VW Golf - Buyer beware-check MOT history

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Wed 6 Apr 2016 10:17
VW Golf - Buyer beware-check MOT history - FoxyJukebox

Browsing on line at a half decent looking low mileage VW Golf -for sale,via a dealer -with the numberplate visible the other day-I spotted a six year old model with 38,000 total-approx on the clock. Checking the MOT history site--I noted the car had passed it's last 4 MOT's with only one or two minor advisables.

" Goodo" ,I thought and read on....

Following it's second MOT (pass ) in early spring 2014 a third MOT ( pass-) was not carried out until late summer 2015-18 months later. I was suspicious.

During this 18 month interval the vehicle only completed 1100 miles. Clearly it was not being used and maybe it had been off the road?.

The fourth MOT -once again a pass-was recently done( early 2016-prior to sale) , with a further 10,000 miles having been put on the clock since summer 2015.

So--this car was off the road for 18 months, probably not taxed, no MOT and hardly used? Not quite the half decent model i originally thought.

It's a wondeful help that MOT history site!

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Wed 6 Apr 2016 10:44
VW Golf - Buyer beware-check MOT history - pd

Happens to lots of cars. Might have just been in stock with a dealer but the most common explanation is an owner who gets ill and cuts down on driving before eventually giving up driving or passing away.

You'd also be surprised how many people do, actually, just do 1100 miles a year and only use their cars once or twice a month.

I'm not sure it really means anything as to whether it is a good or bad car, unless it was off the road being repaired after an accident.

Edited by pd on 06/04/2016 at 10:45

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Wed 6 Apr 2016 11:19
VW Golf - Buyer beware-check MOT history - Wackyracer

So--this car was off the road for 18 months, probably not taxed, no MOT and hardly used? Not quite the half decent model i originally thought.

In what way does this make it not a good car? I cannot understand your logic here.

When a new car is made, it can be sat unregistered and unused for as log as it takes for a buyer. Does that make it a bad car?

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Wed 6 Apr 2016 11:50
VW Golf - Buyer beware-check MOT history - Galaxy

I just love the MOT History website. Wish we'd had it years ago!

I really does make me smile when I read in someone's advert in Autotrader or Ebay that a car has been "Meticulously Maintained", or some other similar description.

Then you look at the MOT history and find that the same advisories have come up year after year and it's quite clear absolutely nothing has been done about fixing them.

I does rather give the game away, I'm very pleased to say!

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Wed 6 Apr 2016 12:05
VW Golf - Buyer beware-check MOT history - Falkirk Bairn

Recently advertised @ Indie garage - a low mileage Lexus LS - ~8 year old & 40K+ - full service history.......The service book in photos showed the stamps - 5 Lexus (presumably 1st owner), then a Fiat dealer followed by Halfords 15 months later - how the mighty have fallen.

The MoT history showed up OK, then over the last 2 years fails - steering, suspension, lights, even bald tyres - the immaculate car photos & flowery description did not seem to be about the same car - maybe it had had lots of money spent on it or more likely a valet.

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Wed 6 Apr 2016 13:14
VW Golf - Buyer beware-check MOT history - Warning

Even with MOT history, it is only half the story. I have seen cars with 20,000 on the clock with more wear and tear then a car which has done 57,000 miles.

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Wed 6 Apr 2016 14:16
VW Golf - Buyer beware-check MOT history - Wackyracer

Even with MOT history, it is only half the story. I have seen cars with 20,000 on the clock with more wear and tear then a car which has done 57,000 miles.

Exactly, all depends how the owner looks after it. One of my neighbours has a 1 year old car with 600miles on the clock and it has scrapes and scratches on every panel. probably has bad n/s wheel bearing from hammering the front wheel against the kerbs too.

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Wed 6 Apr 2016 15:13
VW Golf - Buyer beware-check MOT history - pd

Then you look at the MOT history and find that the same advisories have come up year after year and it's quite clear absolutely nothing has been done about fixing them.

I does rather give the game away, I'm very pleased to say!

Some testers love putting the same advisories just to get their quota up or have pet things they put. Maybe in this case the ownwe thought the tester plain wrong. I often totally disagree with advisories and then I'm amazed at some things close to the wire they never mention.

You can't buy cars by looking at on line things. It is a useful tool among many but you have to judge a car on the car.

Obviously if the MOT says "major oil leak" or the mileage is wrong then tread carefully but if it is rubbish like "rear coil spring surface corrossion" (find a car over 6 months old which hasn't) or other nonsensicable stuff then note but don't treat as gospel.

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Mon 11 Apr 2016 10:51
VW Golf - Buyer beware-check MOT history - 520i
Is it just me, or does the liberal issuing of spurious advisory issues seem to have become a bit of an epidemic in recent years?!

