MOT advisories: worry, watch, or walk away?

Advisories are the MOT tester telling you the future. Learn to read them and a used car's next two years of bills are written down for you, free.

The usual suspects, triaged

• "Tyre worn close to legal limit" — a bill within months. Four of them is £300–£600 depending on the car. Negotiate now.
• "Brake pads wearing thin" — pads and possibly discs within the year.
• "Slight play in..." (ball joint, track rod end, bush) — suspension wear; usually modest per-item, but they arrive in families.
• "Corrosion" on structural areas — the serious one. Surface rust becomes structural failure; structural welding becomes uneconomical. Repeated corrosion advisories are a reason to walk.
• "Oil leak" / "misting" — a light misting can sit for years; a drip needs a diagnosis before purchase.

Patterns beat items

One advisory is information; a pattern is a verdict. The same advisory repeating across years means nobody fixed anything. A sudden flood of advisories at the latest test on a car now for sale means the owner knew the bills were coming. And an "advisory-free" old car sometimes just means a generous test station — read the whole history, not one year.