i just bought a car that passed MOT incorrectly

ukexplorer

i bought a 98 ford explorer from a garage/dealer two weeks ago. they used a test centre down the street for MOT which i was happy the certificate said no advisories - certificate dated may of 2012. when i got the car home soon discovered that i COULD NOT put petrol in it unless I barely squeezed the pump trigger it took nearly 20minutes to put in £40, no matter what fueling station i brought it to. i took it to a mechanic and he did an inspection of the fuel pipe, it had a massive hole corroded right through. he said it was very easy to detect with corrosion of that extent and should have never passed an MOT. it cost me £200 to put it right and had to because I was told it was a safety hazard and could quite easily catch fire. he gave me the corroded pipe as evidence. surely the garage must have known there was a problem as the gent who put in a few pounds of petrol for the test drive did take ages to do so and I asked why - he had no answer. should i take it up with the garage who sold me the car or the MOT test centre?

Quentin

Your issue is with the vendor.

vax2002

Corrosion test are limited to suspension areas and sills and floor pan, it could have a huge hole in the roof and pass.

marlot

You should have taken it back to the dealer, rather than getting it fixed yourself. The dealer is obliged to fix faults which were present at the time of sale [within reason]. The dealer can be difficult about refunding your £200 though.

ukexplorer

i rang the dealer before i brought the car to a mechanic and said about the fueling problem and that the top of the pipe didnt look right - the rubber seal bit had fallen down into the pipe and i had to fish it out with a pliers and it still didnt fuel up. the answer i got was "the car was sold as is and not our problem". and he pointed out the car passed MOT so they had done nothing wrong, which i suppose they didnt really? i feel it is an issue with the MOT test centre, but how do i get anything out of them bar reporting the centre to VOSA?

paddedjohn

Your issue is with the dealer, their issue is with the mot station.

System

paddedjohn wrote: »

Your issue is with the dealer, their issue is with the mot station.

No issue with the MOT station. That area is not checked as part of the MOT..

fivetide

You need to go to the garage.

Sold as seen is balls and as said, there could be a hole in the roof and it would pass an MOT so that doesn't stack up.

The fact is this hasn't just happened and can't be put down to your driving (like a flat tyre or soemthing).

Speak to your local Trading Standards but as said, given the response so far, it seems like you will have more luck getting blood from a stone.

You could always try your local rag if they don't play ball though - "dealer sold me an unsafe car" type thing. These places love the bad publicity, not.

5t.

Hintza

Missed the boat by having it repaired elsewhere. The selling garage must have the opportunity to rectify faults first.

mcjordi

unless its leaking fuel on the mot test ramp its would of passed.

mikey72

It's a fail.From the book . Reason for Rejection A fuel tank cap/filler neck sealing device: a. missing b. does not fasten/close securely:• by a positive means, and• such that pressure is not maintained on the sealing arrangement c. sealing washer torn, deteriorated or missing, or a mounting flange/sealing method defective such that the leakage of fuel is possible.