New MOT advisory

Maximus04

Hi all,
Last week I paid the deposit for a second-hand car and was assured that all is fine with the car. I agreed to pick it after servicing and new MOT on Thursday. Today I checked new MOT information using the gov.uk site and saw the following information Pass: advisory- Oil leak, but not excessive (8.4.1 (a) (i)). My first question is could anyone tell me how serious it could be (base on the code)? The second question is what I should do: Should I refuse to pay the rest until they fix the advisory. Is it possible to withdraw from the transaction without losing deposit (paid using the credit card) base on the received advisory about the oil leak? I just don't want to buy something without knowing how serious this advisory: Oil leak, but not excessive (8.4.1 (a) (i)) is. Thank you all for the help.

System

Most second hand cars have an oil leak once they get to a certain age. If it was serious it would fail. Chances are its nothing more serious than a bit of a damp patch which has built up over a few years. My car has a couple and it doesn't ever need topping up from one service to the next, every 12500 miles.

The only way to find out how serious it is is to pay someone to inspect the car. If something like this is going to put you off a second hand car then maybe you should only buy new or a couple of years old.

arcon5

The code means nothing in terms of how serious.
Could be a leak. Could be some has seeped over time and spread making it look worse than it is.


I doubt it'll be grounds for getting your deposit back though unless it drips.

parking_question_chap

How old is the car?


If more than just a few years old I dont think you will get anywhere with your request.

wgl2014

I've had it where an oil leak is noted one year, not fixed, next year no advisory. Some testers are more likely to note things than others.

I wouldn't be overly concerned but may be worth having a word with the MOT place for some additional information.

EdGasketTheSecond

I've got that advisory on my two cars. One is a bad leak but I can't be bothered to fix it; the other is barely any leak at all. Can't tell anything from it really except there is evidence of oil underneath the engine.

Maximus04

Apparently, it's one of the new changes in MOT that came at the end of May this year. I had the word with the seller and was told that it will be sorted before I collect the car on Thursday. They suspect problems with rocker gasket cover/ seal. The car is 2007 Astra H and apparently, they have a tendency to leak, because of wear and tear of rocker gasket cover/seal. Thank you all for your comments and help.

debtdebt

Oil leaks will have shown as an advisory on the old MOT too.

The dealer will probably do nothing more than steam clean the engine.

migger02

debtdebt wrote: »

Oil leaks will have shown as an advisory on the old MOT too.

The dealer will probably do nothing more than steam clean the engine.

My buddy had that experience. They've just steam clean the engine as well. Good thing we got a good friend mechanic to fix the leak.

n217970

Maximus04 wrote: »

The car is 2007 Astra H

I would be amazed if an 11 year old car didn't have a oil leak of some kind.

I was getting that advisory if I left the engine covers off. Put them back on and I get an advisory that an engine cover is fitted :rotfl:

AdrianC

Maximus04 wrote: »

advisory- Oil leak, but not excessive (8.4.1 (a) (i)). My first question is could anyone tell me how serious it could be (base on the code)?

No. The code simply tells you which bit of the MOT tester manual is being referenced.
https://www.mot-testing.service.gov.uk/documents/manuals/class3457/Section-8-Nuisance.html#section_8.4



All you know from that is that it's not bad enough to fail. It's an 11yr old car...

A leak can be trivial - I had a bad leak, enough to take the dipstick from max to min in <1,000 miles, covering the engine bay and leaving obvious traces wherever the car was parked. It was simply a split rubber hose which cost a few pounds and took half an hour to change.