Any car dealers on this forum?

Rico is an expert…..allegedly.

Sounds like one of Rico's cars

Yes, Sounds like a good case, but car dealers not renowned for easily giving refunds in my experience...good luck

Buy a car and get fed barrow loads of manure,all P and niceties……go back an hour later and it’s “ sorry have we met “

Worst job in history…..oh,and gassed with cheap aftershave…..

Have you reviewed the MOT history (I assume so)?

I would want to observe the MOT patterns, fails or advisories, and the mileage from the most recent MOT up to the sale.

I actually recently bought a 2011 TTS, beautiful condition, dealer service history from birth, will all the bills from birth.

A 22 year old vehicle is going to show signs of age, regardless of mileage. But as above, this should be flagged in historical MOTs (eg you might especially find advisories related to the last one).

As cider says...you can view all the MOT history online, govt website

Yep,fire in the reg number you get the lot….

This time next year Dave will have a nearly new one.......god willing

Viewed the MOT history and was all good - no flags for welding or rust issues.

Depends if it is red or blue imo

What's the mileage from the last MOT to purchase day? Did it pass 1st try? Were there any advisories?

Just a small chip in windscreen on last MOT.
Done less than 300 miles since last MOT in April - 200 of those done by me last week.
Reg number EO54CNK

OP may have a case against the Mot tester, corrosion is generally 3 months you have an implied warranty although if the tester has covered himself by stating he could not see the underside floor panels/chassis/sills   correctly because they were covered in underseal or similar then it's more complicated and your case will be with whoever done that work.
Hopefully the work was done by the seller and the seller got it tested , but it's never simple.

It's a bit of an odd car to buy as its older so with corrosion its got more leeway  and corrosion is a bit of gray area as often what one tester will pass another by the book main dealer trained  sort will fail.

If the rice of the car implied it was not perfect it's also more difficult but if it was presented as faultless (lol) and it was sold at anything like premium then you have a stronger case.

Old cars are renowned for corrosion, you have bought a 22  year old car from a dealer without looking underneath, how long did you wait until you took it for an MOT?

You should have assessed the likely issues, asked to take it for an MOT yourself and if that want accepted offered much less, welding is very time consuming often requiring carpets and trim removal inside.

You could try exposing the floor from inside by removing some trim and carpet to see extent of trouble.

If the corrosion is within 30cm of load bearing points including seat belt anchorages then it's dangerous and ratchets up the claim.

Without actually seeing the issues you mention it's next to impossible to give a fair judgement. Good luck.

And really your claim is to put right via repair the issues, rejecting the car is not the same hence go for tester via ministry, they may well be forced to cary out work and rather than that being done a deal will be reached with their friendly motor dealer to reimburse you but it's a difficult issue.

It's hard enough to impossible returning a brand new car let alone a 20+ one.

My garage said - 
Rear inner arches corroded & require welding.
Nearside rear tyre valve damaged/split.
Suspension, mounts, subframes, brake pipes corroded.
In his opinion should have shown up on April MOT.
He also said the last MOT was very sympathetic.
They don't do welding so not trying to make money out of me.

Brake pipe corrosion is discretionary as is all surface rust, generally in real world of older cars subframe corrosion is alone not a fail unless actually holed, if its holed or very soft it's a Fail.
You cannot expect a 20 twenty year old car to be rust /corrosion free, again the price implied the condition.

Did you pay silly money for it?

Over 3k?

Did pay silly money - heart ruled head.
Lesson learned.

Is this a car/model you have been looking for,  for a while?

It's easy to get into this scenario when you have been looking and starting to travel further and as time goes by you get desperate and end up buying a shed.

I done it myself but everything was very neatly done in my case,I kinda knew it wasn't the car, ie not genuine, clocked, but you then try and work out how much is missing based on gen wear, I was in a hurry, missed several red flags, I made an offer and it was instantly accepted, I should have made an excuse and walked away.

