i need some advice on an mot please

[me_n_my_kids]

hiya, i bought a car from my friend in october. its a ford escort L reg. it was mot'd in march 06 and passed only needing a new exhaust.

 

now in november the boot lock started sticking and with a new baby coming im gonna have a big buggy so i need the boot. took it to a garage and also asked them to look at water tank as its been taking pints and pints of water a day.

 

they called me and told me there is £1200 of repairs needing done, includng radiator being completely bust, cracked pas belt, and some other things that without the report i cant remember. they said it shouldnt really be driven.

 

what i would like some advice on, is if its likely that this all has happened since the end of march, or was the mot something dodgy?

[nathal]

its possible the car would have slipped through mot, as a leaking radiator dripps water and i dont think that is took into consideration in mot.

same for belts.

the boot not opening would have failed the mot.

if you can get into the boot from the back seats, you will be able to get the boot open and either oil or adjust the lock, and if needs get another lock from a car breaker, probably £10

[rosiecotton]

The trouble is, an MoT is only a statement of the condition of the car on the day it was done - even if you know that these faults were present at the time of the MoT, at this stage it would be very difficult to prove that. VOSA, who deal with MoT complaints, probably wouldn't be able to take any action after months have passed. Equally, Trading Standards who deal with the Road Traffic Act and unsafe cars/dodgy servicing, wouldn't really be able to build a case after this long. It might still be worth reporting it to TS though as they can log the complaint on their files and if/when they do an "undercover" project they can bear this garage in mind when they review their complaints to see who to target.

[ukaviator]

The garage did an MOT. If i remember correctly the water / radiator system is'nt on the MOT test as it does'nt directly affect safety. They have a duty to report their findings on the attached test paperwork.

The seat belt is questionable, but they will only say it was ok at the time of test. Buying a car that old will start to cost money in the long run, and most parts will be have to be ordered through Ford or a scrap dealer.

 

Uk..

[joe5]

I think you should really put a list here of what the garage say's the car needs, £1200 for repairs for a car that is worth maybe £300 tops doesn't make sense.

 

A radiator is easy to remove and replace with one from a scrapper, the same goes for the seat belt, you should be able to get both items from a scrapyard off the shelf for less than £60.

 

The problem being is what damage you have done driving the car with a water leak, have you damaged the cylinder head as a result ?

 

Post a list of what your garage states the car needs and ask advice before making any decisions.

[Mister D]

hiya, i bought a car from my friend in october. its a ford escort L reg. it was mot'd in march 06 and passed only needing a new exhaust.

 

now in november the boot lock started sticking and with a new baby coming im gonna have a big buggy so i need the boot. took it to a garage and also asked them to look at water tank as its been taking pints and pints of water a day.

 

they called me and told me there is £1200 of repairs needing done, includng radiator being completely bust, cracked pas belt, and some other things that without the report i cant remember. they said it shouldnt really be driven.

 

what i would like some advice on, is if its likely that this all has happened since the end of march, or was the mot something dodgy?

 

It is quite common for boot locks to seize especially in winter. The MOT was 9 months ago, plenty of time for it to seize.

 

Radiator is not part of an MOT test, neither is the condition of a drive belt.

 

As has been said above any MOT is only an indication that the vehicle was roadworthy at the time it was tested. (corrosion excepted).

[me_n_my_kids]

thanks for all your advice, i have since decided to accept the car was a bad purchase and have bought a mondeo r reg in the hops ill be more successful this time. thanks again