2013 Renault Scenic 1.6L Petrol · MV13 FXC

The most recent MOT, conducted on 8 August 2025 at 61,120 miles, resulted in a pass, but the record reveals a pattern of deferred maintenance rather than consistent preventative care. A mere three days prior, on 5 August 2025, the vehicle failed the same test with a cluster of serious defects. The tester flagged a corroded and seriously weakened Offside Rear coil spring, an excessively worn Offside Front suspension arm ball joint, and damaged body panels presenting a risk of injury. While these were rectified for the subsequent pass, the presence of a weakened coil spring at this mileage points to long-term corrosion exposure rather than a sudden failure. The maintenance trend appears reactive, with the owner addressing critical failures only when legally compelled, rather than resolving underlying wear proactively. The mileage profile raises significant questions about the vehicle's history. At roughly 4,700 miles per year, the usage is exceptionally low for a thirteen-year-old vehicle. More critically, the odometer recorded 56,855 miles on 31 July 2024, then jumped to 61,119 miles by 5 August 2025, a gain of 4,264 miles in just over a year. This is a sharp acceleration after years of minimal use, suggesting either a sudden change in ownership or a period of prolonged standing followed by intensive use. Long periods of inactivity can cause seals to dry out, tyres to flat-spot, and dormant corrosion to accelerate in brake lines and the exhaust system. A buyer must treat the 2025 failure as a structural red flag. The seriously weakened Offside Rear coil spring indicates that the underside has been subject to aggressive corrosion, meaning the Nearside rear spring and all suspension bushes require close physical inspection for cracking or weeping. The excessively worn front suspension arm ball joint suggests the entire front-end linkage, including track rod ends and anti-roll bar links, is living on borrowed time. The tester noted slight play in the Nearside Front anti-roll bar linkage ball joint in the final pass, confirming this wear is progressive. Any inspection must place the vehicle on a ramp to check for perforation in the subframe and inner wing mounts, particularly around the suspension towers. Beyond the suspension, the repeated bulb failures and non-working washers in August 2025 hint at electrical gremlins or simply neglected basic upkeep. The damaged body panels flagged in the fail suggest the car has had low-speed impacts that may have disturbed bumper mounting points or weakened adjacent structure. A compression test and a thorough check of the exhaust emissions are advisable, given the risk that a standing engine has suffered from bore wash or stale fuel contamination. The car is roadworthy on paper, but the record shows a vehicle that has been run hard after a long sleep, with corrosion and wear now catching up.