Advice about car that's failed MOT

[emc]

Bit boring I know but the advice on here about most things is invaluable.

I have an x reg Citreon Xsara Picasso, with pretty beaten up bodywork (I'm not the world's best driver and have been too broke to get dents sorted) which has just failed its MOT - it needs around ?400 work on it (not major things, but quite a few of them, just wear and tear the garage says)

My question is should I spend the money to get it through it's MOT then sell it (with dents and scrapes), get it through its MOT, get the dents sorted (have been quoted ?250 for this) then sell it, or just get rid of it for scrap?

I am about to take possession of my late father's car so I will have a car I just suppose I'd like to know if a car of this age in this state would be worth more than around the ?650 I will need to spend on it or is it a pointless exercise and I should just get rid of it as it is (tax has just run out too)

Any advice greatly appreciated.

[Alan Medic]

I would question why it needs ?400 spent on 'not major things'? It would be interesting to know what it would fail it's MOT on. Have you considered trying somewhere else just in case you aren't getting good advice?

I'd say and I'm no expert, that if you do need to spend that sort of money it's probably not worth doing it for what you would get, given the age of the car.

[DJKillaQueen]

I second Alan on this. ?400 means something major must need work, such as the brakes for example, or is the quote including a service? You would have been given a fail sheet with the failed MOT listing what it failed on. If the garage haven't given you that then ask for it and post what it has failed on. We'd have a better idea if the quote is reasonable then.

I doubt if the money you'd make on selling the car would be much over what you'd spend on doing it up to be honest. Dents won't fail the MOT as long as the body work is hole free and secure.

[Townleygreen]

I disagree on this occasion. I think a garage bill could easily reach ?400. You can rack up ?200 plus just on a major service sometimes.

But on the second point I agree with the others. Scrap it.

[Annette Curtain]

Let it depart this earth, be re-cycled, go to the great car grave yard in the sky.

( yes, in other words "scrap it" )

Nette:(

[computedshorty]

emc

Your car has failed its test IT IS UNROADWORTHY, You either get it repaired and we are all safe, or you like all of us realise that the end is nigh for a clapped out vehicle.

My car was hit while stationary but the insurance would not payout enough to tepair it.

So I looked arround and found a Breaker who paid me ?190.00.

The new Law states that if it has failed its Test it must have on an Off Road Register if in a Public place.

The Fine will automatically arrive with you as it is now a Failed M.O.T. Vehicle if you have not applied for a SCORN.

I think your car will soon be assimilar to an Oxo cube

[Loz]

That's not true. There is (surprisingly) a difference between 'failed MOT' and 'unroadworthy'. For instance, if a rear seat belt is faulty or your exhaust emissions are high then you will fail an MOT. The car is perfectly safe to drive, though (without anyone in the back seat!). However, there are some parts of the test that may signal unworthiness - tyres, for instance. Your car can be considered unroadworthy at any time, even with a valid MOT.

Your old MOT is valid until its expiry date, BUT if you have an accident and something you failed the MOT on is seen as a contributory cause then you can expect your insurance company to wash their hands of you.

(And CS - it's SORN, not SCORN).

Having said all that, I'd sell it. The best you will do it get the money back you spent repairing it.

[Pugwash]

I have had a 'failed MOT' and it has turned out that one brake light was not working consistently. Also had a fail for

windscreen wipers not cleaning sufficiently (needed new blades).

My last MOT the garage informed me that the mechanic had failed the car, but when the boss double checking it noticed that my rear light bulbs had come loose, he tightened them up and all was ok - advised me to check these every week.

I had been driving over very bumpy unmade roads in the country and for some reason the bulbs had become disconnected

[computedshorty]

Loz

emc stated that the car failed the M.O.T, on issue of the failier document regardless of any remaining days left on the previous one, it failed from the time of test.

This shows on records at Swansea, so the insurance is null and void.

Dont use the car!

I have added a picture of the instructions prior to my obtaining Certification of M.O.T. Examiner Ministry of Transport in September 1960.

[DJKillaQueen]

CS...we don't know what it failed on and Loz is right....a failed MOT does not necessarily equate to unroadworthy. Indeed many cars currently legally on the road if given an interim spot check MOT would fail, usually on minor things like the wiper blades or seatbelts etc. The OP was simply asking what we would do...repair or scrap. He wasn't asking if he should continue to drive it or break any laws.

[Salsaboy]

An MOT only shows that the car is roadworthy at the time of the test.

If it were to pass the MOT, be driven 10 feet down the road and a headlight failed, it would technically fail another MOT.

[Jeremy]

I'd be tempted to just fix the mechanics, and sell it with the dents and scrapes. You might get something like ?300 for it, and it should still last a few years yet (it's not that old... I have a T reg car which is still perfectly roadworthy).

[computedshorty]

Here are some M.O.T. Certs fifty years ago, if I remember correctly we had to go to Hendon I think it was the Police Headquarters workshops. They used the names of Comets to replace car names and all details are fictitious.

The cost of an M.O.T. at that time was Fourteen Shillngs not even One pound.

I have kept these copies all these years.

If you had had your car tested then you would have saved nearly forty Pound today.

[BeckyR]

To find out what scrap value you'd get for it visit http://www.cartakeback.com/cash-for-mot-failures.aspx

They collect for free and you can get an instant quote from their website so you know how much you're likely to get by scrapping it.

[emc]

Thanks so much for all the replies. Have decided to scrap it as even in pristine condition it would only be worth around ?600 but have been offered around ?150 for scrap.