Ford Focus - Should a 61 plate have MOT history?

Honest John Back Room » Motoring discussion
What is life like with your car? Let us know and win £500 in John Lewis vouchers | No thanks
View Threaded
Thu 25 Feb 2016 20:53
Ford Focus - Should a 61 plate have MOT history? - frank_butcher

Trying to find out info about a 61 plate focus. It's low mileage (13K) and I wanted to see the MOT history via

www.check-mot.service.gov.uk

But that site comes up with

"No vehicle that mached the data you entered could not be found"

The details are correct because if I use the main DVLA check tax status page it finds the vehicle:

Vehicle Make: FORD
Date of first registration: 31 January 2012
Year of manufacture: 2012
Cylinder ... 1596cc
etc.

So the DVLA are aware of the vehicle but they have no MOT record for it.

NOTE TOO:
The tax status says Tax due: 01 October 2014


Questions
1. The vehicle should have had it's first MOT at 31 Jan 2015, correct?
2. The vehicle should have had it's second MOT at 31 Jan 2016, correct?
3. Why would it not have online MOT details?
4. Is this an import?
5. Why would the DVLA say the Tax was due 01 October 2014? Was it SORNd or in for (long repairs)?
6. If the vehicle was SORNd, or was in for repairs for the last 1 or 2 years did it thus not require an MOT?

The vehicle is being advertised by a main, well established dealer so there should not be any shenanigans going on. Will be visiting in a few days and so can check paperwork. But would like to be prepared with the above info first.

Assuming this is a bona fide vehcile is it still true that very low mileage cars (avg 3,000 per year) are bad purchases because they only ever had short run cold starts?

Edited by frank_butcher on 25/02/2016 at 20:59

Reply | Report as offensive | Link
Thu 25 Feb 2016 21:08
Ford Focus - Should a 61 plate have MOT history? - Brit_in_Germany

Perhaps it was on a personalised registration?

Reply | Report as offensive | Link
Thu 25 Feb 2016 21:38
Ford Focus - Should a 61 plate have MOT history? - TedCrilly

Low mileage says it could have come from the channel islands and been given a mainland plate.

Reply | Report as offensive | Link
Thu 25 Feb 2016 22:27
Ford Focus - Should a 61 plate have MOT history? - RT

Since it shows that tax is due from 2014, it's not been (legally) on the road since then - so no MoT test will have been done as that was under 3 years old.

Your bigger problem is finding out why it's not be on the road legally for 18 months.

Reply | Report as offensive | Link
Fri 26 Feb 2016 10:45
Ford Focus - Should a 61 plate have MOT history? - FoxyJukebox

If a vehicle previously had a personalised number plate changed to something thing else( trade plates excepted)-What is the maximum amount of time that can lapse before a vehicle's new details-eg new number plate - can be viewed on the "On line" car tax and mot history website?

Reply | Report as offensive | Link
Thu 25 Feb 2016 23:37
Ford Focus - Should a 61 plate have MOT history? - Avant

Low mileage - this one looks as if it's done about 3,000 miles a year - isn't the advantage that some people think it is. If all it's done is short journeys around town, it'll have worn more in its four years than one which has done an average mileage.

There are lots of Focuses around to choose from to suit any budget, so have a look for some more, ideally that have done 8,000 - 12,000 miles a year. And the vast majority should have a straightfoward MoT history.

Reply | Report as offensive | Link
Fri 26 Feb 2016 08:17
Ford Focus - Should a 61 plate have MOT history? - Cyd

It's a Focus. There's loads about. Leave this one alone.

Don't get stary eyed over that avg mileage - loads of short journeys with cold starts are BAD BAD BAD for engine wear. Find something with 10-15000mpa on it.

Reply | Report as offensive | Link
Fri 26 Feb 2016 08:26
Ford Focus - Should a 61 plate have MOT history? - Ian_SW

It's possible it's an ex fleet car which was taken back by the lease company just before it was three years old, and has sat around in various compounds and dealerships ever since. When a car is owned by a motor trader (which includes the lease companies) it is 'off the road' without being SORN. If the car is taken on the road it has to be fitted with trade plates.

However I'd steer clear of a car which had been sitting around for over a year not being used when there are plenty of others around.

Reply | Report as offensive | Link
Fri 26 Feb 2016 09:59
Ford Focus - Should a 61 plate have MOT history? - frank_butcher
Some good advice here (as always).

I like the channel islands theory. I guess it could be IOW too - if the owner never visited the mainland.

One other theory we had was that the owner (says only 1 previous owner) was either ill, an expat returning to UK for few weeks a year or was doing time.

And of course: if the car was off the road since October 2014 then it has not averaged 3K a year. It could be that it has done an average of 5K a year, which is not as bad looking.

This car is offered with 12 month warranty and breakdown cover whilst some similar were only 3 month and no cover. This is one reason why the buyer is keen on it.

