MOT Advisories

[mac61]

Interested in knowing peoples opinions on a R75 Diesel 2002 with 90k miles and the following advisories at last MOT, that I am looking to buy

Advisory notice item(s)
Nearside Side repeater slightly discoloured (1.4.A.2f)
Offside Front Suspension arm rubber bush deteriorated but not resulting in excessive movement (2.4.G.2)
Front Sub-frame corroded but not seriously weakened (2.4.G.1)
Rear Sub-frame corroded but not seriously weakened (2.4.G.1)
Nearside Rear Brake pipe slightly corroded (3.6.B.2c)
Offside Front Brake pipe slightly corroded (3.6.B.2c)
Nearside Rear Road wheel with a slightly distorted bead rim (4.2.A.1a)
Offside Rear brake disc worn, pitted or scored, but not seriously weakened (3.5.1i)
fuel tank straps rusty
Offside Play in steering rack inner joint(s) ()
Nearside Rear Shock absorber has slight corrosion to the casing (2.7.2a)
Offside Rear Shock absorber has slight corrosion to the casing (2.7.2a)
Nearside Rear coil spring corroded (2.4.C.1b)
Offside Rear coil spring corroded (2.4.C.1b)
Nearside Rear Suspension arm corroded but not seriously weakened (2.4.G.1)
Offside Rear Suspension arm corroded but not seriously weakened (2.4.G.1)

[P-Nut]

Walk away, there has to be better, unless it's free.

Sounds like both subframes will need attention as well as all suspension components in the near future.

There's loads of cars for sale, this sounds like a lemon

[marinabrian]

Unless the advisories have been dealt with, then some of those are expensive fixes, the last two for instance are £240 in parts alone.

Front subframe, unless you are very unlucky, Cliff "Teflon" springs to mind here, are not an issue, rear subframe, well I've seen these with barnacles on the outside and still be structurally sound, but it does make for a challenge when renewing the bits that are attached to it

I would keep looking, there will be better cars waiting out there

Brian

[Comfortably Numb]

I'm surprised he has bothered to comment on so many parts with presumably surface corrosion - not unusual on underside parts of 15 year old cars. No corrosion in sills, no broken springs, no leaking shock absorbers, no dangerously corroded/leaking brake pipes. Most 2 year old + rear discs seem to get those comments in my experience, they always have rust or pitting, unless you drive on your brakes! I'm surprised there is play in the inner steering joints, at only 90,000 miles, but it obviously isn't bad enough to warrant a fail, but it will be easy enough to tell on a test drive. By no means a lemon - if it has more than 6months MoT on it, you have time to get underneath, clean up and repaint most of the "corroded" parts. But if you are buying it for however little, it would be worth getting under it first to check just what the tester meant.

[Phil-T4]

The tester is certainly doing a CYA (Google it) on that one!

[Comfortably Numb]

Originally Posted by Phil-T4

The tester is certainly doing a CYA (Google it) on that one!

That was my thinking!

[marinabrian]

Originally Posted by Comfortably Numb

I'm surprised he has bothered to comment on so many parts with presumably surface corrosion - not unusual on underside parts of 15 year old cars. No corrosion in sills, no broken springs, no leaking shock absorbers, no dangerously corroded/leaking brake pipes. Most 2 year old + rear discs seem to get those comments in my experience, they always have rust or pitting, unless you drive on your brakes! I'm surprised there is play in the inner steering joints, at only 90,000 miles, but it obviously isn't bad enough to warrant a fail, but it will be easy enough to tell on a test drive. By no means a lemon - if it has more than 6months MoT on it, you have time to get underneath, clean up and repaint most of the "corroded" parts. But if you are buying it for however little, it would be worth getting under it first to check just what the tester meant.

I have to disagree here Andrew, a lot of cars which have lived in Scotland, or next to the seaside suffer quite badly in terms of underbody corrosion.

My wife's car, low mileage, bodywork sound, but the bits underneath are quite frankly vile, something that has been worked upon on a running basis, front subframe replaced when the clutch was replaced, springs replaced front and rear, inner tie rods replaced, the next one will be a refurbished rear subframe along with new upper and lower arms.

Every bolt has been a chore to remove, not one has come out without a fight, and it won't be a clean up and paint exercise on the rear suspension components of this car....that's for certain.

Current mileage is less than most for the year, and here is the history....

