Buying a used Car with MOT advisories

paul2louise

Mum had her car written off a month ago when someone drove into her. She needs another car. We looked at a 21 plate Aygo today but saw it had MOT advisories. 

I raised concerns with the Sales advisor and they said I had nothing to worry about but I am not sure as I want my mum to be safe after her recent accident. Just a bit of advice from someone who knows a bit more about cars than I do. Thank you 

Date tested

16 May 2025

PASS

Mileage

23,988 miles

Test location

View test location

MOT test number

3323 2921 9833

Expiry date

20 May 2026

Monitor and repair if necessary (advisories):

Nearside Front Brake disc worn, but not excessively (1.1.14 (a) (i))

Offside Front Brake disc worn, but not excessively (1.1.14 (a) (i))

Nearside Rear Tyre slightly damaged/cracking or perishing (5.2.3 (d) (ii))

Offside Rear Tyre slightly damaged/cracking or perishing (5.2.3 (d) (ii))

GunJack

Brakes and tyres are wear & tear items...every car will need them several times throughout it's life. Find your local well-regarded part worn tyre place to keep costs down on tyres. The brake discs will probably be fine for a good few thousand miles yet. Again, your local trusted independent garage is a better bet than main dealers or the chains like halfords and kwik fit. 

paul2louise

GunJack said:

Brakes and tyres are wear & tear items...every car will need them several times throughout it's life. Find your local well-regarded part worn tyre place to keep costs down on tyres. The brake discs will probably be fine for a good few thousand miles yet. Again, your local trusted independent garage is a better bet than main dealers or the chains like halfords and kwik fit. 

Thank you. Should I push the dealer to get them fixed or ask to drop the price so I can get them fixed myself 

twopenny

Don't think the dealer will do that.
The advisory is saying that it may or may not be necessary at some time in the future. Not that it is necessary now. A lot will depend on your driving and mileage.
And you have almost a year before the MOT. It's not urgent.

You could ask if they would be willing to change the tyres. They can do that quicker and cheaper than you. 
But new discs is time and money.

paul2louise

twopenny said:

Don't think the dealer will do that.
The advisory is saying that it may or may not be necessary at some time in the future. Not that it is necessary now. A lot will depend on your driving and mileage.
And you have almost a year before the MOT. It's not urgent.

You could ask if they would be willing to change the tyres. They can do that quicker and cheaper than you. 
But new discs is time and money.

Fair enough I was just a bit put off that sales assistant wasn't even prepared to negotiate on the tyres but I said I wanted a 2nd opinion. 

Altior

do you even know if the tyres and discs noted haven't be touched since the MOT? I doubt the salesman does.

a good used car dealer wouldn't usually let a car out the door with obvious consumables that needing replacing, but they might only be remedied after the pdi, which often only happens once a sale is secured. 

paul2louise

The tyres definitely haven't been replaced as there are obvious cracks. Let's face it, if you are planning on selling your car you wouldn't do anything that costs you. 

HillStreetBlues

Have you looked at the older MOTs?

ohreallƳ

As others have pointed out these items are consumables and I wouldn't stress too much about them.

If the dealer is intractable and not open to either replace them or discount on the basis of you being landed with the bill, I'd go elsewhere, there are plenty of othe cars out there. 

Good luck.

paul2louise

ohreallƳ said:

As others have pointed out these items are consumables and I wouldn't stress too much about them.

If the dealer is intractable and not open to either replace them or discount on the basis of you being landed with the bill, I'd go elsewhere, there are plenty of othe cars out there. 

Good luck.

It's a main dealer for Toyota for the whole country so I can't buy from another as they are all the same selection of cars and the next nearest dealer is quite a long way. I liked this one for its age mileage and spec as it's up from the basic. I had to request the car to be driven up to view as it was at another dealer over 100 miles away so not something I can do again unless I am certain as it costs them a lot of money and time. I had seen another at this local dealer but it sold before I could view it. So unless another suitable one comes along I will have to wait and mum is without a car. I just don't want her having any hassle as she needs it for her independence. 

paul_c123

paul2louise said:

ohreallƳ said:

As others have pointed out these items are consumables and I wouldn't stress too much about them.

If the dealer is intractable and not open to either replace them or discount on the basis of you being landed with the bill, I'd go elsewhere, there are plenty of othe cars out there. 

Good luck.

It's a main dealer for Toyota for the whole country so I can't buy from another as they are all the same selection of cars and the next nearest dealer is quite a long way. I liked this one for its age mileage and spec as it's up from the basic. I had to request the car to be driven up to view as it was at another dealer over 100 miles away so not something I can do again unless I am certain as it costs them a lot of money and time. I had seen another at this local dealer but it sold before I could view it. So unless another suitable one comes along I will have to wait and mum is without a car. I just don't want her having any hassle as she needs it for her independence. 

Does the dealer know you've put yourself into a corner? If not, and you can do it, you could 'fake' saying you'll walk away and see if they fold. 

Or you could spread your net to look at non-Toyota dealers and maybe even private too. As you've seen with your own eyes, the main dealers aren't bothered about selling cars with issues like worn tyres. Some dealers would resolve all the advisories on an MoT for a better quality offering and peace of mind as part of the service.