So would this be OK? Give it a few good runs up the motorway in the next few months and if any engine problems they will be repaired?
Reply | Report as offensive | Link
Fri 26 Feb 2016 11:35
Ford Focus - Should a 61 plate have MOT history? - Bolt
Some good advice here (as always). I like the channel islands theory. I guess it could be IOW too - if the owner never visited the mainland. One other theory we had was that the owner (says only 1 previous owner) was either ill, an expat returning to UK for few weeks a year or was doing time. And of course: if the car was off the road since October 2014 then it has not averaged 3K a year. It could be that it has done an average of 5K a year, which is not as bad looking. This car is offered with 12 month warranty and breakdown cover whilst some similar were only 3 month and no cover. This is one reason why the buyer is keen on it. So would this be OK? Give it a few good runs up the motorway in the next few months and if any engine problems they will be repaired?

One previous owner may have been the garage that bought it, and may have been a courtesy car for a while, one of our local garages only keep courtesy cars for a year, then are left standing untill a buyer is found

Reply | Report as offensive | Link
Fri 26 Feb 2016 13:26
Ford Focus - Should a 61 plate have MOT history? - Cyd

Sorry, but not in my opinion. Excess engine wear in early years may not show up as a problem until a few years later when the car fails its MoT on HC emissions!

And it's not just the engine: The gearbox has never been properly warm, probably, so also suffers excess wear Loads of short trips? Hard on the clutch Those brake discs haven't had much use and so get corroded quickly and are likely to need early replacement people think "low mileage - no need to replace brake fluid" - any H2O absorbed into the fluid will corrode vital parts of the system (read: expensive ABS bits) tyres will be little worn, but old (bad, bad, bad) and the list goes on and on .... If you like it, buy it. It won't make a jot of difference to my life. However, you came here asking for our opinions. if you want to try and find reasons to negate our opinions, so be it, BUT if you are predisposed to value the opinion of this professional automotive engineer, general car nut, dedicated car DIYer, ex rally car builder, driver and co-driver, then go and find another one - there are loads of Focuses about. It just might be a great car - but the risk that it isn't is loads higher than normal based on the info given. And I'm only human, not clairvoyant. Just bear that in mind.
Reply | Report as offensive | Link
Fri 26 Feb 2016 13:31
Ford Focus - Should a 61 plate have MOT history? - Cyd

is it still true that very low mileage cars (avg 3,000 per year) are bad purchases because they only ever had short run cold starts?

Of course it is. The quality of cars has improved massively over the last few decades, but until such time as we start carving cars out of solid unobtainium, they will remain subject to the usual rules of wear and tear, with breakdowns and failures. Cars are designed for a "normal" usage pattern and with few exceptions anything outside this 'window' will shorten their useful life.

Reply | Report as offensive | Link
Fri 26 Feb 2016 14:50
Ford Focus - Should a 61 plate have MOT history? - slkfanboy

If a car has been registered in the UK and the your put a personal plate on, the Car is still linked to that orginal registeration, so when you take the plate off it reverts bqack, is how I understand it.

I would image the car was registered in the Channel Island and the shippedd 18months later to the UK and be classed as first registered in the UK 18months later. Delaying the need for MOT/TAX

Reply | Report as offensive | Link
Tue 1 Mar 2016 16:51
Ford Focus - Should a 61 plate have MOT history? - Brit_in_Germany

If a car has been registered in the UK and the your put a personal plate on, the Car is still linked to that orginal registeration, so when you take the plate off it reverts bqack, is how I understand it.

In an ideal world, perhaps but as the .gov site https://www.gov.uk/check-mot-history says, "Some MOT test results for recently transferred personalised registrations aren’t available."

Reply | Report as offensive | Link
Fri 26 Feb 2016 16:06
Ford Focus - Should a 61 plate have MOT history? - Doc

is it still true that very low mileage cars (avg 3,000 per year) are bad purchases because they only ever had short run cold starts?

Of course it is. The quality of cars has improved massively over the last few decades, but until such time as we start carving cars out of solid unobtainium, they will remain subject to the usual rules of wear and tear, with breakdowns and failures. Cars are designed for a "normal" usage pattern and with few exceptions anything outside this 'window' will shorten their useful life.

Of course, you don't know (just like a high mileage car) to what use the vehicle has been put.

I once bought a very low mileage car that was a seond car-always garaged and only used on good weather long runs. The seller told me that because it was parked in the garage behind no1 car, it tended to be used only on special trips.

It never gave me any trouble during the years that I owned it.

Reply | Report as offensive | Link
Mon 29 Feb 2016 20:13
Ford Focus - Should a 61 plate have MOT history? - dafskipman

Petrol or Diesel?. If it's a diesel it will have a DPF. At that age and mileage, walk away. thousands about. And I'm a Focus lover.

Reply | Report as offensive | Link

Looking for a garage you can trust? Honest John's Good Garage Guide has thousands of reader recommended garages, plus how-to guides and tips on servicing.

The Good Garage Guide