Used car looking like it may not road worthy - what can I do?

Robbo66

try and get it booked in to a council test centre, same one taxi drivers use, they are unbiased and it will either pass or fail. 

daveyjp

No mention of the vehicle age, but if its over ten years the first job is a full and proper inspection underneath before paying anything.  Van chassis aren't generally built to last as most vans are abused and many do very high mileages, so longevity of metal isn't a major concern for manufacturers.

I once had a 15 year old car, it passed an MOT a few months after I bought it, 12 months later it failed due to corrosion.  It is highly unlikely the corrosion happened the day before the test, but could have been bad enough for failure 2-3 months after the original test.

born_again

Exactly what vehicle, age etc are you talking about?

diystarter7

Hi OP

Why not put it through a free 'safety check' some gargares do?
However, if things are picked up and the new buyer asks, if you do not declare problems you are aware of, could possibly lead to problems

As you said, if you wish, sell it on and be honest.
At times it can be surface rust and different people describe things differently

Only you can decide

Good luck

TELLIT01

The private seller may genuinely have been unaware of the problems.  Some MOT station staff will cut corners as they don't earn a great deal of money for the work.  Wait until you have a full report and then consider the next move.  If that report confirms that the corrosion must have been present 3 months ago DVSA? should certainly be informed.

diystarter7

TELLIT01 said:

The private seller may genuinely have been unaware of the problems.  Some MOT station staff will cut corners as they don't earn a great deal of money for the work.  Wait until you have a full report and then consider the next move.  If that report confirms that the corrosion must have been present 3 months ago DVSA? should certainly be informed.

Thnaks, exactly what i was thinking when i posted before you but omitted but these are wise words indeed
Thnaks

Ectophile

Tucosalamanca said:

Why do you think that selling an unroadworthy vehicle is illegal?

Section 75 of the Road Traffic Act https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1988/52/section/75

macman

diystarter7 said:

Hi OP

Why not put it through a free 'safety check' some gargares do?
However, if things are picked up and the new buyer asks, if you do not declare problems you are aware of, could possibly lead to problems

As you said, if you wish, sell it on and be honest.
At times it can be surface rust and different people describe things differently

Only you can decide

Good luck

A 'safety check' is simply a marketing gimmick to enable the garage to find things that they can sell you to replace existing parts. Brakes, tyres, suspension, steering etc. That's why it's free, because once your car is up on the ramp and the mechanic is sucking his teeth about all the apparent problems he has found, you're totally vulnerable. It's not a substitute for an MOT test. 
A seller is under no obligation to declare known faults: they simply have to be truthful, if asked. Most buyers never ask, as the numerous tales of woe on here demonstrate.

sevenhills

Ivywestpop said:

Hi all, I purchased a campervan conversion in December 2022 via autotrader with a private seller, and have since had it checked out by my mechanic. Unfortunately they have advised that the road worthiness is looking questionable (awaiting further inspection as due to weight couldn't inspect fully at their garage) due to excessive corrosion underneath. The van had an MOT in November 2022, which it passed with a few minor advisories, no mention of the corrosion which it seems impossible that they would not have spotted. No mention of this from seller, and the advert advises it is in good order. What can I do? It is within 3 months of the MOT so I will report the garage, but obviously this doesn't resolve the sale of a potentially unroadworthy vehicle. Any advise would be much appreciated.

It passed an MOT so the seller is not responsible for that. It may be that your local garage has found some work, that they know you will pay for.
Is this just a few hundred pounds of welding work?

Jumblebumble

Ivywestpop said:

Hi all, I purchased a campervan conversion in December 2022 via autotrader with a private seller, and have since had it checked out by my mechanic. Unfortunately they have advised that the road worthiness is looking questionable (awaiting further inspection as due to weight couldn't inspect fully at their garage) due to excessive corrosion underneath. The van had an MOT in November 2022, which it passed with a few minor advisories, no mention of the corrosion which it seems impossible that they would not have spotted. No mention of this from seller, and the advert advises it is in good order. What can I do? It is within 3 months of the MOT so I will report the garage, but obviously this doesn't resolve the sale of a potentially unroadworthy vehicle. Any advise would be much appreciated. My thoughts are to contact the seller and let them know that they have sold an unroadworthy car - which is of course illegal - and give them to option of purchasing it back/refund to avoid me taking this further. I am awaiting a call back from the bank to see if they can support recovering any of the money, given that it was an illegal sale. Is there anything I can access through autotrader - can't find anything on their site unfortunately. I am aware now that I should have had checks done before the purchase - so please not too many comments on that! Potentially a very expensive lesson learned, but I also feel that I should be able to do something about this? Thank you.

I would ignore all the curious advice about asking for free safety checks and taking to different MOT sataions and ask VOSA to conduct an appeal
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/complain-about-an-mot

This probably  wont help you to go after the private vendor but should put your mind at rest regarding roadworthyness