Suspicious mileage on used car....

General_query

Hi, thank you all so much for the replies, much appreciated. I can't answer them all now as have to take my son out, but will come back on here later. 

Just wanted to upload a print screen of the sales blurb on the website, which does state supplied with full mot and service history.



Thanks again, we really appreciate the helpful replies.

General_query

Is it at all possible to find the name & address of the place that did the MOT on 19th July 2022 (MOT test number 1972 1615 8040).

Government check MOT site says to view the test location "Enter the document reference number from your vehicle log book (V5C). This is an 11 digit number", which we obviously don't have

Just be nice to know where it was done!

badmemory

Were all the MOTs done by the same garage because I would be querying some of those dates.  If you are considering buying from the same garage that did the MOTs then walk away.

Mildly_Miffed

It's a £3.5k, 12yo Focus...

There really are only two ways to approach this.

1. There's a plausible finger-fumble explanation (the tester typed the five and the nine wrong way round, and nobody noticed or cared enough at the time)... and really who cares - condition is far more important.

2. Walk away from this one.

There's not any other mid-ground. You'll never find an answer that settles your mind if you're that wobbly about it.

And, no, you can't find out who the 2022 test was done by unless you have the V5C doc ref, or the actual certificate. For a while, it was possible, but that was removed - probably because of test centres wasting half their time on phone calls from Joe Random with silly questions about cars they simply don't remember testing...

Brie

Wrong car's info input would be my guess.  This happened a couple of years back when the OH took his to the dealership for its MOT/service.  Went to pick it up and was handed the wrong keys and then was told "hey wait, there's a problem" and had to wait til the next day for them to get things sorted.  

Grumpy_chap

12 yo Focus Diesel at £3.8k.
You see a discrpency with the mileage for this one.
What's so great about this one that you continue to pursue it?

Buy another 12 yo Focus Diesel.  There are plenty around.

Is a diesel the best fuel choice for your future mileage?

facade

400ixl said:

facade said:

The most likely scenario is that the previous owner "got rid" sometime before July 18th, didn't bother to get a fresh MOT beforehand, and it has been "In Trade" for at least the last 3 months.

The MOT and tax expired in 2023 not 2024. So 15 months, rather than 3.

Crikey!

I've lost a year.

(That's what retirement does for you)

We're looking at what should be a £1500 car, (12 years is pretty much end of life) priced at £3800, with a suspiciously long gap in the MOTs

I wouldn't buy it at that price, there are hundreds of them about.

Focuses rust around the rear wheel arches and back of the sills btw.

Mildly_Miffed

facade said:

400ixl said:

The MOT and tax expired in 2023 not 2024. So 15 months, rather than 3.

Crikey!

I've lost a year.

(That's what retirement does for you)

We're looking at what should be a £1500 car, (12 years is pretty much end of life) priced at £3800, with a suspiciously long gap in the MOTs

You've lost a lot more than a year if you think a grand and a half will buy you anything half-decent these days.

Average age for a car to be scrapped in the UK is around 13yo - but that's skewed by early write-offs and neglected heaps.
Most cars die a death of a thousand papercuts, and would be perfectly good for another few years with a tyre or two, a windscreen, a good service, a few quid spending on actual maintenance... but they're too scruffy to be bothered with.

facade

Mildly_Miffed said:

You've lost a lot more than a year if you think a grand and a half will buy you anything half-decent these days.

I know- the key is these days. Prices rocketed up after the B & C-words ramped up the price of new cars and haven't come back yet.

(Still, the trader will have paid less than £1500 for it)

My point, that I didn't express very well is that £3800 is a lot of money to spend on a car that you have any misgivings over.

When prices weren't so crazy you could take a chance with £1000-£1500 and if it shuddered to a halt 3 months later scrap it and write off the money with a bit of regret, £3800 is a significant amount to be down.

400ixl

£3.8k is the average price for a 12 year old Focus with 90k. This one is below average with a year on unknown history.

As has also been questioned, is a diesel the right choice for the buyer, especially being Euro 5 and non compliant for any of the low emission zone schemes.