First red flag is that the 2025 MOT is Feb and 2026 is April. ie three months without a valid MOT. Doesn't shout cherished, but all the previous history does. Looks like every other MOT was completed in Feb. Something different has obviously occurred in 2026.

2025 shows
Offside Front Brake pipe corroded, covered in grease or other material (1.1.11 (c))

But this is not flagged in 2026.

My next step would be to identify the test centre on recent MOTs, you need to enter the V5 number for that. I would expect the 2026 test centre to be a different location to the previous ones. Close to the dealer, perhaps.

Expiry date
26 February 2026
Date tested
22 April 2026

To correct the above, almost 2 months without a MOT. It doesn't follow the pattern of the ownership of the car anyway, and coincides with the car being disposed.

Indicates that the current MOT was undertaken to facilitate the sale.

quite simple..was the car purchased officially through their company? what warranty were you given?

From a dealer in Loughborough and 1 months warranty.

1. Your Statutory Rights (Consumer Rights Act 2015)If you buy from a dealer, your vehicle must be of "satisfactory quality," "fit for purpose," and "as described".The 30-Day Right to Reject: You have an initial 30 days to reject a faulty vehicle and receive a full refund.After 30 Days: If a fault appears within the first six months, it is legally presumed to have been there when you bought the car. The dealer gets one chance to repair it; if they fail, you can request a repair, replacement, or partial/full refund.2. Standard Dealer WarrantiesMost reputable dealerships will include a warranty in the asking price.Duration: Typically 3 to 12 months.Coverage: Usually covers major mechanical and electrical failures (engine, gearbox, steering, and electrical faults).Exclusions: Wear-and-tear items (like brake pads, tires, and wiper blades) are typically excluded

mickey mouse dealers give more than 1 mth warranty.

Bought last weekend.

Jun 28, 2026 -- 7:21PM, Cider wrote:

Indicates that the current MOT was undertaken to facilitate the sale.

Many if not most dealers have cars sitting without Mot and only do one once sale agreed.

Most standard second hand warranties do not cover corrosion.

Your Mot is the corrosion warranty and it generally covers 3 months, but in this case the Mot tester has not covered himself with the advisory he is unable to see underside due to underseal, he should still have used his testers tool to tap and poke at the stress points. He is wide open imo and ministry won't be happy. And the threat might be enough as if he has history with them or under probation /on a warning then he fckd.

bought a week ago they have to refund...threaten them with legal action.

Have just emailed asking for a refund.
Thank you for all the advice.

I live in Loughborough. Apart from the vast number of main dealers there, I wouldn’t fancy buying one from one of the shoddy back street garages.

Hope the dealer isn't filing a doc to dissolve the business

Was bought from Ashby Square autos on Moira Street

only have around 15 cars currently for sale..all the sold cars left on their website to bolster the numbers..5k -15k cars...chancers.

There used to be a small garage on Ashby Square that held fifteen or twenty cars. Sure it was called that too. Must’ve moved.

We brought one from there about fifteen years ago for my missus. They seemed OK then.

Jun 28, 2026 -- 9:06PM, breadnbutter wrote:

Jun 28, 2026 --  7:21PM, Cider wrote:Indicates that the current MOT was undertaken to facilitate the sale.Many if not most dealers have cars sitting without Mot and only do one once sale agreed.

Of course, but for this vehicle and an expired MOT, it would make sense to get a new ticket. We'll see if the OP is able to identify, but my money would be on the most recent ticket being in a different location to the past ones. How would the dealer have got hold of the vehicle, for example.

You get a feel for things and a single owner car for 20+ years, consistently getting tickets on time wouldn't decide to sell or trade in the car with a lapsed MOT, and wouldn't miss one (unless they knew it would fail). Especially if the service record stacks up. The clue is basically that I knew that the MOT history would have a red flag, before viewing it.

The dealer stacks up to be fair, 4.8/5 on AT dating back to 2017. 154 reviews. Unlikely to be a crook.

Most recent ticket was done in Leicester just down the road from dealer.
They bought car from a person who lived in Essex.

