A Word of 'Advice'

Public or Trader? A word of ‘Advice‘…..

Depending on whether you are buying or selling a vehicle may have a bearing on your desire (or not) to see ‘advisory’ comments listed on the certificate, be it a pass or fail.

Buying? you may wish to see what potentially lies ahead, what recommendations and observations have been made & what you might possibly use as a lever in price negotiations. Indeed, you may rely on those comments in making your purchasing decision.

Selling? you may wish to use the ‘advisories’ in an attempt to absolve yourself from any ‘come-back’ or not want to see any at all, in order to depict the car as being better than it truly is; You will naturally want the best price.

A tester may advise on a defect because:-

It’s a testable item that only just passes and is likely to need attention soon.
It’s a non testable item that ought to receive attention/soon.
It is a peculiarity for that type of vehicle.
He considers it dangerous, testable item or not.
He has observed, or is unable to observe something note-worthy, but for whatever reason can’t determine the result. (Here, if he made no comment and the item later became the subject of scrutiny, he could be accused of never having inspected it in the first place). For example, he may not be able to fully check an adult seat belt because a child seat is fitted, or the tow hitch is missing at the time of the test, or he can’t see an item etc.


The test and it’s advisory comments are not a conclusive reflection of the overall condition of the car.
If you suspect advisories have been listed just to ‘sell’ work (a practice frowned upon by honest people in the trade), then you might want to seek a second opinion before agreeing to any repairs. And you don’t have to have the car repaired where it was tested, though it may be convenient.
If you have had your MoT ‘arranged’ through a third-party, it may make sense to speak to the actual test station just to confirm the gravity of the advisory comments. An advisory comment does not necessarily mean the car needs repair.
And finally, private or trade, do not try and influence the tester one way or the other regarding the comments, or outcome, of the test other than bringing to his attention something you think he ought to know. And in case you were
wondering, there is no ‘appeal’ process that allows for the removal of advisory comments from the MoT certificate.