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Used car rankings from MOT data

Most reliable cars 6 to 9 years old against cars the same age

We ranked 193 cars by how often they failed their MOT at 6 to 9 years old, each against all cars at the same ages. From 35,518,012 DVSA MOT tests in Great Britain, 2022 to 2025.

MOT data updated

First in this list (n=29,192)5.5%
All cars, same ages21.1%
Difference74% lower
MOT tests used35,518,012

First in this list: Porsche 911.

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 6 to 9 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 least often against all cars at the same ages, at 6 to 9 years old, of 193 ranked.
#ModelMOT fail rateAll cars, same agesDifferenceAgesTests (n)Typical mileage
1Porsche 911Common problems · Recalls · ULEZ5.5%21.1%74% lower6 to 929,19224,700 miles
2Jaguar F-TypeCommon problems · Recalls · ULEZ8.7%21.4%59% lower6 to 931,23230,700 miles
3Lexus RXCommon problems · Recalls · ULEZ8.8%21.2%58% lower6 to 929,21556,600 miles
4Porsche MacanCommon problems · Recalls · ULEZ10.0%20.6%52% lower6 to 959,05853,100 miles
5Lexus NXCommon problems · Recalls · ULEZ11.2%20.5%45% lower6 to 950,39451,800 miles
6Lexus ISCommon problems · Recalls · ULEZ12.2%22.0%45% lower6 to 933,78664,200 miles
7Audi TTCommon problems · Recalls · ULEZ12.0%21.6%44% lower6 to 9113,00048,300 miles
8Mazda MX-5Common problems · Recalls · ULEZ11.9%21.1%44% lower6 to 960,61930,200 miles
9Honda JazzCommon problems · Recalls · ULEZ12.5%21.5%42% lower6 to 9298,33534,000 miles
10Mercedes-Benz S-ClassCommon problems · Recalls · ULEZ12.5%21.1%41% lower6 to 936,70463,700 miles
11Porsche CayenneCommon problems · Recalls · ULEZ13.1%21.4%39% lower6 to 937,07964,000 miles
12Audi Q2Common problems · Recalls · ULEZ11.5%18.7%38% lower6 to 883,88347,000 miles
13Lexus CTCommon problems · ULEZ13.5%21.8%38% lower6 to 950,29856,400 miles
14Honda CR-VCommon problems · Recalls · ULEZ13.6%21.8%38% lower6 to 9207,96159,200 miles
15Honda HR-V (from 2015)Common problems · Recalls · ULEZ13.0%20.4%36% lower6 to 970,60146,500 miles
16Mercedes-Benz GLECommon problems · Recalls · ULEZ13.1%20.1%35% lower6 to 954,79760,000 miles
17BMW X5Common problems · Recalls · ULEZ13.7%21.1%35% lower6 to 9101,82868,100 miles
18BMW X6Common problems · Recalls · ULEZ14.2%21.3%34% lower6 to 924,25965,700 miles
19BMW i3Common problems · Recalls · ULEZ13.8%20.5%32% lower6 to 936,82845,600 miles
20Audi A7Common problems · Recalls · ULEZ14.8%21.7%32% lower6 to 931,01269,500 miles

What stands out

  • Porsche 911 comes first: 5.5% against 21.1% for all cars at the same ages, 74% lower (n=29,192).
  • 123 of the 193 ranked cars fail less often than all cars at the same ages.
  • In the 20 shown, the difference from all cars runs from 74% lower to 32% lower.
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