2007 Renault Modus 1.4L Petrol · MV57 YYG

The 2007 Renault Modus passed its most recent MOT on 3 February 2026 at 86,341 miles, but the record reveals a maintenance trend that is stable yet persistently neglected in specific areas. The tester flagged a minor oil leak, pitted front brake discs, corrosion on both rear coil springs, a nearside front tyre worn to the legal limit, and play in the steering rack inner joint. These are not new problems. The same oil leak, rear coil spring corrosion, and steering rack play have appeared consistently across multiple tests, suggesting the previous owner tolerated these defects rather than resolving them. The vehicle remains roadworthy, but the pattern points to a driver who addressed only the minimum required to pass rather than undertaking preventative repair. The mileage accumulation tells a clear story of very light use. Between the January 2023 test at 61,169 miles and the February 2026 test at 86,341 miles, the car covered just 25,172 miles over roughly three years, averaging around 8,390 miles per year in that window. Over its full nineteen-year life, the annual average sits near 4,544 miles. Such low annual distances often mean prolonged periods of standing, which accelerates rubber component degradation, brake disc corrosion, and seal drying. The gap between the January 2023 and January 2025 tests shows a jump of roughly 16,190 miles in two years, a modest increase but still well below the UK average of 10,000 miles per year. The sparse test history, with no entries between 2019 and 2023, leaves a blind spot in the middle years. A buyer should focus their physical inspection on the steering and suspension components that have repeatedly drawn advisories. The persistent play in the steering rack inner joint, noted in every test from January 2024 onward, combined with the nearside front suspension arm ball joint play flagged in 2024 and 2025, indicates progressive wear in the front-end linkage. These items will need close examination for looseness and clunking under load. The rear coil spring corrosion, present in both the 2025 and 2026 tests, raises a structural integrity concern. Corroded coil springs can snap without warning, particularly on a vehicle of this age. Both rear springs should be inspected for pitting, cracking, and section loss, not merely surface rust. The front brake discs were pitted in the most recent test and seriously weakened in the January 2023 failure, meaning the braking system has been a recurring weak point. Check disc thickness, lip wear, and caliper operation, as binding calipers could explain the uneven disc wear and the nearside front tyre worn on its edge also noted in 2025 and 2026. That tyre wear pattern, combined with the steering rack play, strongly suggests the tracking is out of specification and has been for some time. The minor oil leak, present across four consecutive tests, should be traced to its source, likely a camshaft seal, rocker cover gasket, or oil filter housing seal common on this Renault engine, to assess whether it is seeping or actively dripping.