Two cars put through their tests in early 2016; one seven years old one 25 years old, both in reasonable nick and with just short of 30k and 40k on the dials respectively. Listed for both was the bizarre entry "oil stains on engine and gearbox". What a complete nonsense; how many cars other than those attending concours shows don't have a grubby engine bay? No accompanying list item relating to an actual oil leak in either case, so what exactly is the diagnosis? Is one supposed to steam clean and scrub under the bonnet prior to an MOT? And should one request the testing garage to rectify this alleged defect, what would the response be, I wonder?!

I always ensure my motors are cleaned before they're tested, simply out of courtesy and to ensure there isn't a preconception that the car has been neglected. I assume the tester was duly impressed, as he didn't put "crumbs on driver's seat" on the list, though presumably "road dirt on tyres" would have been a legitimate entry had he so wished?

When it comes to sale time, some buyers will see a list of advisory 'defects' and assume a car is going to be a bad bet, regardless of whether the issues are genuine or not. It's disheartening to find testing stations cluttering up the paperwork with superfluous entries about things which are of very little importance indeed. Is there any particular reason behind it?

Edited by 520i on 11/04/2016 at 10:56

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Mon 11 Apr 2016 11:29
VW Golf - Buyer beware-check MOT history - catsdad

On our aged Astra the list of advisories came and went. A gearbox mounting was reported a couple of times but never mentioned in subsequent 4 MoTs, slight leak from power steering was reported for a few years then never again.

They are only advisories so you take the advice or not as you wish. I would not ignore an out and out safety one but for the rest you take a view.

I was rather surpised that MOT testers appear not to look at the previous MOTs to cover their backs in event a previous advisories have got dangerous.

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Mon 11 Apr 2016 12:04
VW Golf - Buyer beware-check MOT history - brum

Wipers smearing seems to be a favourite for me if the dealer does the mot. Even though the wipers were changed 4 months previously. Obviously mot tester under pressure to upsell high margin items.

I wonder how many wipers have been changed for the sake of cleaning the blade and windscreen with some paper towel/windoe cleaner?

Edited by brum on 11/04/2016 at 12:07

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Mon 11 Apr 2016 13:37
VW Golf - Buyer beware-check MOT history - bathtub tom

IIRC it's been reported here before that MOT stations tend to add advisories to make it look like they're doing their job well.

Too many passes without any advisories from an MOT station could be construed as a cursory glance by the powers that be.

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Fri 15 Apr 2016 20:11
VW Golf - Buyer beware-check MOT history - meldrew

I would like to thank the OP for his post as I was not aware that it was possible to check MoT history.

It surprised me that my wife's car appeared to be traded in after three years and not Motd until quite a few weeks later. Not a particular problem as it was bought from a main dealer but what surprised me was that nobody wanted to buy a top spec car looking like new and for well under half the price of a new one. Three years later she is still as happy as can be with it.

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Fri 15 Apr 2016 21:02
VW Golf - Buyer beware-check MOT history - John Boy

My car failed its first MOT due to paint on the rear number plate lamps. I thought that was a real cheek given that the garage concerned had supplied the car when it was new. Fortunately, they cleaned the paint off and passed it immediately, otherwise I'd have been furious.

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Sat 16 Apr 2016 10:58
VW Golf - Buyer beware-check MOT history - FoxyJukebox

Indeed-I too have come across minor MOT advisories that come one year and go the next without any attention from me ...why were they there in the first place I ask myself?

Another funny--for three years now-I have had "slight misting of oil on front shock absorbers" and have done nothing about it. It has got no worse and there's no feel of anything wrong at all (and I am a fuss pot!).

Furthermore-on looking at other vehicle "advisables" on the MOT history site--I see the same language and terms used over and over--I think plain english is just as good-" tyres completely bald and blinking dangerous" would be better than "less than 1mm of tread and sidewall damage visible bla bla bla..." ?

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Sat 16 Apr 2016 17:06
VW Golf - Buyer beware-check MOT history - 72 dudes

I once had a phrase to the effect "indicator bulb not orange enough" !

No mention in subsequent years from the same MOT station.

I asked my BiL (an MOT tester) who confirmed that many advisories are the personal opinion of one particular tester.

Since then I have seen plenty of not very orange indicators, certainly much worse than mine was.

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Sat 16 Apr 2016 17:21
VW Golf - Buyer beware-check MOT history - John Boy

"Steering rack starting to leak" is an advisory I've had. It seems to me that it's leaking or it's not leaking, so it begs the question "At what time during the test did it start to leak?" It's all a bit nonsensical.

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