Essex

Possibly an auction purchase then.

Yes, so my suspicion was correct there too.

It's possible they have been turned over, and flipped the car without doing a deep dive. As you say it's in very good condition. I'm pretty sure my dealer just flipped the TTS, but I was comfortable with that after doing my research and reviewing the extensive paperwork.

If it was me, I would give the dealer the opportunity to make good (assuming you like the car otherwise).

The odd part obviously is passing the MOT locally, if the problems are so obvious. It doesn't strike me as a dodgy dealer though.

Were there a pair of white stilettos in the back?

One owner car?

My check say a v5 issued in 2012, could have been lost but if you looked at v5 and it say one previous owner, means you are now 3rd.You could be looking at original v5 or misreading one previous owner as one owner. Did you  do a full check via HPI check?

Jun 28, 2026 -- 9:57PM, uptheirons wrote:

Were there a pair of white stilettos in the back?

A must in the 70-80,s

travellers, possibly...
can get mot from nr ware i live
for 20 qwid

guaranteed passss

does car need to attend?

Dealer has been in touch and agreed to refund full invoice price of car.
Sending transport to pick it up on Wednesday.
Good riddance.

in future try due diligence

Give Rico a bell

for his neck?

Try and get refunded before he takes car away and cancel tax ASAP.
Threaten with bad review and reporting to vosa on mot.
And matter of interest how many prev owners does car have on v5?
He now has problem of another owner showing although he has prob held onto the old v5c, think the dealers hold onto them for a month for this exact reason, vehicle returned under CRA 2015 but if he hasn't then he will be waiting for you to return new v5c and may try and use that as an excuse to delay refund.
Take it you taxed it off the green slip?

Said he will refund when his transport people have inspected the car to ensure its not been damaged.
It's in a locked car park and I won't unlock gates until payment made.
V5 shows two owners - 2nd one was 6 months after car was registered - poss. a demo car?
Was taxed at dealers when bought.

known a dealer underseal a whole car they have for sale 'to protect'.

never known a dealer underseal a whole car they have for sale 'to protect'.

Are there any honest ones ?

Auction market with trailer,take home and thump the price up……did you conduct in this manner Rico ?

yes plenty..but as in all walks of life there are unscrupulous underhand individuals.

Planet earth is swarming with them…..

I don’t trust anyone tbh……

thats how car sales works dave..buy cars from an auction,get then delivered..clean them..inspect them..add 20-40% and advertise.

Yes, it's a tough job for the straight ones. Very thin margins and persistent customers, coming back after 6 months of driving on the clutch for example.

I sold a car to a dealer via Carwow, so I know the car was near perfect condition for age and mileage. Had a screen chip repair but behind the rear view mirror, so only the passenger view impacted. The original alloys were looking tired due to age (not kerbing!) so could have done with a refurb.

He'd took loads of pictures and was up for sale on his site the next day after collection.

I feel (from the evidence shared) that atn's dealer isn't a wrong 'un, but perhaps took short cuts. If the vehicle looks as good as the OP says, and drives well, he might have just chucked it through a MOT for sale, and not lifted it or done a thorough go over. It will cost him, now. The one niggle of course is how it passed the MOT (if it was a straight one).

One crowd of dealers I would certainly give a wide berth,they tend to do MOT…..very persuasive……you know the ones tbh…..corner shops too….

Just my opinion……

never seen a gypo with a corner shop

Jun 30, 2026 -- 10:56AM, Cider wrote:

I feel (from the evidence shared) that atn's dealer isn't a wrong 'un, but perhaps took short cuts. If the vehicle looks as good as the OP says, and drives well, he might have just chucked it through a MOT for sale, and not lifted it or done a thorough go over. It will cost him, now. The one niggle of course is how it passed the MOT (if it was a straight one).

He has a small service area with a ramp at side of showroom and employs a mechanic - he was the one who slapped the underseal on over the rust.
Think they knew how bad it was.