AA inspection result

[Orca Brody]

Hi all. I need a bit of advice if anyone has any. I'm close to buying a 2012 Rapido after agreeing a price I'm happy with. I just had the results of the AA inspection. Can anyone please share they're thoughts on this? I'd be really grateful. For the experts out there, what would you do?

 

[Orca Brody]

When did it last have a MOT,? Surely it wouldn't have passed that with excessive smoke.

It last had an MOT in August and since then has been parked with only occasional drives around the owners work complex. All previous MOT's have been fine, just minor things like tyres and lights.

 

[chaser]

It last had an MOT in August and since then has been parked with only occasional drives around the owners work complex. All previous MOT's have been fine, just minor things like tyres and lights.

Can't see anything seriously wrong then

 

[Northernraider]

When did it last have a MOT,? Surely it wouldn't have passed that with excessive smoke.

I fail to see how anyone could identify blue smoke in the dark to be honest

 

[Northernraider]

It last had an MOT in August and since then has been parked with only occasional drives around the owners work complex. All previous MOT's have been fine, just minor things like tyres and lights.

That's probably its biggest problem .it's sat around doing nothing . I'd be suggesting to the owner that he takes it a good 70-100 mile long drive preferably on a motorway. I'd also suggest a fuel cleaner like redex on a high concentration.

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[TDub49]

There's a danger of the heart ruling the head on this one. I'm sure you will have done your own on-line searches but (apart from it being American) this is as good a summary of why you should be concerned about the blue smoke issue. If the AA mechanic curtailed the road test because of "excessive" smoke it probably meant it was not just smoking on start up and also smoking enough to be seen in the mirrors as it was being driven. Think hard . . .

The Causes of Diesel Blue Smoke And What To Do Next | learn diesels

So, you have some blue smoke billowing out of your exhaust. Well, you think it’s blue. Does it look like a blue haze? 😕 What…

learndiesels.com

 

[Nanniemate]

It last had an MOT in August and since then has been parked with only occasional drives around the owners work complex. All previous MOT's have been fine, just minor things like tyres and lights.

Minor things like tyres and lights, sounds like lack of the basics surely if the vehicle was maintained these would have been rectified before an mot and not become a concern on the once a year snap shot inspection.
Just a thought, if the obvious is missed.......
It has been suggested 10% on top of the asking price is what it costs the new owner to put it right once purchased.

 

[Northernraider]

Minor things like tyres and lights, sounds like lack of the basics surely if the vehicle was maintained these would have been rectified before an mot and not become a concern on the once a year snap shot inspection.
Just a thought, if the obvious is missed.......
It has been suggested 10% on top of the asking price is what it costs the new owner to put it right once purchased.

The current van I have had an advisory for tyres for 4 consecutive years before it finally had 6 new ones fitted just before I bought it. It also had an advisory for corrosion on front crossmember, a common thing on ducatos. It required 10 minutes of wire brushing and a coat of paint.

Mot advisories and aa (alleged) technicians must make it so easy for traders to scoop up bargains that people who don't know one end of a spanner from the other obviously run away from.


None of this stuff is serious.

As I've said about 5 times now the op simply needs to get a proper mechanic to give the van a once over.

Avoid aa , Halford, kwik fit and any other of these part fitter outfits at all costs unless your having tyres or a battery fitted or you've broken down and need a lift. They are usually not the best mechanics.

 

[Nanniemate]

The current van I have had an advisory for tyres for 4 consecutive years before it finally had 6 new ones fitted just before I bought it. It also had an advisory for corrosion on front crossmember, a common thing on ducatos. It required 10 minutes of wire brushing and a coat of paint.

Mot advisories and aa (alleged) technicians must make it so easy for traders to scoop up bargains that people who don't know one end of a spanner from the other obviously run away from.


None of this stuff is serious.

As I've said about 5 times now the op simply needs to get a proper mechanic to give the van a once over.

Avoid aa , Halford, kwik fit and any other of these part fitter outfits at all costs unless your having tyres or a battery fitted or you've broken down and need a lift. They are usually not the best mechanics.

I had cross member advisory on mine last year this year the older guy did it and said its not even part of the mot , showed me we were under it chatting, as you do, and as you said wire brush bit of paint

 

[Northernraider]

I had cross member advisory on mine last year this year the older guy did it and said its not even part of the mot , showed me we were under it chatting, as you do, and as you said wire brush bit of paint

Yep the mot advisories are a joke at times ...after all they are just the inspector wasting time as they have to spend 45 minutes on a test these days when most don't require anything like that.

