How reliable is the Alfa Romeo Spider compared with other cars?

We do not publish a comparison for the Alfa Romeo Spider, because the cars of this model that have been tested do not cover a wide enough range of ages and mileages. Its raw pass rate is 71.4% across 3,135 tests, but comparing a raw rate between models mostly ranks them by how new they are rather than how good they are. The failure and advisory patterns further down the page are still drawn from real tests and are worth reading.

What is the most common MOT failure on a Alfa Romeo Spider?

The item recorded most often is "Parking brake efficiency below minimum requirement", which appears in 23.3% of failed Alfa Romeo Spider tests. Because one failed test can list several items, these shares do not add up to 100%.

What do testers most often warn about on a Alfa Romeo Spider?

The most common advisory is "Tyre tread depth not in accordance with the requirements", noted on 14.8% of all Alfa Romeo Spider tests. An advisory is not a failure: it flags something that will likely need attention before the next test.

What mileage does a Alfa Romeo Spider usually have at its MOT?

The average odometer reading recorded at test is 76,223 miles. This is the mileage across all tested examples of every age, not an annual figure, so treat it as a description of the fleet rather than a target for one car.

Are most Alfa Romeo Spider models petrol or diesel?

Of the Alfa Romeo Spider cars tested, 93% are petrol, 7% are diesel. Fuel type affects which items tend to fail, particularly emissions and exhaust components.

Model reliability file

Alfa Romeo Spider MOT pass rate & common failures

From 3,135 recorded MOT tests of the Alfa Romeo Spider, published by DVSA.

Data updated 29 July 2026

Quick answer

Across 3,135 MOT tests, 71.4% of Alfa Romeo Spider tests ended in a pass. This figure is not adjusted for age or mileage, so it is not a reliability ranking: the Alfa Romeo Spider fleet does not yet cover a wide enough spread of ages and distances to compare it fairly against other models. Its most commonly recorded failure is parking brake efficiency below minimum requirement, which appears in 23.3% of failed tests. Cars of this model average 76,223 miles on the odometer when tested.

At a glance

Recorded pass rate

71.4%unadjusted, not comparable3,135 tests

We are not publishing a ranking for the Spider. The examples tested do not cover a wide enough spread of ages and mileages to compare it fairly, and an unadjusted pass rate mostly sorts models by how recently they were bought rather than how well they were built. The failure and advisory patterns below come from the same 3,135 tests and are worth reading on their own terms.

DVSA recorded wording

Most common failure items

Share of failed Alfa Romeo Spider tests in which each item was recorded. One failed test often lists several items, so these do not sum to 100%.

1.Parking brake efficiency below minimum requirement23.3%
184 occurrencesParking brake efficiency too low explained
2.Service brake efficiency below minimum requirement12.8%
101 occurrencesBraking efficiency below requirement explained
3.A spring or spring component fractured or seriously weakened11.6%
92 occurrencesRoad spring broken or fractured explained
4.A transmission shaft constant velocity joint boot missing or no longer prevents the ingress of dirt etc7.8%
62 occurrencesDriveshaft CV joint gaiter split or missing explained
5.Wiper blade missing or obviously not clearing the windscreen7.5%
59 occurrencesWiper or washer not working properly explained
6.A tyre cords visible or damaged7.1%
56 occurrencesTyre ply or cord exposed, or the casing separating explained
7.Exhaust system leaking or insecure6.2%
49 occurrencesExhaust leaking or insecure explained
8.An SRS malfunction indicator lamp (MIL) indicates a system malfunction6.2%
49 occurrencesAirbag warning lamp on, or airbag missing explained
9.Tyre tread depth not in accordance with the requirements6.2%
49 occurrencesTyre worn close to the legal limit explained
10.Lambda coefficient outside the default limits or the range specified by the manufacturer5.3%
42 occurrencesEmissions above the permitted limit explained

Warnings without a failure

Most common advisories

Share of all Alfa Romeo Spider tests carrying each advisory. The denominator differs from the failure list above because an advisory can be issued on a car that passed.

1.Tyre tread depth not in accordance with the requirements14.8%
464 testsTyre worn close to the legal limit explained
2.A spring or spring component fractured or seriously weakened14.3%
448 testsRoad spring broken or fractured explained
3.Brake disc or drum excessively weakened, insecure or fractured13.6%
426 testsBrake disc worn, pitted or scored explained
4.A tyre seriously damaged13.5%
423 testsTyre damaged or deteriorated explained
5.Fluid leaking excessively and likely to harm the environment or to pose a safety risk to other road users13.4%
421 tests
6.A suspension component excessively damaged or corroded7.3%
228 testsSuspension mounting corroded or insecure explained
7.Brake pipe damaged or excessively corroded6.9%
216 testsBrake pipe corroded explained
8.Exhaust system leaking or insecure6.6%
208 testsExhaust leaking or insecure explained

What gets tested

The Spider fleet

Average mileage recorded at test: 76,223
Fuel mix of tested cars: Petrol93.3%
Diesel6.7%

Check a specific Alfa Romeo Spider

A model average tells you the pattern. Its own MOT record tells you the car.

Compare within the range

Other Alfa Romeo models

Alfa Romeo Giulietta — 69.8% adjusted
Alfa Romeo Mito — 61.6% adjusted
Alfa Romeo Giulia — 85.7% unadjusted
Alfa Romeo Stelvio — 87.7% unadjusted
Alfa Romeo 159 — 57.5% unadjusted
Alfa Romeo Brera — 66.3% unadjusted
All Alfa Romeo models

Common questions

How reliable is the Alfa Romeo Spider compared with other cars?: We do not publish a comparison for the Alfa Romeo Spider, because the cars of this model that have been tested do not cover a wide enough range of ages and mileages. Its raw pass rate is 71.4% across 3,135 tests, but comparing a raw rate between models mostly ranks them by how new they are rather than how good they are. The failure and advisory patterns further down the page are still drawn from real tests and are worth reading.
What is the most common MOT failure on a Alfa Romeo Spider?: The item recorded most often is "Parking brake efficiency below minimum requirement", which appears in 23.3% of failed Alfa Romeo Spider tests. Because one failed test can list several items, these shares do not add up to 100%.
What do testers most often warn about on a Alfa Romeo Spider?: The most common advisory is "Tyre tread depth not in accordance with the requirements", noted on 14.8% of all Alfa Romeo Spider tests. An advisory is not a failure: it flags something that will likely need attention before the next test.
What mileage does a Alfa Romeo Spider usually have at its MOT?: The average odometer reading recorded at test is 76,223 miles. This is the mileage across all tested examples of every age, not an annual figure, so treat it as a description of the fleet rather than a target for one car.
Are most Alfa Romeo Spider models petrol or diesel?: Of the Alfa Romeo Spider cars tested, 93% are petrol, 7% are diesel. Fuel type affects which items tend to fail, particularly emissions and exhaust components.

How this was worked out

Method and limits

Figures come from the DVSA anonymised MOT testing dataset, published under the Open Government Licence. Only class 4 initial tests are counted: retests are excluded so a car appears once, and abandoned tests are excluded entirely. No adjusted rate is shown because this model's tested examples do not cover enough of the national age and mileage range for standardisation to mean anything.

An MOT measures whether a car met a legal standard on the day. It is not a breakdown record, a service history or a running-cost estimate, and a pass rate is a property of a fleet rather than a prediction about one car.