2014 Citroen Berlingo Multispace - collected in Carlisle
Mark took his 2014 Citroen Berlingo Multispace in for its annual MOT expecting the usual one or two notes on the sheet. It passed - 12 months on the certificate - but the tester handed him an advisory list with 14 separate items on it, spanning corroded coil springs, worn brake discs, brake fluctuation across two corners, tyres close to the legal limit, vibration through the steering rack, and a slight oil seep from the gearbox. We have seen long advisory lists before. This one is in contention for a personal-best record on a single pass. Mark had started hearing noises and the list made him uneasy enough to stop driving the car. We sent an offer by email with no pressure to accept, viewed on-site at his Carlisle address on the same no-obligation basis, and collected the same visit once Mark was ready. He has decided to try going car-free in Carlisle. The Berlingo is going through trade auction with the advisory sheet disclosed.
2014 Citroen Berlingo Multispace - collected from Mark's address in Carlisle
Key facts
- Vehicle: 2014 Citroen Berlingo Multispace, manual, 84,000 miles, DA63 XVL, dark grey.
- Seller: Mark, works for a publishing company in Carlisle and lives centrally in the city.
- MOT outcome: passed with 12 months remaining and 14 advisories on the same sheet - possibly a world record for a single pass.
- Trigger: Mark had started hearing noises and the advisory list made him uneasy enough to stop driving it.
- Process: offer sent by email with no pressure to accept, viewed on-site at his Carlisle address with the same no-obligation policy.
- Outcome: sold on through trade auction. Low miles and a valid MOT make a Berlingo Multispace a viable lot at auction once the advisories are disclosed.
Took it for an MOT and came back with 14 advisories
Mark booked his Berlingo in for its annual MOT expecting the usual one or two notes on the sheet. The car passed - 12 months on the certificate - but the tester handed him an advisory list with 14 separate items on it. Springs, brakes, tyres, steering, gearbox. We have seen long advisory lists before. This one is in contention for a personal-best record on a single pass. It was the list, not the pass, that ended Mark's relationship with the car.
The 14 advisories, one by one
The full list off the MOT sheet, split out so the count actually lands. The majority are safety-adjacent rather than cosmetic - and the pattern is the point: not one wear item but a whole-car ageing curve, all coming due at once.
- Nearside front coil spring corroded.
- Offside rear coil spring corroded.
- Nearside rear tyre worn close to the legal limit on the inner edge.
- Offside rear tyre worn close to the legal limit on the inner edge.
- Front brake discs worn, pitted and scored.
- Rear brake discs worn, pitted and scored.
- Front brake pads wearing thin.
- Offside front brake fluctuating under load.
- Offside rear brake fluctuating under load.
- Nearside rear brake lagging behind the others.
- Nearside front wheel nipping on the hub when jacked and spun.
- Vibration through the steering rack on lock to lock.
- Power steering pump showing slight seepage.
- Slight oil seep from the gearbox casing.
Individually any one of those is normal wear on a 12-year-old van. As a set, on a single MOT, they tell you the car is about to need a substantial spend. Mark had read the sheet and reached the obvious conclusion before he even contacted us.
The no-pressure offer
We sent Mark an offer by email and told him to think on it - no chasing, no pressure, get back in touch when ready. When we attended in person to look the car over, the same line applied: even on sight, no obligation to accept. We try to be as fair as possible with the figure first time, so there is rarely a reason to renegotiate at the kerb, and we are not going to pressure anyone into a sale on the day if they want to sleep on it. Mark accepted, the deal was done at his Carlisle address.
Mark's decision to stop driving altogether
The interesting bit of this sale was not the car. It was the choice Mark made about what to do next. He works for a publishing company in Carlisle and lives pretty centrally in the city. The Berlingo had stopped pulling its weight in his life, and rather than replace it he has decided to try going without a car altogether. Buses, taxis, the occasional rental for trips out of the city. He may go back to driving at some point or he may not - he is going to see how he gets on.
It is a sale we see more of in city-centre postcodes, less so in the Tyne Valley and Cumbrian villages where car ownership is genuinely structural. Worth noting either way: clearing the car out is the bit we handle, what happens next is for the seller to decide.
How the collection worked across the county line
Carlisle is well outside our Hexham base but the A69 corridor is a regular route for us, and we collect direct from Carlisle and Brampton addresses - CA1, CA2, CA3 and CA8 postcodes included - without asking the seller to bring the car east. We notified the DVLA on the spot via the gov.uk trade portal - ownership transferred, road-tax refund queued back to Mark, the sold-to-trade confirmation email landed in his inbox before we left.
If you are in the Carlisle area or out at Brampton with a car you need cleared, the A69 visit is the same job for us either way. The seller does not have to drive the car east, and on a fail or non-runner we bring the transporter.
Why this one went to auction
A Berlingo Multispace with 84,000 miles and a valid 12-month MOT is genuinely sellable - the wider trade has steady demand for them as family cars, taxi work and small-business vehicles. But the advisory list is the kind of work we are not set up to chase down on a single car when the trade auction route will price the work in honestly and move the vehicle on to a dealer with the workshop time to do it. So this Berlingo is going through auction with the advisory sheet disclosed up front, rather than being scrapped or refreshed for our own forecourt.
