Car failed MOT 7 months after buying it..advice please

goldlemontree

I bought a car in October through Autotrader from a small independent dealer. I got my car serviced straight after I bought it (50 point inspection) and they didn't alert me to anything at the time, now yesterday I took car for MOT and it failed with the mechanic saying it'll cost pretty much what I paid for the car to repair it (cost of repairs £762, car price £895). I'm unsure what to do, obviously the cost of repair isn't worth it but since the car is only worth it's scrap value now I'm hundreds of pounds out of pocket buying a new one. I don't know whether the mechanical faults bought up in MOT were there when bought and the men who serviced it at the time didn't do a thorough enough check to notice, or that I have somehow caused all that damage in 7 months. And if the former, is there any way I can get partial refund/compensation from the garage? They didn't give me any paperwork at the time apart from the sale doc, and the man was really patronising and a little slimy if I'm honest so it wouldn't surprise me at all if they had sold me something unfit for the road (they also didn't tell me there was a major leak in the sunroof when I bought it). Any help would be appreciated, thank you.

Foxy-Stoat_3

goldlemontree wrote: »

I bought a car in October through Autotrader from a small independent dealer. I got my car serviced straight after I bought it (50 point inspection) and they didn't alert me to anything at the time, now yesterday I took car for MOT and it failed with the mechanic saying it'll cost pretty much what I paid for the car to repair it (cost of repairs £762, car price £895). I'm unsure what to do, obviously the cost of repair isn't worth it but since the car is only worth it's scrap value now I'm hundreds of pounds out of pocket buying a new one. I don't know whether the mechanical faults bought up in MOT were there when bought and the men who serviced it at the time didn't do a thorough enough check to notice, or that I have somehow caused all that damage in 7 months. And if the former, is there any way I can get partial refund/compensation from the garage? They didn't give me any paperwork at the time apart from the sale doc, and the man was really patronising and a little slimy if I'm honest so it wouldn't surprise me at all if they had sold me something unfit for the road (they also didn't tell me there was a major leak in the sunroof when I bought it). Any help would be appreciated, thank you.

At this price range after that amount of time your options are:

Scrap it
Sell it as spares/repairs on ebay
Repair it

Le_Kirk

It must be pretty catastrophic for the cost to be so high. Presumably it was sold with an MOT certificate. Were there any advisories on there? An MOT cert is only good for the day it is issued and, as I am sure others on here will tell you, it is not a certificate of roadworthiness for a year.

TadleyBaggie

It would help if you told us what it failed on. Many failures are wear and tear items which you will expect to occur with a vehicle of such an age ( based on the low value).

macman

Make and model, mileage/year? What has it failed on and what mileage has it done since purchase/service? Was the car bought with any kind of warranty, and what questions did you ask the vendor about it's condition?
Under SOGA, beyond 6m after purchase you'd have to prove that any faults were pre-existing, which is not going to be easy, especially since the service revealed no problems.
You bought a banger for £900 and it's done you for 7 months: your mistake was not to ask for a new MOT at the time of sale.

colino

Go on, be bold. State the Make, model and mileage of the car and details of the repairs it really needs.

Herzlos

goldlemontree wrote: »

I don't know whether the mechanical faults bought up in MOT were there when bought and the men who serviced it at the time didn't do a thorough enough check to notice, or that I have somehow caused all that damage in 7 months. And if the former, is there any way I can get partial refund/compensation from the garage?

After 7 months and a full check after purchase, I don't think there's anything you can get back from the dealer. You bought an £895 dealer price car (so ~£600 private) and ran it for 7 months. It's up to you whether you want to get it repaired or scrap it and buy another one.

Look at the cost to change, and not what you paid. I.e. if you were to scrap it how much money would you need to provide for a new car on top of the £100 you'll get for the scrap?

Iceweasel

None of us can really comment on this until we know exactly why it has failed.

What does it say on the refusal notice?

You are using words like 'damage' and 'hundreds of pounds out of pocket'.

There is a huge difference between damage or faults or the more likely wear and tear.

How many miles has it done in total and how many have you done in the 7 months you've had it?

I think that you need to forget about any 'compensation' - compensation for what?

I think that you need to make the best of the situation - perhaps fixing it (depending on what the repairs are) and running it into the ground over the next year may well be cheaper than scrapping it and buying another bottom of the market unknown.

At least with this one you know what is wrong with it.

goldlemontree

There was an MOT certificate that had been done in May of that year so I assumed it'd be OK, it'd only been 5 months! The only advisories on there were: play in steering rack inner joint, slight play in offside track rod end ball.

Make/Model/year: Renault Clio 2002
Mileage:91258 miles (mileage 89000 time of sale)
There was no warranty bought, but this would have only covered me for 6 months according to the vendor.

MOT failed on:

- windscreen washer provides insufficient liquid
- windscreen has damage to an area in excess of 10mm circle
-offside headlamp not working
-nearside headlamp output severely reduced by product on the lens
- centre stop lamp not working
-offside headlamp not working on dipped beam
- tyre tread depth below requirements on offside rear + front
- rear tyre tear
- front tyre tear
- constant velocity joint gaitor damaged to extent that it no longer prevents ingress of dirt
- track rod end ball joint excessive play
- front and nearside front macpherson strut excessive play
- anti roll bar linkage rubber bush deteriorated resulting in excessive movement
- rear brake binding
- front brakes imbalanced across an axle


Advisories:

- clutch slipping badly
-oil leak
-nail in rear tyre
-steering column top slightly worn

Foxy-Stoat_3

goldlemontree wrote: »

- windscreen washer provides insufficient liquid - put water in - free
- windscreen has damage to an area in excess of 10mm circle - w/s replacement £80 excess on insurance?
-offside headlamp not working - bulb - £5
-nearside headlamp output severely reduced by product on the lens - secondhand lense - £30
- centre stop lamp not working - bulb - £25?
-offside headlamp not working on dipped beam - bulb - £5
- tyre tread depth below requirements on offside rear + front
- rear tyre tear
- front tyre tear - 2 tyres - £35 each
- constant velocity joint gaitor damaged to extent that it no longer prevents ingress of dirt - gator - £30 or new replacement shaft - £80
- track rod end ball joint excessive play - replace - £30
- front and nearside front macpherson strut excessive play - new or secondhand shocks - £150 or £50
- anti roll bar linkage rubber bush deteriorated resulting in excessive movement - new bush - £15
- rear brake binding - £25-£100
- front brakes imbalanced across an axle - £25-£100

Some prices there....its all wear and tear and you will be able to use secondhand bits to keep the costs down. If you have some spanners then all of that could be done on the driveway, apart from the tyres.

PS - if you want another Clio and are local to East Sussex, I have a 2007 for sale with 11 months MOT for £1350 at the moment.

Marktheshark

Clean the headlight with toothpaste and a rag and some elbow grease, they come up like brand new.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h4Ffx5epIMk