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Used car rankings from MOT data

Least reliable used cars against cars the same age

We ranked 265 cars by how often they failed their MOT at 3 to 15 years old, each against all cars at the same ages. From 95,461,987 DVSA MOT tests in Great Britain, 2022 to 2025.

MOT data updated

First in this list (n=44,351)26.9%
All cars, same ages17.2%
Difference56% higher
MOT tests used95,461,987

First in this list: Fiat Tipo.

How this ranking works
  • Data: DVSA anonymised MOT test data, class 4 normal tests in Great Britain (England, Scotland and Wales), 2022 to 2025. Northern Ireland tests its cars separately and is not included. A fail is a test marked fail or passed after a repair at the test station.
  • Measure: share of MOTs failed at each age from 3 to 15 years, pooled, against all cars at the same ages.
  • Order: by the fail rate divided by the rate for all cars at the same ages, shown as the difference in per cent. Fail rates rise with age, so a ratio keeps a model seen only at older ages from looking better than it is.
  • Comparison: all cars means every class 4 MOT test except vans, pickups, taxis, campers, van-based people carriers, motorhome and minibus bases and used imports, weighted to each row's own mix of ages.
  • Thresholds: every age behind a row here has at least 5,000 tests. A model generation is ranked only with at least 3 ages of 1,000 tests or more, and a row needs at least 3 ages in this list. A list is published only with at least 10 ranked rows.
  • Typical mileage: the median odometer reading at each age, averaged over the row's ages by number of tests.
  • Vans, pickups, taxis, campers, van-based people carriers, motorhome and minibus bases, and models sold here mainly as used imports are left out of car lists.
  • Years in brackets are the first-use years of a model generation.

The ranking

Mileage matters: a model driven less fails less often, and the typical mileage column shows how far each row's cars had gone. To compare cars at the same mileage, see cars over 120,000 miles, cars at 90,000 to 120,000 miles, cars at 60,000 to 90,000 miles.

The 20 cars that fail the MOT most often against all cars at the same ages, at 3 to 15 years old, of 265 ranked.
#ModelMOT fail rateAll cars, same agesDifferenceAgesTests (n)Typical mileage
1Fiat TipoCommon problems · Recalls · ULEZ26.9%17.2%56% higher4 to 844,35148,500 miles
2Citroen C4 Grand PicassoCommon problems · ULEZ29.9%19.3%55% higher4 to 1363,96156,400 miles
3DS DS3Common problems · Recalls · ULEZ41.9%27.6%52% higher4 to 14417,19465,200 miles
4Citroen C4 CactusCommon problems · Recalls · ULEZ24.8%16.5%51% higher3 to 878,91439,900 miles
5Dacia SanderoCommon problems · Recalls · ULEZ29.9%19.9%50% higher3 to 12415,80443,300 miles
6Renault ClioCommon problems · Recalls · ULEZ40.0%27.2%47% higher3 to 151,019,20359,500 miles
7Peugeot 5008Common problems · Recalls · ULEZ29.5%20.1%46% higher3 to 13125,68658,600 miles
8Renault ZoeCommon problems · Recalls · ULEZ20.6%14.2%45% higher3 to 865,96226,300 miles
9Dacia DusterCommon problems · Recalls · ULEZ26.5%18.5%43% higher3 to 12274,80446,600 miles
10DS DS4 (before 2021)Common problems · Recalls · ULEZ40.3%28.2%43% higher7 to 1249,97177,300 miles
11Dacia LoganCommon problems · Recalls · ULEZ29.1%20.4%43% higher4 to 1056,14959,600 miles
12Vauxhall AntaraCommon problems · Recalls · ULEZ43.5%31.1%40% higher8 to 1374,71380,100 miles
13Renault MeganeCommon problems · Recalls · ULEZ44.1%31.7%39% higher3 to 15357,35683,800 miles
14Citroen C3 PicassoCommon problems · Recalls · ULEZ27.4%19.9%38% higher6 to 816,63639,400 miles
15Renault Grand ScenicCommon problems · ULEZ49.3%35.9%38% higher9 to 1566,53799,800 miles
16Citroen C4Common problems · Recalls · ULEZ38.1%27.7%37% higher3 to 15510,58374,500 miles
17Chevrolet AveoCommon problems · Recalls · ULEZ50.9%37.9%34% higher12 to 1420,03768,200 miles
18Jeep Compass (from 2017)Common problems · Recalls · ULEZ17.8%13.3%34% higher3 to 629,38531,400 miles
19MG 3Common problems · Recalls · ULEZ22.6%17.0%33% higher3 to 975,35332,000 miles
20Kia CarensCommon problems · Recalls · ULEZ30.0%23.2%30% higher6 to 1034,50966,600 miles

What stands out

  • Fiat Tipo comes last: 26.9% against 17.2% for all cars at the same ages, 56% higher (n=44,351).
  • 150 of the 265 ranked cars fail less often than all cars at the same ages.
  • In the 20 shown, the difference from all cars runs from 30% higher to 56% higher.
  • 2 other rows are within 5% of the first on the difference, so read close positions as level rather than as a strict order.
Read this with care. A fail rate is not a measure of build quality. How far cars are driven, how they are used and how well owners maintain them all change it, and wear items such as tyres and brake pads are common fails. Compare a model only with cars of the same age. Methodology and limits.

More rankings

All used car rankings · MOT fail rates by make and model · Common problems by model · Recalls by model · ULEZ by model

Looking at one car?

A ranking describes model generations, not the car in front of you. The VetTheCar Buying Report reads one car's MOT history, mileage and recalls and sets them against cars like it.

See a sample Buying Report Look up a model's MOT fail rate

Source

Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Source: DVSA anonymised MOT test data, class 4 normal MOT tests, 2022 to 2025. MOT data updated 22 September 2026.

Not affiliated with or endorsed by DVSA. How we calculate these figures · Data sources