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

andygb

To be honest, the top of the list (as others have pointed out) should have been seen to before the car went in for MOT - lights, tyres, windscreen, washer tubes (may have become detached/blocked) - plus the steering suspension problems were advisories on the last MOT and have just got worse.
You can get these jobs done for less than half what you have said, and then you may have a good clean car which will go throught its next MOT without a problem.
However, when cars get to that age things are more likely to fail - struts, CATs, clutch.

andygb

Strider590 wrote: »

I once told a young lady that her brake lights didn't work, her response was "it's ok, it's not due for it's MOT for another 9 months". I felt like I wanted to take her car keys and throw them down the nearest drain..............

We still have one young lady in our village driving her Punto around on the spacesaver wheel for nearly a year - and she uses the motorway every weekday!:eek:

colino

OP if those faults are genuine, trade it in for a new car. With that list of obvious and glaring faults, you cannot rely on an annual MOT to tell you the car is so far below par (and has a badly slipping clutch!). You need something with a long manufacturers warranty under you.

George_Michael

colino wrote: »

OP if those faults are genuine, trade it in for a new car. With that list of obvious and glaring faults, you cannot rely on an annual MOT to tell you the car is so far below par (and has a badly slipping clutch!). You need something with a long manufacturers warranty under you.

Even a new car with a full manufacturers warranty wouldn't be any use when it comes to things like driving with tears in tyres, tyre tread below the legal minimum and headlights and brake lights not working.

I honestly find it incomprehensible how anyone can be so ignorant about the most basic of checks that need to be carried out before driving what can be a lethal weapon if not properly and safely maintained.

Foxy-Stoat_3

Maybe the OP should forget about owning a car and just hire one every 2 weeks, put the responsibility of maintaining it to be roadworthy in someone elses' priorities.

mcpitman

AdrianC wrote: »

Why did you take it in for an MOT with so many faults that would have been blindingly obvious on even the most cursory of regular checks?

Oh, and thank the MOT man for pointing out your illegal tyres before the Police noticed them.



All age/wear-and-tear related issues, and not even remotely surprising on a 13yo 90k car that you paid a trader less than a grand for seven months earlier.



Again, you knew all of those, right?



I'm not even sure what they mean by that... Is there some vertical or horizontal play in the steering wheel? Again, probably wear-and-tear.

Couldn't agree more with this and other comments made......

Based on what the car failed on, you have no recourse to go back to the delaer.

Have you even done one element of basic maintainence since you bought the car?

Do you do regular POWER (petrol, oil, water, electrics and rubber) checks? If so, these would have highlighted most of your issues, how could you have not known a headlight bulb had gone etc?

goldlemontree

Thank you to all useful comments, most people seem to advise repairing the faults rather than buying a new car so I will look into that. To everyone else who has just had to get their bobs worth in saying things that aren't at all constructive and more insulting- put your measuring tapes away- yes, you know about basic car maintenance and I don't, yes I have made some big mistakes hence the asking for advice and help on here, there's no need for you guys to say the things you do...!

I have been negligent, I checked oil/water every now and then and because I didn't notice or feel any change while I was driving I just very stupidly didn't check other things out. So, if anything I will be doing all these things in future. Thanks everyone - even you mean ones.

Herzlos

At least you know what to do now

JP08

Don't worry Goldmontree.

You're not the first and won't be the last who's had to learn the importance of car maintenance the hard way.

For what it's worth, when little sister complained about high fuel consumption on her first car, I took a quick look round and pointed out that two of her tyres were really low - 15psi in one case. Twenty years on now, she still checks her tyres regularly, and she still reminds me of that day (Christmas day) when I handed her my footpump and had her pump her tyres up despite it being sub zero and her in heels, xmassy dress etc. Lesson well learnt !

AdrianC

goldlemontree wrote: »

I have been negligent, I checked oil/water every now and then and because I didn't notice or feel any change while I was driving I just very stupidly didn't check other things out. So, if anything I will be doing all these things in future.

Then those "mean" comments have had their intended purpose...

If you don't know about basic car checks, then you would fail the driving test today, since many of those checks have been incorporated in a "show-me-tell-me" section. In addition, the owner's handbook of your car will explain them to you, or any friend or relative who drives ought to be able to explain.

It's very simple, and takes seconds.

Have a quick look at each tyre - you're looking at the depth of the tread, whether the wear is even, and for any damage. If you turn the steering from lock-to-lock, you can check the inside of the front tyres more easily, or just run a hand around from the outside. Check the pressure - a basic tyre pressure gauge is very cheap, and petrol station forecourts often inaccurate.

Lights are easy to check - even brake lights - you can very often see their reflection in windows or other vehicles.

All of that really should be a weekly check, when you check the oil and water (which should never need topping up - if they do, then that's an indication of a problem). If you look at the ground where you normally park, you'll see evidence of any leaks.

The clutch slip means your clutch is worn out and needs replacing. If your engine speeds up more rapidly than the car does, especially on motorways or hills, that's clutch slip. TBH, that alone is the vast majority of the bill you've been quoted. The parts aren't particularly cheap, and the work involved is quite a few hours. If it wasn't for that, I'd say definitely sort the rest - that's just part of the cost of driving. But for the clutch? It may well be time to cut your losses on this car. At the sub-grand (or even sub-two-grand) price range, you are not getting good value from dealers. You can buy far better cars for the money privately, and you don't really lose a lot of consumer protection.