Buying a car with little MoT left

lmccauley

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I'm interested in a Porsche Boxster S which is being offered for £19,000, but it only has 2 months MoT left.

So, I've asked the owner to put it through an MoT, and he has said that he's happy to do that, but "If anything comes up, i will get it sorted then review what effect it has on the original £19,000 asking price if thats okay."

I was surprised he said that he might increase the price if he had to do work on the car. If he needs to spend £500 for it to pass an MoT, the car isn't now worth £19,500 to me. Am I being unreasonable?
 
A most unusual comment. He can review his price if he wishes but I assume that you can also walk away if you're not happy with the revised price.
 
If I was spending that amount of money on a private sale then I'd be getting the car inspected by independant specialist anyway. If he says the car is in fine working order and the inspection/MOT says different then I'd expect the price to reflect that by either a reduction in price or the work is done by the owner and the agreed sale price is used.

I had my Elise inspected before I bought it and found two leaking suspension units amongst a few other things. Somethings are difficult to check by yourself and we're not all trained mechanics. The price was reduced by what the garage said it would cost to fix.

If in doubt or unhappy then walk away. I would guess it's a buyers market at the moment and there'll be plenty of other cars to choose from...
 
A most unusual comment.
I thought so, too. It suddenly made me doubt myself though, which is why I posted here.
He can review his price if he wishes but I assume that you can also walk away if you're not happy with the revised price.
That was the other thing that I was thinking.

If I was spending that amount of money on a private sale then I'd be getting the car inspected by independant specialist anyway. If he says the car is in fine working order and the inspection/MOT says different then I'd expect the price to reflect that by either a reduction in price or the work is done by the owner and the agreed sale price is used.
Yes, that's exactly the way I would expect negotiations to proceed.
I had my Elise inspected before I bought it and found two leaking suspension units amongst a few other things. Somethings are difficult to check by yourself and we're not all trained mechanics. The price was reduced by what the garage said it would cost to fix.

If in doubt or unhappy then walk away. I would guess it's a buyers market at the moment and there'll be plenty of other cars to choose from...
It is, and prices are only going down. I have no reason to think that this car won't pass, as I know the owner from a Boxster forum, and have driven the car, but it's too big a risk for me to take if it needs expensive work doing.
 
If he's confident about the car,and an honest seller,why would he even dream of attempting to sell the car with 2 months MOT.He's either aware of a problem and hoping to find a mug to buy it,or he's very naive.I would insist on 12 months MOT,then walk away if the price is wrong.It's his car,so it's his problem,not yours.
 
If he's confident about the car,and an honest seller,why would he even dream of attempting to sell the car with 2 months MOT.He's either aware of a problem and hoping to find a mug to buy it,or he's very naive.I would insist on 12 months MOT,then walk away if the price is wrong.It's his car,so it's his problem,not yours.
I've just communicated something like this to him, but more politely ;)

I've told him that it's priced as being in good condition, so I would expect it to pass an MoT, and if it doesn't, then I would expect to pay less, or pay the same once it has passed.

Thanks everyone.
 
I dont think i'd ever really spend that much on a private sale, there's no come back if something goes wrong, atleast with a dealership you'll get some kind of warranty.

Surely a car like that would go straight through an mot if its been well looked after and maintained.

2nd vote for an independant inspector also, they pick up alot that even an mot wouldnt.
 
I dont think i'd ever really spend that much on a private sale, there's no come back if something goes wrong, atleast with a dealership you'll get some kind of warranty.
It does still have 2 months of a Porsche extended warranty left, whereas some dealers don't provide any warranty. From a Porsche dealer, it would be priced about £6k more (and would include 12 months warranty).
Surely a car like that would go straight through an mot if its been well looked after and maintained.

2nd vote for an independant inspector also, they pick up alot that even an mot wouldnt.
Yes, it should sail through an MoT. I'd rather the risk be on the seller if it doesn't, though.
 
had a think about this

for 19k you can get under 3 yo boxster Ss with 10-20k miles on them

if i was selling this car in this market i would do everything to make the car attractive, organise all the bills etc in a folder for buyers to look at, have a few mag reviews to hand and definatly get a full MoT

if hes reluctant to MOT the car i start to think what does he know thats wrong with it
 
To me it sounds like he's saying/implying: £19,000 is a bargain price because it needs a new MOT and as I know this will put people off, I've knocked a lot more off than the expected possible cost of the MOT. If I MOT it, it will be much more desirable and the price will go up £2000...

