Selling car and MOT

[jmo21]

My car only has 3 weeks left on its MOT.

I'm planning to trade it in this weekend, personal circumstance has left it this late. Would prefer to get rid before MOT.

While they will likely use this fact to minimise the trade in value, are they likely to refuse it as a trade in?

Should I just get it MOT'd, bite the repairs bullet, few hundred quid probably?

[northernladuk]

Kinda missing the important decision factors such as how much is the car worth, how old is it, will it pass it's MOT and how much do you want for it.

Can't answer your question on the facts you have given alone.

[mudskipper]

A car with no MOT is worthless - it can't be driven.

I'd get it MOTed.

[AtW]

A car with no MOT is worthless - it can't be driven.

It can be driven actually. Legally also.

[NorthWestPerm2Contr]

My car only has 3 weeks left on its MOT.

I'm planning to trade it in this weekend, personal circumstance has left it this late. Would prefer to get rid before MOT.

While they will likely use this fact to minimise the trade in value, are they likely to refuse it as a trade in?

Should I just get it MOT'd, bite the repairs bullet, few hundred quid probably?

MOT'd and sold privately. Always gets you more than part ex.

[Ticktock]

I traded my car in last year at a car supermarket type place, and in the past I've traded in with main dealers.

They'll want to take a look at your car, they'll want to test drive it. I've never been asked to show the MOT before exchange of paperwork when collecting my new car, and the deal was already done then, it was just making sure we both had all we needed and had signed over the registration.

Of course, you need an MOT to drive your car there to trade it in, so you'd want to get that turned around as quick as you can.

I've always been trading in tulip-heaps in the past, all at least 5-6 years old, so maybe they care more if it's a decent or newer car, I don't know. I don't care. They'll have their own mechanics so don't tend to care unless it falls to pieces as soon as you drive away.

[jmo21]

Kinda missing the important decision factors such as how much is the car worth, how old is it, will it pass it's MOT and how much do you want for it.

Can't answer your question on the facts you have given alone.

6 years old, worth ~£5500 according to Parkers for trade in, expecting some work needing done with MOT

It was more about the less than month on MOT thing "are they likely to refuse it as a trade in"?

MOT'd and sold privately. Always gets you more than part ex.

Massively can't be arsed with that though

I traded my car in last year at a car supermarket type place, and in the past I've traded in with main dealers.

They'll want to take a look at your car, they'll want to test drive it. I've never been asked to show the MOT before exchange of paperwork when collecting my new car, and the deal was already done then, it was just making sure we both had all we needed and had signed over the registration.

Of course, you need an MOT to drive your car there to trade it in, so you'd want to get that turned around as quick as you can.

I've always been trading in tulip-heaps in the past, all at least 5-6 years old, so maybe they care more if it's a decent or newer car, I don't know. I don't care. They'll have their own mechanics so don't tend to care unless it falls to pieces as soon as you drive away.

Traded in a lots of cars in past, they've never wanted to test drive them. Look at them yes, and start the engine. Weird.

[VectraMan]

Car dealers usually sell with a new 12-month MOT anyway, so it's largely irrelevant to them if a traded in car has an MOT. If it needs repairing then they should spot that and factor it into the price, but they can get things done cheaper than you or I so it may not matter much. They only really care that you go ahead with the purchase of the newer car.

If you were selling private, then buyers would run a mile from a car with only 3 weeks of MOT left.

[Ticktock]

Traded in a lots of cars in past, they've never wanted to test drive them. Look at them yes, and start the engine. Weird.

The test drive was about 30 seconds to the end of the drive and back. Amazingly none of the warnings and faults that had been plaguing me for the months up to this point cropped up then and I got the same as I would have for a car in better condition on webuyanycar.com

Fairly certain the car was worth more as scrap than as a vehicle.

[vwdan]

It can be driven actually. Legally also.

Yes, but only directly to a place of repair or a pre booked MOT - hardly useful, is it? Plus, all of the normal Construction & Use / Road Traffic Act regulations apply, so if you fail the MOT on something that would fall into that category (Lights out, bald tyres, damaged suspension / brakes etc) then you're still breaking the law. Well, in fact, you were breaking the law previously but now the Police can prove you knew which isn't going to look favourable.

OP: An MOT costs £30 - 40, I'd just take it and see what happens. A failure of an MOT does not invalidate the old one (though be aware of what I say above about you driving it when you know something is wrong and you don't have to tell them about the failure. They can look it up should they so wish, but ho hum.

In my experience, depending on the dealer and the trade in, trade ins are primarily a sweetener to get you to buy the car. I traded in a £500 Fiesta on a £4000 car from a main dealer and they never even looked at it. I mean that literally - we agreed a price and shook on it without them seeing the car in person.