[Marty McPie]

have just bought a new second hand car. The MOT frwom 2018 has done advisories, where as the MOT from December 2019 does not. Due to the age and mileage of the car this strikes me as a bit odd. I have no receipts to suggest these issues were corrected, though the car was serviced since it’s 2018 MOT. There is a clunking issue coming from the gear stick when I shift in lower gears, which I know can be a number of things, but it does add to the general feeling that the last MOT could have been a fraudulent one. If this is the case, what options do I have? Should I take this issue up with the garage that issued the certificate, or the people who sold me the car? I should say the sale to a car dealer, I think (I couldn’t find any reference to the operating company on government website) and I paid by bank transfer. Can anyone advise on options and next move forward should this MOT price to be a scam.
p.s I have checked the car in to a trusted garage for a check over next week.

[Beelzebub]

What were the advisories from 2018? Were any possibly relevant to the problem you're now experiencing?

Note that the gearbox and clutch are not part of the test.

[wagolynn]

Take it back to the dealer, and tell him you want it fixing or you want to return it.
See https://www.autoexpress.co.uk/car-ne...ing-a-used-car

[Motman]

Advisories are just that, advisories. Unlike items that fail due to not meeting a certain criteria which is not variable from station to station, advisories are purely the opinion of the tester. Some testers may be hotter on brakes, others on steering etc and what one will consider worthy of an advisory, others will ignore. A common 'advisory' is that 'underbelly pans prevent full inspection of steering/brakes etc'. I’ve never done that - the guidelines are quite clear - you are not allowed to remove anything to examine components so if I can’t see it, it’s not testable so it's bleedin' obvious that you can’t carry out a full inspection!

You are out of time I’m afraid for complaint about a dodgy MOT. Just so that you know, you cannot lodge a retrospective appeal (where the car has passed but you think it shouldn’t have) after one month has expired from the test date. (Three months for corrosion). As others have said, go back to the dealer.