BMW 120D MSPORTS - MOT pass but should be fail?

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Thu 4 Oct 2018 21:01
BMW 120D MSPORTS - MOT pass but should be fail? - Donna Spencer

I purchased a car from a dealer on the 19th September.

As part of the purchase the car trader was to MOT the car and provide a 12mth ticket which he rang to inform me had been done on the 18th September and in his words it 'sailed' through.

I did inform him that I would be booking the car in within 2 weeks of purchase to be looked over by a BMW specialist and I have just collected it tonight, much to my purses dismay!

The garage has looked over the car and informed me that it hasn't been recently serviced a s told and is actually 7000 miles over it's service due date, some other minor things, that I expected, nothing's perfect.

However, more worryingly, the car has a rear shock absorber that's failed, I've been informed that the front and rear wheel bearings have failed and the 'directional' tyres we're on the wrong way round, 1 tyre contains a split, all fail points on an MOT and they said they wouldn't have passed the car.

I've covered 450 miles in the car since it's test and I bought it in the basis it was fully roadworthy, instead I've just been presented with a healthy bill circa £1000 once all is done!

I plan to ring the dealer tomorrow to discuss....I would appreciate any tips because I think I'll get fobbed off!

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Thu 4 Oct 2018 21:36
BMW 120D MSPORTS - MOT pass but should be fail? - craig-pd130

This is strictly my 10p worth: the dealer you bought the car from will deny all the faults existed at the time of sale, and will say that all the problems must have occurred in your possession.

It would be very difficult to prove that the MOT certificate that came with the car was done fraudulently, even though it's only a couple of weeks old. Yes, the tyres were on the wrong way round, but all the other faults may not have been present. At best, you might get tge cost of the MOT test refunded.

Again, strictly my 10p worth, but I wouldn't expect to get anything from the dealer, I'm afraid. Chalk it up to experience.

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Thu 4 Oct 2018 22:01
BMW 120D MSPORTS - MOT pass but should be fail? - SLO76
Without looking at the car it’s hard to say but it is possible the BMW specialist is simply trying to drum up work. If he’s looked at the service indicator to check when it was last reset to ascertain when it was last serviced then the supplying garage may simply not have reset it. But it is very possible they never did the job. It’s easy to check though, take a look at the oil filter to see if it’s been replaced and dip the oil to see if it’s still clean and golden. Because they never reset the indicator doesn’t mean it hasn’t been done.

Has the shocker failed? It’s quite rare. In all my years of selling cars I’ve probably replaced a dozen or so. It may be a little worn but would it actually fail an Mot or do they want to sell you one?

“The front and rear wheel bearings have failed.” What all of them?!!! This is where I get the feeling that your so called specialist is taking you for a ride. There’s not a chance in hell all four are away. Even two being away at the same time would be rare and usually very noticeable with a constant grumble dependant on road speed.

What age is this car, the mileage it’s covered and how much did you pay for it?

Edited by SLO76 on 04/10/2018 at 22:02

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Thu 4 Oct 2018 22:09
BMW 120D MSPORTS - MOT pass but should be fail? - Donna Spencer

The specialist is actually a friend of the family, so I would hope that this wouldn't be the case. But like you say, you never know . I may take it somewhere else to get them to check too.

I noticed a louder than normal noise when it reaches 50mph or so and also a ''catching' when turning the steering wheel toward the right. It isn't all 4 that have gone, it's the rear left and front left. You can definitely hear the one at the rear.

The shocker is leaking.....

The mot said no advisories.

It's a 2010 with 88,000 miles and full history, 1 previous owner.

You make a very good point though

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Thu 4 Oct 2018 22:22
BMW 120D MSPORTS - MOT pass but should be fail? - SLO76
“It's a 2010 with 88,000 miles and full history, 1 previous owner.”

There in lies your problem. This is something I’ve encountered many times in the past after selling and while negotiating a sale. People pay to have an RAC or AA inspection or a specialist as in this case done on a near decade old car with the guts of 100k on it. These guys will list every minor fault and pick the car apart as if it should be as new. This would be fine if it were 3yrs old with 30,000 miles up but it’s not.

It’s an old car bought cheaply, you have to expect faults, though I agree that if they promised to service it they should have and anything that is an Mot fail shouldn’t have been left unattended. Sadly though an Mot only means the car was fit on that day and they may take this defence that it has failed since you started using it.

