2013 Ford C-MAX 1.6L Diesel · SB13 UGW

The 2013 Ford C-MAX presents a mixed maintenance picture. The most recent MOT, conducted on 24 September 2025 at 71,944 miles, passed but carried three advisories that signal emerging wear. The tester flagged an offside rear service brake fluctuating, rear brake discs worn, pitted or scored, and a front sub-frame noted as corroded but not seriously weakened. These are not fresh failures, yet they indicate the car is entering a phase where age-related deterioration is beginning to surface. The trend is not sharply worsening, but it is no longer the clean record seen in 2023 and 2024. The mileage profile is notably low for a 13-year-old vehicle. Between the September 2022 test at 57,768 miles and the September 2025 test at 71,944 miles, the car covered just 14,176 miles over three years, averaging roughly 4,725 miles annually. The jump from 61,185 miles in September 2023 to 65,506 miles by September 2024 accounts for most of the recent accumulation at around 4,321 miles in that single year. This pattern suggests prolonged periods of light use or standing, which can itself cause issues such as brake surface corrosion, tyre flat-spotting, and moisture ingress into exposed components. The recurring tyre wear advisories deserve attention. In September 2022 both rear tyres were worn close to the legal limit on their edges, and the following year a retest failure exposed ply or cords on the nearside rear tyre with the offside also worn on an inner edge. This pattern points to possible rear suspension geometry drift, worn trailing arm bushes, or simply neglected tyre rotation. A buyer should inspect the rear suspension bushes, toe and camber settings, and inner tyre sidewalls carefully before purchase. The front sub-frame corrosion advisory from the 2025 test is the most structurally significant finding. While the tester judged it not seriously weakened, sub-frame corrosion on a 13-year-old vehicle can progress rapidly depending on whether the car has been used on salted roads. The rear brake disc pitting and scoring, combined with the fluctuating offside rear brake, suggest the braking system has seen periods of standing or infrequent use leading to surface corrosion rather than outright mechanical failure. A thorough underbody inspection, including the sub-frame mounting points, brake caliper slides, and handbrake mechanisms, is strongly recommended before committing to purchase.