Want to buy 1k Ford Focus - Opinions? And do garages still issue dodgy MOT's?

ireallycantyodel

Hubby and I are currently looking at cars - we have a very small budget and know we have to be careful about what we end up with with a budget of around 1k so we are sticking to car dealers that are registered as businesses and accept credit cards so if need be I can get my measly 1 k back.

Public transport is just getting worse and stressing us out.

Anyhoo, we just found this car - dealer has a decent website (Google reviews are pants but all small car dealer Google reviews are pants..lol)

https://www.raccars.co.uk/ford/focus/1-6-zetec-5dr--climate-pack-/52410520/8/ds

http://www.cityroadmotors.co.uk/used/ford/focus/1-6-zetec-5dr-climate-pack-/aetv25509491/


What concerns me is that the car has failed the MOT twice in January and now it has 12 months MOT - even the advisory notes are gone. Presuming that everything has been fixed....or not so much. I am not sure how much I can trust an MOT done probably by their best buddy. Admittedly the car is old but has low mileage so the question is, is the price justified or could there be anything dodgy?

So this was the first MOT:

Do not drive until repaired (dangerous defects):
Parking brake efficiency less than 50% of the required value (1.4.2 (a) (ii))
Repair immediately (major defects):
Drivers view of the road through the swept area of the windscreen materially affected by an obstruction (3.1 (a) (ii))
Offside Front Position lamp not working (4.2.1 (a))
Nearside Front Steering rack gaiter missing or no longer prevents the ingress of dirt (2.1.3 (g) (ii))
Nearside Front Wheel bearing rough when rotated (5.1.3 (b) (i))
Nearside Rear Parking brake inoperative on one side (1.4.1 (a))
Monitor and repair if necessary (advisories):
brake fluid reservoir insecure
Offside Front Tyre worn close to legal limit/worn on edge (5.2.3 (e))
Brake disc worn, pitted or scored, but not seriously weakened both front (1.1.14 (a) (ii))



Then the second

Do not drive until repaired (dangerous defects):
Parking brake efficiency less than 50% of the required value (1.4.2 (a) (ii))
Repair immediately (major defects):
Brake master cylinder insecure fluid res (1.1.10 (c))
Rear All direction indicators incorrect colour (4.4.3 (a))
Offside Front All direction indicators incorrect colour (4.4.3 (a))
Nearside Front Anti-roll bar ball joint excessively worn (5.3.4 (a) (i))
Nearside Rear Service brake excessively binding (1.2.1 (f))
Nearside Parking brake inoperative on one side (1.4.1 (a))
Offside Parking brake inoperative on one side only 20kg (1.4.1 (a))
Monitor and repair if necessary (advisories):
brake fluid reservoir insecure
Offside Front Tyre worn close to legal limit/worn on edge (5.2.3 (e))
Brake disc worn, pitted or scored, but not seriously weakened both front (1.1.14 (a) (ii))


And then the third time it passed without any advisory notes.

Looking at the MOT history, it only failed once before so I feel the car was well maintained. But there is no other information on the car eg. how many previous owners.

Can you guys advise me? We will eventually go and have a look if it's not gone but it would be great to get some ideas.

waamo

I don't think the dealer having a decent website is any indication of the quality of his vehicles. I do find it a little odd you place more store in a decent website than the independent reviews.

Mercdriver

This isn't the dealer's website. It is a version of motors.co.uk which is a national advertising website.

ireallycantyodel

waamo wrote: »

I don't think the dealer having a decent website is any indication of the quality of his vehicles. I do find it a little odd you place more store in a decent website than the independent reviews.

I don't - it's just one of the factors I consider. The most dodgiest dealers I have dealt with merely have a mobile phone number and trade in the backyard of someone else's business.
But feel free to read the rest of my post. If I wasn't concerned at all, I wouldn't have posted this.

Mercdriver wrote: »

This isn't the dealer's website. It is a version of motors.co.uk which is a national advertising website.

I know - I posted the wrong link. I added the other one now.

ireallycantyodel

I just ran a check on it for a couple of quid and the only thing that came up is that it has 7 (!!) previous owners...yikes

Tokk

Red flags galore...

I wouldn't look twice at an ad where the seller takes multiple exterior pictures and zero interior ones.

Where possible, I wouldn't disregard dealer reviews either.

An autotrader (for example) search allows plenty of filters - this can turn up a fair few worth looking at.

Carrot007

ireallycantyodel wrote: »

we have a very small budget and know we have to be careful about what we end up with with a budget of around 1k so we are sticking to car dealers that are registered as businesses and accept credit cards so if need be I can get my measly 1 k back.

Sounds a bad plan. 1. Respectable traders will not sell a car of that value. 2. They will have just bought it at auction and said it is good, they probably know nothing. 3. Yes the MOT might be dodgy. But only in certain areas. 4. A MOT means nothing regarding it being a decent car, just that it passes a few saftey tests.


And £1000 go private and find someone with a folder of recipts regarding the upkeep. With long MOT the worst is a new car after it runs out and the best is it keeps on going.

ireallycantyodel

Carrot007 wrote: »

Sounds a bad plan. 1. Respectable traders will not sell a car of that value. 2. They will have just bought it at auction and said it is good, they probably know nothing. 3. Yes the MOT might be dodgy. But only in certain areas. 4. A MOT means nothing regarding it being a decent car, just that it passes a few saftey tests.


And £1000 go private and find someone with a folder of recipts regarding the upkeep. With long MOT the worst is a new car after it runs out and the best is it keeps on going.

Actually I found something else dodgy. There was a mileage discrepancy on the MOT (unless it was a typo) and 7 previous owner kind of raises red flags.

I wouldn't mind goin private but it's difficult to get something with a long MOT as people sell when they know it might not pass next MOT - at least that's my worry. And the last guy had already sorned the vehicle so no option to test drive...:-(

jimjames

Carrot007 wrote: »

And £1000 go private and find someone with a folder of recipts regarding the upkeep. With long MOT the worst is a new car after it runs out and the best is it keeps on going.

Totally agree, private is the way to go IF you find a genuine private seller, ideally who has owned the car for a number of years and has full history. My 17 year old car was owned by a couple for 12 years who did around 3000 miles per year. Just decided it was time for a new car and changed. Not had any issues with it over the last 12 months.

At the point of purchase it had 9 months MOT and had brand new tyres fitted a couple of months earlier. There are cars out there but you might need to search and also be flexible on models

Mercdriver

The lack of a landline number puts me off. Notice the telephone number on their website is a mobile number. Step away from the vehicle...

debtdebt

Buy private at a grand. You will get more car for your money and be able to gauge what the previous owner is like.