Personally I prefer to check my vehicles over myself before an mot so there isn't any advisories but most folk don't do it they just rely on the mot test.

This van he's looking at is all pretty normal stuff to be honest...its metal and its 10 years old . Blue smoke is the only concern if its as bad as the aa guy claimed in his very brief done in the dark inspection.

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[pelican]

On the boat I removed the heater plugs and screwed in the compression tester adapter.

And what did Noah say?

 

[airwave]

hi I'm no expert but with excessive blue smoke I would walk away could be buying a bag of sh*t and that's without considering all the other stuff .

Totally agree , though blue smoke can mean several things , it most often indicates the burning of oil . A clear sign of a worn engine , possibly due to compression failure . In short terms engine rebuild or replacement needed . Buyer beware !

 

[Nanniemate]

Yep the mot advisories are a joke at times ...after all they are just the inspector wasting time as they have to spend 45 minutes on a test these days when most don't require anything like that.

Personally I prefer to check my vehicles over myself before an mot so there isn't any advisories but most folk don't do it they just rely on the mot test.

This van he's looking at is all pretty normal stuff to be honest...its metal and its 10 years old . Blue smoke is the only concern if its as bad as the aa guy claimed in his very brief done in the dark inspection.

Me too but unfortunately I don't have a pit so when it's in for an mot that when I can get under and have a good look otherwise it on the leveling ramps or sticking my head underneath, not the best visibility .other than that relying on the service to pick.it up if there was an issue underneath.

 

[Northernraider]

Totally agree , though blue smoke can mean several things , it most often indicates the burning of oil . A clear sign of a worn engine , possibly due to compression failure . In short terms engine rebuild or replacement needed . Buyer beware !

A worn engine?


50k miles on a 10 year old commercial vehicle is not even run in .


Blue smoke can also be old diesel , fuel additive. A sticky egr valve, dpf, too much oil , etc etc etc .


Add to that the fact the half asked check was done in the dark.


It could simply need a good long drive as it hasn't been used in months .

 

[chaser]

Although it doesn't relate to blue smoke, in the tractor world there's a saying, no smoke no poke, just an aside nothing to do with this van

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[PeterCarole29]

they can do compression tests using a ampmeter and osiloscope now cylinders with low compression draw less amps through the stater motor theb scope shows it as a graph they use a sensor to label cylinder one and work out which cylinder is low

Wow, Thats very interesting. Thankyou

 

[Orca Brody]

Thanks again for the input. The owner had the motorhome looked at by a mechanic. He seen no evidence of blue smoke, said the front suspension was surface rust present on most vehicles with no play or wear and gave them a brush and sprayed some silicone, said the exhaust has no holes in it and has corroded on the outer skin as can happen.

So, that's where I am at present. Obviously the owner organised this check. not me.

 

[headlight]

Orca76 have you considered taking the van for an MOT ?
Surely anything untoward would show up and only cost £45.

 

[Rapido925M]

I'm guessing that the mechanic's report is for the use of the owner and any liability would only be between them? IF you buy it from a private individual, how much responsibility do they carry for telling you it is "fine"?

Buyer beware comes to my mind!
As you seem keen on this vehicle, why not ask if you can pay for an alternative inspection?

Good luck - Gordon

 

[Northernraider]

Thanks again for the input. The owner had the motorhome looked at by a mechanic. He seen no evidence of blue smoke, said the front suspension was surface rust present on most vehicles with no play or wear and gave them a brush and sprayed some silicone, said the exhaust has no holes in it and has corroded on the outer skin as can happen.

So, that's where I am at present. Obviously the owner organised this check. not me.

Which is what I expected .


The simple answer is the aa guy is a rocket and shouldn't be trusted to do the Job he's paid for.

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[Googlebot]

Excessive blue smoke in the dark.

I think he is yanking your chain. My gues is he turned up late, needed an excuse to leave early and found it.

 

[Silver-Fox]

I'm guessing that the mechanic's report is for the use of the owner and any liability would only be between them? IF you buy it from a private individual, how much responsibility do they carry for telling you it is "fine"?

Buyer beware comes to my mind!
As you seem keen on this vehicle, why not ask if you can pay for an alternative inspection?

Good luck - Gordon

Even as a private seller if you know of faults when selling a vehicle and don’t disclose if asked.

You can be held liable to take the vehicle back I believe or pay to rectify.

Gone are the days of sold as seen I think.

