All things being equal, I'd say keep it. The fuel hose won't be much. The dash lights are a concern though. Do you mean warning lights for things that need fixing or they're just randomly coming on? What kills most cars is either rus or electrics. If you're getting persistent random lights, you may have a developing electrical problem. As you say it keeps happening, though, it may not be terminal yet.

What do you think?

Scap the Ka - filler pipe issue will probably involve lots of welding (much more than the car is worth) and with a soaked floor that's a serious issue that will cause electrical issues and has probably rotted the floor etc. I'm afraid that age of Ka is well known for rust especially around the fuel filler - usually terminal unless you have deep pockets. Get the sc*** money and put that towards another car.

Do not drive!!

Unfortunately £2k doesn't buy you much of any car these days - my cheapy suggestion would be a 1.25 Fiesta or a 1.4/1.6 Fusion . With anything especially at this price range condition is all and rust is still a thing!

Edited by Big John on 11/09/2024 at 22:45

First hit was

www.webuyanycar.com/guides/car-ownership/driving-w.../

They clearly have a vested interest in people sc***ping cars, but nevertheless this probably accurately reflects the legal postion (My italics/bolding)

"If you are caught driving without a valid MOT, you can expect to receive a £100 Fixed Penalty Notice (FPN) - although you could be fined up to £1,000.

The maximum fine is increased to £2,500 if your vehicle is classified as ‘dangerous’ or has serious faults. In addition, you may receive three penalty points on your driving licence."

So thats your risk

Since, in the UK, I usually only got one MOT every 2 years, in the relatively low-surveillance tax-disk days, I'm not personally hugely averse to legal transgressions of this nature, but surveillance is MUCH more pervasive/oppressive these days

The moral position would depend on the extent to which you were endangering others. The main risk seems to be fire, so probably not much.

IF you were able to do the work yourself I'd risk the above to go for an MOT after doing a repair.

Since this probably isn't the case, I'd guess the chance of an economic repair isn't high enough to justify the risk.

Edited by edlithgow on 17/09/2024 at 09:28