The MOT Files

The MOT through a car’s life

MOT pass rates by car age

Data updated

Quick answer

Age is the strongest predictor of an MOT result. Across 33,143,168 DVSA tests, 87.2% of cars aged three to five pass and 58.9% of cars aged fifteen or more do. The fall is steady, about seven to nine points per age band, and what fails changes as the car ages: tyres and wipers first, then suspension, brakes and rust.

National, all class 4 cars

The curve

3 to 5 years oldreg. 2020–2022 · 5,355,612 tests87%
6 to 8 years oldreg. 2017–2019 · 7,517,250 tests81%
9 to 11 years oldreg. 2014–2016 · 7,590,317 tests72%
12 to 14 years oldreg. 2011–2013 · 5,246,171 tests64%
15 years and olderreg. 2010 and earlier · 7,359,063 tests59%

Tests from 2025; age is test year minus first registration year. Each band links to its own page: pass rate, what fails at that age, and which models do best.

first to third MOT

Cars 3 to 5 years old

5,292,872 tests · 188 models with at least 5,000 tests at this age

Pass most at this age

  1. Porsche 91195.9%
  2. Lexus RX95.0%
  3. Toyota Aygo X94.3%
  4. Lexus UX93.9%
  5. Honda Hr-V93.8%

Pass least at this age

  1. Citroen Dispatch71.3%
  2. Citroen Berlingo72.8%
  3. Vauxhall Combo73.6%
  4. Vauxhall Vivaro73.8%
  5. Peugeot Partner75.3%

fourth to sixth MOT

Cars 6 to 8 years old

7,489,401 tests · 221 models with at least 5,000 tests at this age

Pass most at this age

  1. Porsche 91194.3%
  2. Lexus RX93.0%
  3. Porsche Macan91.3%
  4. Jaguar F-Type91.2%
  5. Mazda MX-589.9%

Pass least at this age

  1. Renault Kangoo62.1%
  2. Mercedes-Benz Citan62.3%
  3. Citroen Berlingo63.7%
  4. Renault Zoe65.0%
  5. Peugeot Partner65.3%

seventh to ninth MOT

Cars 9 to 11 years old

7,563,701 tests · 207 models with at least 5,000 tests at this age

Pass most at this age

  1. Jaguar F-Type91.3%
  2. Lexus NX86.8%
  3. Mercedes-Benz S-Class86.6%
  4. Mercedes-Benz GLE86.5%
  5. Porsche Macan86.3%

Pass least at this age

  1. Citroen Dispatch51.3%
  2. Citroen DS353.7%
  3. Renault Kangoo53.7%
  4. Vauxhall Antara54.1%
  5. Renault Clio54.9%

tenth to twelfth MOT

Cars 12 to 14 years old

5,216,478 tests · 174 models with at least 5,000 tests at this age

Pass most at this age

  1. Porsche Cayenne82.8%
  2. BMW Z480.5%
  3. Audi Q780.4%
  4. Fiat Ducato79.3%
  5. Audi TT79.2%

Pass least at this age

  1. Vauxhall Vivaro47.4%
  2. Renault Trafic47.9%
  3. Renault Kangoo49.1%
  4. Renault Clio49.1%
  5. Peugeot 500849.2%

thirteenth MOT onwards

Cars 15 years and older

7,203,853 tests · 210 models with at least 5,000 tests at this age

Pass most at this age

  1. Bentley Continental88.8%
  2. Porsche 91185.4%
  3. BMW M384.2%
  4. Mercedes-Benz SL81.3%
  5. Porsche Cayman81.3%

Pass least at this age

  1. Nissan Qashqai45.0%
  2. Peugeot 300846.6%
  3. Mazda 547.4%
  4. Vauxhall Vivaro47.7%
  5. Renault Clio48.1%

Common questions

How does a car's age affect its MOT pass rate?
More than anything else. 87.2% of cars aged three to five pass their MOT; by fifteen years and older that has fallen to 58.9%. The decline is steady rather than sudden — roughly seven to nine points per band — and it is driven by wear: tyres and consumables early on, suspension, brakes and corrosion later.
At what age do cars start failing the MOT?
There is no cliff. The pass rate is already below 80.9% by six to eight years and below 71.9% by nine to eleven. What changes is what fails: young cars fail on tyres and wipers, cars past ten on worn suspension, corroded brake pipes and broken springs. The individual band pages list the items.
Which cars hold up best when old?
Ranked within the fifteen-plus band, and leaving aside low-volume exotics whose owners barely drive them, the models that pass most often at that age are listed on the fifteen-years-and-older page. The ordering is fair because every car in it is the same age, which no other comparison on this site can quite say.
Is a pass rate by age the same as reliability by year?
No, and the difference matters. A model's pass rate at twelve to fourteen years describes cars registered 2011–2013 as they are now, after a decade of wear and however many owners. It is not a verdict on how well that year's cars were built. Every model page on this site carries its own age curve for exactly this reason.

Analysis built from DVSA data of