I’d call and politely explain your specialists findings and ask them to check it again, if they refuse explain that you’ll contact VOSA and let them check it over. This should incite a favourable response as any Mot station certainly does not want to come to the attention of these chaps who will send in a Trojan Horse to test them.

Further and a little late now but I would never have recommended a cheap diesel BMW to anyone nor would I have stocked one as a dealer. These are prone to loads of expensive problems as they age and definitely do not make a sensible budget buy. When shopping on a budget you should keep things simple. Avoid diesels, avoid premium badges and forget anything with a diesel Particulate filter. I’m sorry to say it but this car will sting you.


Edited by SLO76 on 04/10/2018 at 22:24

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Thu 4 Oct 2018 22:49
BMW 120D MSPORTS - MOT pass but should be fail? - RT

Reject it and get your money back - you've got 30 days from purchase.

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Thu 4 Oct 2018 23:57
BMW 120D MSPORTS - MOT pass but should be fail? - Donna Spencer

Thank you.

I will give it a go and see what happens.

I do appreciate that any car of any age can have problems, and it's the price you pay for buying not new. I was just hoping to have my eyes open to the purchase rather than find out that it has these things wrong so close after MOT. If it had them as advisories, I'd have been able to establish the cost of repair prior to buying it.

It's a shame you can't mot a car yourself before you commit to paying for it and instead have to rely on the honesty of the seller and the validity of an MOT that their mate has probably put on it!

Hey ho, that's life I guess!

Thanks for the help and suggestions

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Fri 5 Oct 2018 00:11
BMW 120D MSPORTS - MOT pass but should be fail? - Andrew-T

The specialist is actually a friend of the family, so I would hope that this wouldn't be the case. But like you say, you never know . I may take it somewhere else to get them to check too.

Maybe your friend of the family thinks he can help out by finding every possible fault for you to claim from the seller? You could of course have looked up the previous MoT results to learn more about the car's life. At 8 years old and 88K it doesn't seem like a drastic list to me. It may be possible to just swap those tyres across the car to correct that 'fault'.

We don't know what you paid, but it may have been a bargain .... ? But SLO is probably right, as usual.

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Fri 5 Oct 2018 02:16
BMW 120D MSPORTS - MOT pass but should be fail? - Donna Spencer

There's lots of could be's.

I'm not unrealistic, and I appreciate an 8 year old car will require work and I'm totally prepared for that. I ran checks, got the whole history, checked all previous mot's, including this one on the 17th September that said zero advisories, 2 weeks ago. So I walked away as far as I was concerned with a car with a clean bill of health so to speak and that's not strictly true in this case.

The tyres are already switched, however, someone passed it like that, and yet it is simply fixed, so why didn't they fix it? There is a bearing noise, hence me taking it today instead of next weekend so its not made up. My point is, non of it was present on the MOT as an advisory and I'd have expected them to be. I even quizzed him on it, and he said it had had a lot of work done.

It wasn't a bargain! I bought it on the basis of full clean service history, relatively low miles for age, and toward the top end of the price range for these cars due to the fact he said work was done and it whizzed through it's MOT no trouble and it's pristine inside and out.

Like someone's already said, it's valid on the day it's tested, but what is the likelihood of there being zero evidence to suggest these problems.

I don't necessarily want to claim from the seller, I wanted to purchase a car and be fully aware of it's faults with an accurate mot at time of purchase, tbf, I traded in a 14yr old 3 series with 180k miles on the clock with lists of issues, which I was completely honest about, turbo failing, handbrake knackered, brakes needed replacing, the last mot listed all the advisories, it's currently up for sale by him with a description I certainly do not recognize, it needed scrapping and I was told not to put it through another MOT I was completely honest with him, I just expected the same in return. Sad thing is, he'll pass on my old car to some other unsuspecting, I'm intrigued by that ones MOT too! Maybe he's a miracle worker and that will show zero advisories as well in it's next mot. He seems to lose owners too, my old car has had 2 owners, it had 3!

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Fri 5 Oct 2018 08:58
BMW 120D MSPORTS - MOT pass but should be fail? - barney100

If the oils ok then I reckon save yourself the hassle with the dealer, you seldom if ever win. Hopefully you can get some trouble free miles now.

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Fri 5 Oct 2018 09:52
BMW 120D MSPORTS - MOT pass but should be fail? - pd

Wheel bearings are only done by spinning the wheel by hand on a MOT and only fail if "rough". Frankly, unless they are totally shot, this doesn't usually show up a bearing which is just making a bit of noise at speed.

