Second hand car hasn't been taxed for 6 months - is that a bad sign?

[suffolkblonde29]

We're expecting our first baby and looking to buy a second hand car that has five doors/enough boot space for a buggy - not too fussy otherwise.

I've seen a good value second hand Skoda Fabia from 2008. It's £3k, has 55k miles on the clock and in good condition.

Only issue is I can see it hasn't been taxed since May 2015 (although the MOT is still valid till May 2016). Is this a bad sign? Suggests car hasn't been used for a while - could this cause problems for the vehicle? Or it could show that it has taken a long time to sell?

I've never bought a car before (currently drive one my husband bought 5 years ago) so would be grateful for some advice from anyone who has more experience!

Thanks.

How do you know it's not been taxed since then ?

What did the seller say?

Who currently has ownership?

If its a car dealer then I wouldn't worry. It's now law that you can't sell a car with tax on it and, I believe, that means car dealers don't need to tax a vehicle if its sat on a forecourt.

I didn't think to ask the dealer about tax but I looked up the vehicle identification number on the DVLA website afterwards and saw that it has an MOT but hasn't been taxed for a while. It's from a car dealer so expect it has been for sale for a few months - wonder if that's a bad sign if no one has bought it? I read that it's bad for a car not to be used for a while so am just worried about whether it's caused problems for the engine etc...

That's a good price for the car, and age. But I would be asking how long it's been for sale for, with the low mileage it shouldn't be too much of an issue. My sil had the exact same car in red 08 plate too that had done 22k, Fil has brought it off her as she was only 2k a year in it and never had any issues, even now with Fil doing more miles

Is it a diesel? I wouldn't touch it because of that stupid dpf filter never mind no tax.

If you do go for it, take it for an mot straight away rather than trust the certificate so you can take it back if something's wrong.

No it's petrol. Good idea re getting MOT. It comes with a three month warranty too..

Good, diesels are no good for round the doors these days.

Just take it for an mot and you can be sure it's sound. I wish we had done that. Next car I'm going to.

Thanks for the tips! Paid £14.99 for a vehicle check from the RAC website which was good too. Think we'll go for it...