Date tested
20 October 2017
PASS
Mileage
69,809 miles
MOT test number
6616 6172 6308
Test location
View test location
Expiry date
27 October 2018
Advisory notice item(s)
Offside Play in steering rack inner joint(s) ()
What are advisories?
Date tested
27 October 2016
PASS
Mileage
68,439 miles
MOT test number
7040 3583 7317
Test location
View test location
Expiry date
27 October 2017
Date tested
23 October 2015
PASS
Mileage
66,371 miles
MOT test number
3803 2715 5534
Test location
View test location
Expiry date
27 October 2016
Date tested
23 October 2014
PASS
Mileage
64,768 miles
MOT test number
2452 2619 4254
Test location
View test location
Expiry date
27 October 2015
Advisory notice item(s)
Nearside Front Track rod end ball joint has slight play (2.2.B.1f)
What are advisories?
Date tested
28 October 2013
PASS
Mileage
63,189 miles
MOT test number
4264 0150 3340
Test location
View test location
Expiry date
27 October 2014
Advisory notice item(s)
Offside Front Brake pipe slightly corroded (3.6.B.2c)
Nearside Front Suspension arm rubber bush deteriorated but not resulting in excessive movement (2.4.G.2)
Offside Front Suspension arm rubber bush deteriorated but not resulting in excessive movement (2.4.G.2)
What are advisories?
Date tested
22 May 2012
PASS
Mileage
61,645 miles
MOT test number
9474 7384 2127
Test location
View test location
Expiry date
21 May 2013
Advisory notice item(s)
Brake pipe slightly corroded (3.6.B.2c)
Ball joint has slight play (2.2.B.1f)
front brake discs slightly pitted
back box slightly corroded
What are advisories?
Date tested
17 May 2012
FAIL
Mileage
61,595 miles
MOT test number
1955 5893 2153
Test location
View test location
Reason(s) for failure
Nearside Front Windscreen wiper does not clear the windscreen effectively (8.2.2)
Nearside Front Brake pipe excessively corroded (3.6.B.2c)
Offside Front Brake pipe excessively corroded (3.6.B.2c)
Brake pipe excessively corroded (3.6.B.2c)
Advisory notice item(s)
Brake pipe slightly corroded (3.6.B.2c)
Ball joint has slight play (2.2.B.1f)
front brake discs slightly pitted
back box slightly corroded
What are failures and advisories?
Date tested
17 May 2011
PASS
Mileage
56,508 miles
MOT test number
2660 9703 1109
Test location
View test location
Expiry date
16 May 2012
Advisory notice item(s)
Brake pipe slightly corroded (3.6.B.2c)
What are advisories?
Date tested
16 May 2011
FAIL
Mileage
56,508 miles
MOT test number
5195 2603 1198
Test location
View test location
Reason(s) for failure
Offside Front Track rod end ball joint has excessive play (2.2.B.1f)
Advisory notice item(s)
Brake pipe slightly corroded (3.6.B.2c)
What are failures and advisories?
Date tested
13 May 2010
PASS
Mileage
50,926 miles
MOT test number
8715 7303 0103
Test location
View test location
Expiry date
12 May 2011
Advisory notice item(s)
Brake pipe slightly corroded (3.6.B.2c)
Ball joint has slight play (2.2.B.1f)
Front brake disc worn, pitted or scored, but not seriously weakened (3.5.1i)
nearside front wing mirror missing
What are advisories?
Date tested
25 April 2009
PASS
Mileage
42,969 miles
MOT test number
4430 2521 9178
Test location
View test location
Expiry date
28 April 2010
Advisory notice item(s)
Nearside Front Brake pipe slightly corroded (3.6.B.2c)
Brake pipe slightly corroded (3.6.B.2c)
What are advisories?
Date tested
29 April 2008
PASS
Mileage
36,118 miles
MOT test number
9119 6022 8129
Test location
View test location
Expiry date
28 April 2009
Advisory notice item(s)
Nearside Front Brake pipe slightly corroded (3.6.B.2c)
Offside Rear Brake pipe slightly corroded (3.6.B.2c)
What are advisories?
Date tested
24 October 2007
PASS
Mileage
34,713 miles
MOT test number
3629 6769 7490
Test location
View test location
Expiry date
23 October 2008

The thing is, the car drives beautifully and it's quite easy to see why these were fairly desirable new, however the work I'm about to embark upon in preparation for the upcoming MOT, puts the car firmly in the beyond economical to repair category, and that's with no labour charges, and hefty discount on parts.

If you own one of these cars, then you have a manageable amount of work to keep it in good order, two, well ok still no problem, but three, or four, or five, or indeed as I have at the moment six to care for, then there will be a time when juggling all of them will become impossible.

Never mind, my new two post ramp arrives on Thursday, so I can play underneath the car in comfort

Brian

[marinabrian]

Originally Posted by Phil-T4

The tester is certainly doing a CYA (Google it) on that one!

Or it might simply just be a rusty old wreck

Cars from the north are definitely ropier in general, compared to ones from the south Phil

[Comfortably Numb]

I would hope the tester would have enough experience to find and fail serious rust. I haven't looked at this car's MoT history to see what is a long-term problem, or what has been changed already. True, coastal cars rust from the salty atmosphere, and Edinburgh's proximity to the Forth might well do that. I guess if it's not too far away, it's worth going to check it out. You certainly have plenty of information to knock down the price! It all depends on what you expect/want for the money. I paid £850 for mine, with full MoT; some of those advisory descriptions could have applied to mine, if the tester wanted to c.h.a. But I've had a good look underneath, and the rust on the arms and subframes IS just surface. PS I don't consider mine a bargain, nor do I feel I was ripped off by the dealer. It has had its faults, but I am getting my money's worth out of it.

[P-Nut]

When I lived in Shetland it wasn't uncommon for a car less than 10 years old to be scrapped due to corrosion.