a dish best served cold.

j0nathon2

Think it says something like:

Slight play in offside steering

custardy

http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/Motoring/OwningAVehicle/Mot/DG_10020539

you can check previous advisories yourself online
no need to rely on the dealer

j0nathon2

custardy wrote: »

http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/Motoring/OwningAVehicle/Mot/DG_10020539

you can check previous advisories yourself online
no need to rely on the dealer

Yep, that's how I just recently found out after 8 months, I didn't know you could do any more than check a car had the MOT until I just happened to come across it the other day.