Shocks just get a visual inspection - the old "bounce" test is no more - so there is no way of really knowing whether fluid was visible, how much and whether it has only happened since being used a bit.

The tyres should have been picked up by the MOT tester and are a fail if fitted incorrectly.

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Fri 5 Oct 2018 10:19
BMW 120D MSPORTS - MOT pass but should be fail? - Andrew-T

Like someone's already said, it's valid on the day it's tested, but what is the likelihood of there being zero evidence to suggest these problems.

None of us is able to judge how bad your shocks and bearings might be, but from your fuller description I would guess the car is a Pass, but those faults should have been reported as advisory. I doubt that makes a case for rejection, so that may be wasted effort. Assuming the car is OK, drive it a bit more and decide when to spend more money.

Why didn't they fix it? There's no obligation to 'fix' anything at an MoT test, tho some friendly places will replace blown bulbs to pass a car - mine just did this week. But if it will take more than a few minutes they probably won't, without charging you.

Sounds as if you bought from a bunch of wide boys .... Did they do the MoT, or another place?

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Fri 5 Oct 2018 12:26
BMW 120D MSPORTS - MOT pass but should be fail? - Miniman777

Another tale of a reader being ripped off - really frustrating. While not wanting to denigrate the whole motor trade, salesmen and sole traders can be economical with the real history of a car. Viewing a car is always worthwhile with someone who has knowledge, which I appreciate isn't always possible. MoTs are down to individual testers and some will be more picky than others.

The fact you've found faults with your purchase and he's already mis-described your trade-in regarding the number of owners is a concern. I am also wary of general used traders who undertake MoTs on their own stock, preferring to use a trusted independent garage or the local council MoT depot.

The dealer's been less than honest with you, dumped off an iffy car he's not had to cough out much on repairs for and left you in a worse off position financially as you've had to pay out for what he didnt.

If there's still time to reject the car, I'd do seriously consider doing so, but I'd also notify DVSA and Trading Standards who may already have a dossier on him. His trading ethics may be from the Wild West, but he's certainly no hero. Personally, I'd shaft him to the authorities.

Is this dealer in the East Midlands by any chance?

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Fri 5 Oct 2018 12:35
BMW 120D MSPORTS - MOT pass but should be fail? - skidpan

If there's still time to reject the car, I'd do seriously consider doing so, but I'd also notify DVSA and Trading Standards who may already have a dossier on him. His trading ethics may be from the Wild West, but he's certainly no hero. Personally, I'd shaft him to the authorities.

No point. If he is as much of a cowboy as he seems he will just close the bussiness down and re-open under a new bussiness name a week later, probably at the same premises.

Even if you won in court if he has no money etc even the Baliffs/Sherrifs would be unable to help you.

As for advisories on an MOT there is no requirement to actually document any even if minor faults exist. It is clear the car has passed its MOT, probably with minor faults that will require sorting sooner or later and the garage has an agreement with the MOT man not to write them on the ticket. Nothing illegal in that providing the car has passed.

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Fri 5 Oct 2018 12:50
BMW 120D MSPORTS - MOT pass but should be fail? - NARU

Is it possible that the MOT was done first and then the service? They could have taken the wheels off at the service and put them on the wrong sides. Stupid and careless.

And if they pay that much attention when doing a 'service', they probably missed resetting the service light. Even main dealers miss them from time to time in my experience.

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Fri 5 Oct 2018 13:36
BMW 120D MSPORTS - MOT pass but should be fail? - bazza

bearings are tricky to diagnose and a noisy bearing can go on for years, as in our old Corolla, I still don't know which one it is! Passed the mot because no roughness and no play of cours e.Short of changing them all, it's a case of putting up with it. It may even be your tyres, iv had that too! If I were you, I'd sort the tyres, shock and service out, then drive a few thousand miles before spending any more. The list of faults isn't bad for an old BMW.

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Fri 5 Oct 2018 14:27
BMW 120D MSPORTS - MOT pass but should be fail? - Galaxy

Is it possible that the MOT was done first and then the service? They could have taken the wheels off at the service and put them on the wrong sides. Stupid and careless.

That's the way the DVSA say it has to be done. They wish to monitor the exact condition of vehicles which are being brought into testing stations to be tested.

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