Dave
 
And who in their right mind would go to the extreme of selling privately for £2000 under price when £25 could get 12 months MOT and an extra £2000?
 
Someone who is worried their car might not pass the MOT...
 
So it's a case of if it's worth the risk/gamble then really. Is the price decrease worth the risk of the possibility that it needs some work doing?
 
had a think about this

for 19k you can get under 3 yo boxster Ss with 10-20k miles on them

if i was selling this car in this market i would do everything to make the car attractive, organise all the bills etc in a folder for buyers to look at, have a few mag reviews to hand and definatly get a full MoT

if hes reluctant to MOT the car i start to think what does he know thats wrong with it

I'm with eric on this one, you do all you can so they potential buyers can't knock any cash off, no room to haggle means you can get top price in the right economic climate.

Liam
 
Remember guys that he has agreed to the MoT, so I don't think he's expecting it to fail. He seems a genuine guy from meeting him and reading his posts on the Boxster forum (and other people on the forum have met him at meets), so I don't think he's trying to pull the wool over my eyes or anything.

I just thought his comment about adding to the price if it does need work doing to be... either unusual or naive.

He doesn't actually have the car up for sale, he just saw my wanted ad on the forum and the timing was right because he had been thinking of trading it in.

The car is exactly as he described it, and I saw the V5 and receipts for service and last MoT, and I even checked through his posts on the forum - it all adds up. It drives fine, and it probably is fine, I'm just leery about accepting the risk on the MoT. Honestly, I don't think he's hiding anything.
 
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Nothing sinister there,if that needs new disks and pads for mot then he knows it's going to be big bucks, what mileage is on the car and has it been on trackdays? if it's fairly low and not been tracked then as long as the tyres and brakes are ok i wouldn't imagine a 3 year old boxster would need too much doing to it.
But if your spending £19,000 on a porsche why don't you buy a real one??? You could get a cracking 911 for that kind of money and the benefit in depreciation on an older 911 would offset the running costs by quite a margin.
 
Nothing sinister there,if that needs new disks and pads for mot then he knows it's going to be big bucks, what mileage is on the car and has it been on trackdays? if it's fairly low and not been tracked then as long as the tyres and brakes are ok i wouldn't imagine a 3 year old boxster would need too much doing to it.
But if your spending £19,000 on a porsche why don't you buy a real one??? You could get a cracking 911 for that kind of money and the benefit in depreciation on an older 911 would offset the running costs by quite a margin.

dont be tempting him away to 911 territory!! first its a carrera 4 then its a turbo!
My line of attack would be if the car is well priced agree to buy it if/when it passes the MOT, you can download an agreement form from the AA website that i have used many times, its not a legal document but it gives both parties a bit of piece of mind and they have been used successfully in court so they do have some value.

Mark
 
dont be tempting him away to 911 territory!! first its a carrera 4 then its a turbo!
My line of attack would be if the car is well priced agree to buy it if/when it passes the MOT, you can download an agreement form from the AA website that i have used many times, its not a legal document but it gives both parties a bit of piece of mind and they have been used successfully in court so they do have some value.

Mark

a carrera 4 then a turbo??? and the problem ith that is?? lol:clap:
 
But if your spending £19,000 on a porsche why don't you buy a real one??? You could get a cracking 911 for that kind of money and the benefit in depreciation on an older 911 would offset the running costs by quite a margin.
Heh! I was tempted by my mate who was selling a mint 996 C4S, but I'd rather have a more modern mid-engined roadster.
 
a carrera 4 then a turbo??? and the problem ith that is?? lol:clap:

your banned from posting things like that :D ive just spent the last hour looking at prices of 911's. You can get one for 20k no problems!!

wonder how reliable a 1999/2000 911 would be..... hmmm
 
your banned from posting things like that :D ive just spent the last hour looking at prices of 911's. You can get one for 20k no problems!!

wonder how reliable a 1999/2000 911 would be..... hmmm

on the whole there bullet proof if looked after properly especially the none turbos
 
I was tempted by my mate who was selling a mint 996 C4S, but I'd rather have a more modern mid-engined roadster.

Quite right too. The 911 is very expensive for something that was designed in the fifties. The idiots even stuck the engine in the wrong end too :)
 
Tell him to mot it, if it passes and you're happy with the deal, buy. If it fails and he gets the work done and you are happy, buy. If he decides to put the price up and you aren't happy, leave it. There's plenty about, and if it's not competitively priced then it'll still be for sale in weeks or months and he'll probably drop the price anyway.
On a side note, you do know that you can extend the porsche warrenty don't you??
 

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