Hi all, so I just bought a myself a new car and I'm having a few issues before I've even picked it up.

It's not done many miles for its age (13 plate at 67k) its in pretty good condition all round and it's economical, which given the mileage I do and today's fuel prices, is a huge plus. They said to me that they would service and MOT it for me, fix any major issues that arise with the MOT and also ANY advisories. So thinking thats a pretty good deal I put my deposit down and sold my old car.

I called them to ask for an update on the progress and they said to me that they couldn't MOT it as its not registered in the UK (it does have an NI plate), and they need to send off the log book to have it re-registered in the UK and then they will be able to perform the MOT. I didn't think much of it at the time but I've since spoken to the DVLA, DVSA and the NI MOT department to get a little more infomation on the processes for NI cars. None of them raised concerns that the car can't have it's MOT done as NI is part of the UK but has a government run MOT program, whereas on the mainland any garage can get approval to perform MOTs.

So, I contacted the MOT garage (next door to the dealer but separate business) to ask them what the problem was and they advised that they couldn't get it on their system, even using the VIN number. So now I have a courtesy car from the dealer, to which I was forced to pay the cost up front for it, and no idea when the car will be ready for me.

Should I be concerned or is this something that others have experienced buying NI plate cars? Are there any MOT testers on here that can provide their opinions?

Sorry for the long post, thanks in advance for any help!

Edited by Matt Lago on 31/03/2022 at 15:10