Failed MOT

MissAliciaP

Our 2006 Ford KA went in for its MOT yesterday and failed on:


- the num plate bulb is out
- exhaust having major leak of exhaust gasses blowing from front flexi,
- nearside front subframe excessively corroded (floor holed),
- offside front suspension excessive movement at wishbone pin
- nearside front seatbelt anchorage excessively corroded outer sill holed


I've been quoted £600 + cost of MOT to repair, but I'm not sure that for that it's worth fixing as we don't have the money to spend that and then something else happen to it. Can anyone advise as to the most cost effective way to have it scrapped? Those 'we buy any car' places will give us practically nothing, so am reluctant to go down that route.


Furthermore, we do actually need a second car, so possibly stuck with buying another cheap one just to have an option - but is that worthwhile or will we end up in the same situation in 6 months? Any help or suggestions appreciated :-(

~Beanie~

Can anyone advise as to the most cost effective way to have it scrapped? Those 'we buy any car' places will give us practically nothing, so am reluctant to go down that route.

'Practically nothing' is probably as good as you are going to get for a 12 year old rusty KA. Have you tried ringing your local car scrappage place? There are lots of them about if you google and most will collect your car.

arcon5

I suppose the issue is if you spend £500 on another car you don't know it's history and there's still a risk things will go wrong.

AdrianC

MissAliciaP wrote: »

Our 2006 Ford KA went in for its MOT yesterday and failed on:

- the num plate bulb is out
- exhaust having major leak of exhaust gasses blowing from front flexi,

Those two are just routine maintenance.

- nearside front subframe excessively corroded (floor holed),
- offside front suspension excessive movement at wishbone pin
- nearside front seatbelt anchorage excessively corroded outer sill holed

Ford Ka, you said? Quelle surprise!

I've been quoted £600 + cost of MOT to repair, but I'm not sure that for that it's worth fixing as we don't have the money to spend that and then something else happen to it.

Any other £650 car you buy is likely to be in pretty much the same boat, of course.

Can anyone advise as to the most cost effective way to have it scrapped?

Yellow pages, "Car and vehicle dismantlers". Phone around, "I've got a 2006 Ka that's failed the MOT on some rot - how much, collected?"

consumers_revenge

£64 removemycar.co.uk

Ectophile

The most cost effective would probably be to drive it down a local scrapyard yourself, so they don't have to pay a driver to pick it up on a truck.

Of course, you'd have to work out a plan to get home again.

arcon5

Or sell it as an mot failure on eBay and gumtree

forgotmyname

Yep as a breaker its worth less than £100, but on ebay you may get more, especially if you list the MOT failure sheet and take pictures of what needs doing.

As mentioned though buy a car for £600 and it may need a £200 - £600 service. New belts and fluids and posisbly work on the brakes etc.

poggles

MissAliciaP wrote: »

Our 2006 Ford KA went in for its MOT yesterday and failed on:


- the num plate bulb is out
- exhaust having major leak of exhaust gasses blowing from front flexi,
- nearside front subframe excessively corroded (floor holed),
- offside front suspension excessive movement at wishbone pin
- nearside front seatbelt anchorage excessively corroded outer sill holed


I've been quoted £600 + cost of MOT to repair, but I'm not sure that for that it's worth fixing as we don't have the money to spend that and then something else happen to it. Can anyone advise as to the most cost effective way to have it scrapped? Those 'we buy any car' places will give us practically nothing, so am reluctant to go down that route.


Furthermore, we do actually need a second car, so possibly stuck with buying another cheap one just to have an option - but is that worthwhile or will we end up in the same situation in 6 months? Any help or suggestions appreciated :-(

Check out the local scrap metal merchants.
One's around here pay between £150 & £200 for almost any scrap car (no mot required, only the log book and some form of suitable ID)

Your only issue will be how you then get the car to the scrap metal merchant, as that price does not cover collection.

As for whether or not to dispose of the car, well you know that £600+VAT will now get you 12 months MOT on it.
Of course it may go wrong at any time.

If you buy another banger instead, will it have 12 months MOT on it?
Even if it does, would you trust the integrity of that MOT?
And that car could also go wrong at any time.

Sometimes, it's better the devil you know
Or maybe you know this devil too well already, and think it's worthwhile taking your chances elsewhere. Ultimately, that is a decision only you are in a position to make.

Robisere

If you do look at buying another banger, first questions are:

*Does it have a 12 month (or almost 12 month) MOT?
*can you see the last MOT, with advisories?
- Or look them up using the Reg. Plate here:
https://www.gov.uk/check-mot-history

That will show all the "Advisory" notices, which would give you an idea of the possible life you can expect from the car. In fact, if you see a car, take the Reg, say you are interested, go home and look it up.

You can be lucky as well as unlucky with a banger purchase, but you need to do some research: look up the make & model of the car(s) on Google, you will get some Forums regarding them, with possible pitfalls.

bertiewhite

I stuck an MOT failure Daihatsu Terios (rotten chassis but good everything else) on ebay thinking nobody would want it but somebody had it as a donor car for his.