 

[chaser]

Thanks again for the input. The owner had the motorhome looked at by a mechanic. He seen no evidence of blue smoke, said the front suspension was surface rust present on most vehicles with no play or wear and gave them a brush and sprayed some silicone, said the exhaust has no holes in it and has corroded on the outer skin as can happen.

So, that's where I am at present. Obviously the owner organised this check. not me.

What most have been saying, sounds a good chance of getting a cheap motor
What you need to do now is go and have a good look at it yourself, give it some revs and see for yourself if it smokes.

 

[Fdhadi]

Like I stated in my post, and a few others have said, get it mot’d, or get the owner to put 12 months ticket on it which is very common when selling a vehicle.
It’s highly unlikely to pass an mot if burning oil.

 

[The Artilleryman]

Slightly off topic, but AA related.

A few years before I retired as a London bus driver, the AA won the contract to do driver observations, one report I saw for poor driving said the driver was driving erratically down a road that was at least 5 miles off line of route.

Impossible, TFL has tracking on ALL London's buses and will know where you are to within 30metres. I know as I've had a radio call from centrecom (TFL) asking why I'm off line of route - major accident and plod sent me that way.

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[Nanniemate]

Even as a private seller if you know of faults when selling a vehicle and don’t disclose if asked.

You can be held liable to take the vehicle back I believe or pay to rectify.

Gone are the days of sold as seen I think.

I believe your right but try getting the money back could be long and drawn out , small claims court to start with and then escalation if needed would rely on the seller giving the cash back

 

[Rapido925M]

Even as a private seller if you know of faults when selling a vehicle and don’t disclose if asked.

You misunderstand my point.
The mechanic says the MH is OK.
The seller tells the buyer that the MH is OK: he doesn't know of any faults.
The buyer discovers that something is wrong.

Does he have recourse against the seller? against the mechanic (with whom he didn't have a contract)?

IF he gets his own mechanical analysis (from someone more reliable than AA?) then I think he has a better case.

Gordon

 

[Googlebot]

You misunderstand my point.
The mechanic says the MH is OK.
The seller tells the buyer that the MH is OK: he doesn't know of any faults.
The buyer discovers that something is wrong.

Does he have recourse against the seller? against the mechanic (with whom he didn't have a contract)?

IF he gets his own mechanical analysis (from someone more reliable than AA?) then I think he has a better case.

Gordon

In a word no, you would have to prove that the seller knew of the fault. There is no way of doing that.

Buying private the onus is always on the buyer and not the seller.

 

[VXman]

You misunderstand my point.
The mechanic says the MH is OK.
The seller tells the buyer that the MH is OK: he doesn't know of any faults.
The buyer discovers that something is wrong.

Does he have recourse against the seller? against the mechanic (with whom he didn't have a contract)?

IF he gets his own mechanical analysis (from someone more reliable than AA?) then I think he has a better case.

Gordon

In a word no, you would have to prove that the seller knew of the fault. There is no way of doing that.

Buying private the onus is always on the buyer and not the seller.

My understanding (approach) was that buying a 2nd hand vehicle privatley was always at the buyer's risk. When ever I sold a vehicle I would write a receipt which said 'sold as seen'. No idea if this is legal or not but it felt as though I was covering my self as the sellar.

 

[Bailey58]

My understanding (approach) was that buying a 2nd hand vehicle privatley was always at the buyer's risk. When ever I sold a vehicle I would write a receipt which said 'sold as seen'. No idea if this is legal or not but it felt as though I was covering my self as the sellar.

I used the contract provide by Jim in Resources/Misc for my recent sale, the buyer was quite happy with the "sold as seen" and didn't even want a test drive although he could see it had done another 20 miles by the time he collected it a few days later. It got him home a 100 odd miles away without mishap.

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[dorkins]

The OP must be thoroughly confused by now, there is "advice" from sensible to extreme and faintly ridiculous, making statements that are just not correct even if it is with good intentions is not helpful and to top it all the posts have drifted off topic!
It must be very confusing and worrying to read some of the comments on here, as they say "a little knowledge is a dangerous thing" (in mho).
For what it is worth I would suggest that the OP reads through the posts by Northernraider and not be scared off by some of the others, you really need to get a down to earth mechanic of good standing to help you out with this and discuss all the points raised.
( My opinion is based on 50 years of working with and owning petrol and diesel engined vehicles from motorcycles through HGV's to low loaders and excavating equipment but I have to say NOT vehicles from the last 7 or 8 years or so!).