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Does this sound right?
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My Astra had the same advisories two years in a row both front coil springs corroded/rust ,when i asked the man who passed it he said yes there is rust/corrosion but it is not unknown on front suspension and he has to note it as its part of the MOT, i have changed them both this year as i thought one of them had snapped as one side of the car was lower than the other,it was not snapped but must have weakened so changed and better to do both sides ,good job i had all the gear to do it.1
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melb said:And I would think that a car that has been thrashed up and down a motorway with a heavy foot on the accelerator and sharp braking would not be a good buy.2
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Hello Mel,
I can update about my Focus as the MOT was today.- The nearside suspension arm that was an advisory last year needed replacing, cost £220.
- The off-side is now an advisory "Offside Front Lower Suspension arm pin or bush worn but not resulting in excessive movement rear bush (5.3.4 (a) (i))"
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Since you are on friendly terms with the garage ask them to put the car through its MOT and if it passes buy it. If there are advisories get them fixed along with a service. There is nothing inherently wrong with purchasing a 10 year low mileage car. Thousands of people do it every year. Always think price, condition and service history.
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Broken coils at 21k miles seems rather strange. Yes they may have been 9 years old.
Seaside enviroment?
Similar with worn bushes, i would not expect bushes to wear at just 21k miles.
Although on a Focus these parts are not expensive to replace, so maybe a good buy.
Censorship Reigns Supreme in Troll City...1 -
On balance, the car that has been offered seems a fair deal. Need to see condition and check out the specification.1
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thanks for further replies/advice. I have only seen a photo so far. I suppose the difficulty will be that the owner will only be able to drive it to the garage for me to view (as suggested by garage man) if the MOT is booked. If it fails the MOT he will then be unable to drive it home. Mind you he would have that problem anyway - unless someone was willing to buy it as is and tow it away. I could go to the owner's home but not really any point if I can't test drive it. I might suggest I will buy it if he puts it through MOT and he goes halves with me on the cost of putting right the advisories.0
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Why not agree to buy subject to MOT with no advisories? Why should you agree to half the cost of something that is unknown?0
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eamon said:Since you are on friendly terms with the garage ask them to put the car through its MOT and if it passes buy it. If there are advisories get them fixed along with a service. There is nothing inherently wrong with purchasing a 10 year low mileage car. Thousands of people do it every year. Always think price, condition and service history.Save £2,400 tuition fees - £2,321.04 as of 08/24
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Dear OP
It is low miles but you need to take into account the miles, the age and service history and how it was driven.
Cars are not what they were even ten years ago as cost cutting, reudctions in weight means springs go and poor road surfaces are not helping.
ATB0
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