how do things like this pass mot ????

[P555ben]

HI all bought a s13 off here , not going to drag names around but I bought it blind, bought it knowing the headgasket had gone but was going to put an sr in then drive it and track it, general questions WERE asked, any rust? Reply yes slight rust in arches but not that bad ,so I um mmd and arrrrrrrd but the clincher to the sale was the 11 months mot and 6 month tax, so I bought it,trundled 6 hr drive there , turn up to the nice chap, had quick look round was bit more rust on the arches than told, but thought that's ok can tidy it up ,
Now to today went to jack on the jacking points....fail folded!!!! So next I thought chassis rail and holy shit ........!!!!!

This











When I jacked it up the front half dropped and crunched ;( I can now stick my hand into the drivers foot well!!!!!

Then I took the front bumper off and found this










I appreciate s13 are rot boxes but my god surely a car cannot pass an mot a month ago with this mess?? I know I bought blind but I obviously learned a lesson but this car is dangerous,

Can I make s complaint to the mot testers?? Cheers

[SXing-sideways]

Wow

[clive]

wow

shit pics Ben !


but yeah, see this car tonight personally... its a ****innnnggg rot box!!! danger to be on the road, and we though my old 13 was bad! lol

[P555ben]

It's not just me my mate and snother guy were gobsmacked at the front dropping, it was jacked up sturdy and the front was cracking and creaking,

The thought that my mrs could have driven this and what ifs !!!!

[Rob_SX]

thats shockingly bad mate. But in all honesty never ever jack from jacking points on these cars Bad news

[P555ben]

Sorry Yoda

Pics off shitty phone

But they show enough !!! I'll be sure to take my best camera every where I go just incase

[Simaroon]

i always used to jack on the chassis rails when i had my s13's. were always ok, a few twitchy moments on my first 13 but never the fear of it going through like the pics show

quite worrying, i have no idea how that passed an mot, my 13's used to fail routinely and they were no where near as bad as that.

[Alex B]

You could report it to the ministry, there would be the risk then that you'll lose the MOT and they'll be super strict when it goes for retest.

Alex B

[P555ben]

Thats the bad thing that's not a hole due to the jack going through that split across the front of the car like the front end is snapping off, it's the same on passenger side ,

Going to cut the carpets out and have a look but should imagine it's even worse,

Is there any recourse for this as this clearly isn't roadworthy??

[P555ben]

I'm not even going to try and get this retested it's going to sx heaven, ;(

[clive]

I got a awesome caged s14 shell, ok its a bit battered but its rust free that sr could live in

[P555ben]

An s14 ! Wash your mouth out!!!!

[Turbo Gav]

See this all the time! Alot of S13's and lately S14's are just not safe. If they have been welded it's so piss poor they might as well of not bothered doing any. ****ing joke.

[P555ben]

If I bought it with no mot I'd kind of accept it a little, but the fact that I could have picked it up and driven it 6 hours home , could have fallen apart on the motorway!!!! I know I bought blind ! Atleast I'll get some pennies back

[Ross S14]

That's bad mate. I know exactly how you feel after buying a rustbucket S14 myself (not quite as bad as that though - the arse was hanging off on mine). Annoyed at what I'd bought, I took mine to the Ministry and they failed it not so surprisingly and slapped on a prohibition notice - it's been sold for parts now. Basically, be prepared for the MOT certificate to be revoked if you do contact them. The Ministry test took over 4 hours BTW! You have rights as a buyer to take the seller to court for a sale of an 'item not as described'. Contact Trading Standards/Citizens Advice for help.

[Rubix_Cube]

Thats a joke. I have a "friendly" MOT guy I go to but he'd tell me to **** off if I turned up with that!!! There's being lenient and ignoring serious safety issues

[clive]

funny thing is, Ben's pics dont show how bad it really is lol

[P555ben]

Yeah it's bit annoying as it was unexpected , the headgasket blown I knew and rusty arches but a flinstone car

[rich1988]

you pass an mot in almost any condition if you know the right person and have a bit of spare cash :P

[skyshack]

Thats the bad thing that's not a hole due to the jack going through that split across the front of the car like the front end is snapping off, it's the same on passenger side ,

Sorry but there will a lot more than you have found so far. The whole floor to bulkhead joint on both sides will have gone. The floor to sill joints down both sides will also be in bad shape. Also check the front box sections from bulkhead to subframe mounts [1]. And turrets, at bottom to box section between abs and brake hose holes, at top front and rear in the corners under the bracing plate.

If you can't DIY it, then it's scrap.

[1] once the MOT guy had put a hole in mine I "unzipped" the rest front to back with a screw driver.

Going to cut the carpets out and have a look but should imagine it's even worse,

Take seats out, pull carpet out from under trim. Remove the console box and radio. Only need one cut under the stereo.
http://www.sxoc.com/vbb/showthread.php?t=469634
I always got welding done on the cheap by stripping the interior myself. It's like 4 hours labour saved and stops them setting fire to the car by trying to do it without removing everything on back of weld.

Is there any recourse for this as this clearly isn't roadworthy??

It should have failed on the front box section alone. The tension rod brackets bolt on that has severe corrosion within 30cm of the bolts. It hasn't got that bad in one month. As the undertray was on it's almost impossible to see and so couldn't be tested.

It would have been jacked on subframe for MOT.