2006 Nissan Almera MOT failure question

melb

hi there would be very grateful if anyone has any knowledge on this.

Have just bought the above car as my son's first car, partly based on MOT history and advisories, and information provided face to face with the seller.

The car has just failed its MOT (less than a week after buying it) and one of the failures is:-

Repair immediately (major defects):
Nearside Front Suspension arm pin or bush excessively worn (5.3.4 (a) (i))

The only advisory on the previous year's MOT was a partly worn tyre.

My thinking is that something that is excessively worn to the point of failing the MOT would have shown up on the previous year's advisories. the only advisory on this year's MOT is

Offside Front Suspension arm pin or bush worn but not resulting in excessive movement (5.3.4 (a) (i))

ie the other side.

Would be very interested in people's opinions on this. thanks

sevenhills

melb wrote: »

The car has just failed its MOT (less than a week after buying it) and one of the failures is:-

The only advisory on the previous year's MOT was a partly worn tyre.

Advisories are a relatively new idea, just seems like a money making scheme for garages.
I have had advisories which seem perfectly ok to me.
Front Suspension arm pin or bushes are not a big job, maybe less than £100 for both sides, depending on the car.

melb

thanks for quick reply. That's not too bad then. We have been quoted about £200 (not sure of exact amount as y partner spoke to garage) but that also includes replacing two headlights as per

Nearside Headlamp insecure (4.1.1 (c))
Offside Headlamp insecure (4.1.1 (c))
Nearside Headlamp aim too low (4.1.2 (a))
Offside Headlamp aim too high (4.1.2 (a))

it is a garage I have used for a long time and i completely trust them. Do you think that sounds reasonable? It is a Nissan S 1.5 petrol engine by the way

LandyAndy

melb wrote: »

hi there would be very grateful if anyone has any knowledge on this.

Have just bought the above car as my son's first car, partly based on MOT history and advisories, and information provided face to face with the seller.

The car has just failed its MOT (less than a week after buying it) and one of the failures is:-

Repair immediately (major defects):
Nearside Front Suspension arm pin or bush excessively worn (5.3.4 (a) (i))

The only advisory on the previous year's MOT was a partly worn tyre.

My thinking is that something that is excessively worn to the point of failing the MOT would have shown up on the previous year's advisories. the only advisory on this year's MOT is

Offside Front Suspension arm pin or bush worn but not resulting in excessive movement (5.3.4 (a) (i))

ie the other side.

Would be very interested in people's opinions on this. thanks

It's a minor repair that most likely has deteriorated over the last 12 months.

You were brave buying a car with only a week's ticket on it. :eek:

melb

that's good then. Just all the other things he lied about to concentrate on then.

Brave or more likely silly! The ad said that he would put it through MOT for the asking price but immediately offered to drop the price if we did the MOT ourselves.

When asked if he knew of any work that was needed he said just a windscreen wiper so we were silly to take his word. he seemed like an honest guy according to my partner and son.

AdrianC

sevenhills wrote: »

Advisories are a relatively new idea

No, they aren't. They've been around for years.

You're getting confused with "Minor fails", which came in with the May 2018 MOT changes - and have the same effect as "compulsory advisories".

Advisories are what they've always been - something that is a pass, but the tester thinks he should make you aware of. No more than that. Some testers are freer with them than others.

So - OP - should "this year's fail" have automatically been on last year's test as an advisory? No. Perhaps it wasn't that bad at all last year. Perhaps the tester just didn't think it worth mentioning. Nearside gets all the edge-of-road potholes and debris, as well as bouncing up and off kerbs, so may well wear faster than the offside.

Exemplar

melb wrote: »

that's good then. Just all the other things he lied about to concentrate on then.

Brave or more likely silly! The ad said that he would put it through MOT for the asking price but immediately offered to drop the price if we did the MOT ourselves.

When asked if he knew of any work that was needed he said just a windscreen wiper so we were silly to take his word. he seemed like an honest guy according to my partner and son.

1) You should have insisted he put it through an MOT
2) It's a 13 year old car
3) It's a 13 year old car (it's worth repeating)
4) The MOT was done a year ago, the car will (most likely) have been driven since then so anything could have gone wrong inbetween
5) The issues mentioned are all minor and part and parcel of owning a 13 year old car

He may well have been honest, but did you (or your partner) do enough? It's always so easy to blame someone else when perhaps we should check things out more before buying 13 year old cars..

melb

thank you. So what more should we have done? (for future reference)

AdrianC

melb wrote: »

thank you. So what more should we have done? (for future reference)

Honestly, this really isn't a big deal. A bit of wear on consumable on a 13yo car.

System

melb wrote: »

My thinking is that something that is excessively worn to the point of failing the MOT would have shown up on the previous year's advisories. the only advisory on this year's MOT is

Your thinking is wrong. My car averages 17,000 miles a year between MOTs, plenty can break in that time. Just get the job done, you should have change out of £100.

Unless the person was a qualified mechanic he wasn't necessarily lying to you, he may not have known. Headlamp alignment is nothing, cars fail on it so often most MOT centres just adjust it during the test for free.

angrycrow

Both front headlights insecure and both low aim. What did the previous owner run into and have you checked it is not on the total loss register with a HPI check.

This was a massive gamble but you appear to have got lucky. Source good used headlights from ebay or breakers for £20 to £30 each and fit them yourself. Align them against a wall at night for aim. New suspension arm and fitting under £100.