13 year old car has 8 MOT faliures

muon said:
That's already been established.

I want to understand why you think Japanese cars are immune to MOT failures, especially at 13 years of age.
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Ive already said that a 13 year old Honda is a bad buy due to average corrosion protection.
My 13 year old BMW has no corrosion at all. (But that comes with its own set of problems).

So jog along nicely, thank you
 
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Recent MOT makes it look like most of it has been fixed, but you need to be careful.

At that sort of miliage you would expect the suspension to be needing an overhaul. But it hasn't been maintained at all looking at some of the things like damaged mirrors, multiple dead bulbs, exhaust falling off etc. Most people who look after their cars would fix things obvious things asap.
 
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tacticalx86 said:
Evening all,
Looking at this car tommorow https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202104010864363?model=CIVIC&radius=10&year-from=2007&make=HONDA&maximum-badge-engine-size=1.4&onesearchad=New&onesearchad=Nearly New&onesearchad=Used&sort=relevance&fuel-type=Petrol&minimum-badge-engine-size=1.4&include-delivery-option=on&price-to=2500&postcode=cm158rl&advertising-location=at_cars&maximum-mileage=125000&page=1

I just passd my driving test. I have a Hyundai i10 2013 with something silly like 13K miles on it but I'm not a massive fan of it and the intention was for me to always buy a car.

The thing that bugs me with this car is tonight I decided to look at its service history online, (https://www.check-mot.service.gov.uk/
SD58 YFF|), and over a 13 year period, it has 8 MOT fails and just 10 Passes. It passed its most recent one next one due next year. This seems anomalously high for a car especially a Honda that is supposed to be reliable. What's going on? Should I avoid this car like the plague, or is it just overzealous mechanics (I'm not sure about this as some of the faults seem more serious) or the owner not taking care of it? it's only had two apparently and is on 114K miles.

Thanks
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Dodgy mechanics might fail a car just to get some work. I think when my sister gets her mot done it very rarely passes without them saying she needs X or Y doing first (usually tyres or brakes). Probably taking advantage, her car is nowhere near that old, and was brought 2-3 years old.
 
That looks knackered, rear suspension is clearly broken. There's plenty out there that will be better.

Owned one for 7 years and did over 100k in it (1.8 Type-S GT, 160k miles in the end). I had two major issues, front shocks died (cheap enough job) and the gearbox input shaft failed (replaced with low milage used). Gearbox was likely my fault, car had an incredibly hard life and they're not a known issue.

Avoid Diesel aside from the 2.2, make sure it's had a clutch and dmf done in its life. Petrol you want the 1.8, they are absolutely bomb proof.

If you like ride quality avoid 18" wheels, plus the tyres are expensive. You should get a decent average miles EX/ES/Type-S GT for similar money I'm sure.

I didn't maintain mine cosmetically and it had hidden crash damage from a previous owner but I had zero rust.
 
chrcoluk said:
Dodgy mechanics might fail a car just to get some work. I think when my sister gets her mot done it very rarely passes without them saying she needs X or Y doing first (usually tyres or brakes). Probably taking advantage, her car is nowhere near that old, and was brought 2-3 years old.
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:confused: I presume you've picked the two worst examples given there is nothing subjective about tyre tread depth and meat left on the pad lol. Wipers, for sure - big con.
 
dLockers said:
:confused: I presume you've picked the two worst examples given there is nothing subjective about tyre tread depth and meat left on the pad lol. Wipers, for sure - big con.
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A failure is a failure though right, the OP didnt say what the failures were. I dont consider history of MOT failures as a reason to not buy a car.

End of the day my sister isnt a mechanic, she cant tell from looking at her tyres if they meet MOT regulations, and she cannot even see her brake pads at all, its taking the word of the mechanic.
 
chrcoluk said:
A failure is a failure though right, the OP didnt say what the failures were. I dont consider history of MOT failures as a reason to not buy a car.

End of the day my sister isnt a mechanic, she cant tell from looking at her tyres if they meet MOT regulations, and she cannot even see her brake pads at all, its taking the word of the mechanic.
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Your sister needs a talking to if she can't spot basic safety issues like her tyre tread being below 1.3mm. I believe it is even part of the theory test, isn't it?
 
dLockers said:
Your sister needs a talking to if she can't spot basic safety issues like her tyre tread being below 1.3mm. I believe it is even part of the theory test, isn't it?
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Not when I took my driving test, and she took hers similar time.

Been able to tell the difference by line of sight between say 1mm and 2mm on a trye, you have very good vision sir. I didnt even know 1.3mm was the regulation as well, since when was that part of the driving test? I expect the vast majority of drivers dont know it either.

The reality is that most people who drive cars in this country wont be voluntarily servicing their vehicles, they do the MOT because its law, and pay for the fixes because they have to pass the MOT.
 
Basic maintenance should be part of driving lessons. Also things like changing a wheel and headlight bulbs. If you can't keep track of how much tread is on the tyres you shouldn't have a car.
 
You should have an idea if tyres are legal or not. The limit is 1.6mm, and that's not a lot. You can buy a depth gauge for a fiver if you're in any doubt. No excuses really.
 
Fusion said:
You should have an idea if tyres are legal or not. The limit is 1.6mm, and that's not a lot. You can buy a depth gauge for a fiver if you're in any doubt. No excuses really.
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Sure I can tell when there is no tread left. :) But telling someone off when they cannot eyeball 1.6mm or 1.3mm is a bit of an ummm.
 
You said you felt your sister is getting stitched up on her MOTs then gave two examples that have zero subjectivity involved :cry: Nothing about eyeballing. More fool for you for relying on the system and others to keep you and your family safe.
 
Submitting a car for MOT with a headlight out? You've got to be an utter moron to do that.

If that thing has had more than 1-2 Services in it's life I'll be amazed.
 
Iamzod said:
Submitting a car for MOT with a headlight out? You've got to be an utter moron to do that.
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I've been a tester for 7 or 8 years now. What people present for an mot is shocking. Joe public do not give a toss about their car. To them it's a white good, it gets used and used, that's it. Most people couldn't tell you if they had a headlight out from driving.
 
Nasher said:
Basic maintenance should be part of driving lessons. Also things like changing a wheel and headlight bulbs. If you can't keep track of how much tread is on the tyres you shouldn't have a car.
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As much as I kinda agree that maintenance should be part of learning to drive the issue is the number of cars with an actual spare wheel or replacable bulbs is rapidly declining. Pretty sure the only bulbs on mine that can be changed without specialist assistance is the damned numberplate ones cause the rest are all LEDs.
 
Dup said:
That looks knackered, rear suspension is clearly broken. There's plenty out there that will be better.

Owned one for 7 years and did over 100k in it (1.8 Type-S GT, 160k miles in the end). I had two major issues, front shocks died (cheap enough job) and the gearbox input shaft failed (replaced with low milage used). Gearbox was likely my fault, car had an incredibly hard life and they're not a known issue.

Avoid Diesel aside from the 2.2, make sure it's had a clutch and dmf done in its life. Petrol you want the 1.8, they are absolutely bomb proof.

If you like ride quality avoid 18" wheels, plus the tyres are expensive. You should get a decent average miles EX/ES/Type-S GT for similar money I'm sure.

I didn't maintain mine cosmetically and it had hidden crash damage from a previous owner but I had zero rust.
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I found a MUCH better Honda, I increased my budget to £2.5K and have found one closer that is 2010, with the new facelift, recently had new clutch installed too and has 89K.
 
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