MOT fail rates

Saab 9-3 MOT fail rate by age

How often the Saab 9-3 fails its MOT at each age, compared with all cars of the same age, and what it fails on. From 166,679 DVSA MOT tests taken 2022 to 2025.

MOT data updated 22 September 2026

At 16 years, the most tested age

MOT fail rate at age 16 (n=25,827)38.1%

All cars at 16 years (n=4,858,625)42.6%

Median mileage at test115,704

All cars, median mileage102,757

87 of 264 model groups with enough tests fail less often at 16 years.

What stands out

At 11 years the Saab 9-3 fails 32.9% of MOTs (2,909 tests), about the same as the 33.3% for all cars that age. At 25 years it fails 35.0% (1,487 tests), 1.3 points below the 36.3% average.
The gap is widest at 14 years: 6.0 points below all cars.
Its most common structural or mechanical fail item at 16 years: Coil spring broken, at 8.1 per 100 MOTs.

MOT fail rate by age

Solid line: this model. Dashed line: all cars at the same age.

Saab 9-3: share of MOT tests that failed, by age, against all cars. Ages with fewer than 1,000 tests are not shown.
Age	MOT fail rate	Tests (n)	All cars	Difference	Median mileage
11 years	32.9%	2,909	33.3%	−0.4 pts	96,255 miles
12 years	32.6%	6,859	36.0%	−3.4 pts	100,968 miles
13 years	33.4%	11,042	38.3%	−4.8 pts	104,596 miles
14 years	34.2%	17,915	40.3%	−6.0 pts	111,888 miles
15 years	36.3%	23,733	41.6%	−5.3 pts	113,998 miles
16 years	38.1%	25,827	42.6%	−4.5 pts	115,704 miles
17 years	39.2%	24,131	43.1%	−3.8 pts	115,321 miles
18 years	39.7%	19,101	43.3%	−3.5 pts	113,070 miles
19 years	39.8%	12,256	43.2%	−3.4 pts	112,163 miles
20 years	39.9%	7,567	42.8%	−2.9 pts	109,760 miles
21 years	38.7%	4,875	42.1%	−3.4 pts	107,469 miles
22 years	35.9%	3,501	41.0%	−5.1 pts	104,320 miles
23 years	34.9%	3,061	39.6%	−4.8 pts	103,118 miles
24 years	35.0%	2,415	37.8%	−2.8 pts	103,419 miles
25 years	35.0%	1,487	36.3%	−1.3 pts	103,905 miles

Most common fail items at 16 years

Split into structural or mechanical items and wear items. Wear items (tyres, brake pads, wipers, bulbs) say more about upkeep than about the design.

Structural and mechanical

Fail item	Per 100 MOTs
Coil spring broken Major	8.1
Driveshaft CV boot split Major	2.3
Handbrake too weak Major	2.3
Exhaust system: has a major leak of exhaust gases Major	2.2
Anti-roll bar link worn Major	2.2
Linkage ball joint dust cover: ball joint dust cover no longer prevents the ingress of dirt Major	2.1

Out of 25,827 MOTs. A test with two faults counts twice.

Wear and upkeep

Fail item	Per 100 MOTs
Side/position light not working Major	4.3
Tyre tread below 1.6 mm Dangerous	3.5
Brake pads under 1.5 mm Dangerous	3.2
Wipers not clearing screen Major	2.9

Out of 25,827 MOTs. A test with two faults counts twice.

Other models at 16 years

Model	MOT fail rate	Tests (n)	All cars
Ford Fiesta	45.5%	257,412	42.6%
Ford Focus	43.1%	189,426	42.6%
Volkswagen Golf	41.2%	168,445	42.6%

MOT fail rate by first-use year

Each year has its own page: the fail rate for cars first used that year at each MOT from 2022 to 2025 with at least 1,000 tests, the most common faults at that age, and the car tax and ULEZ rules for that year.

First-use year data updated 28 September 2026.

Latest MOT age with at least 1,000 tests for each first-use year.
First used	Age at test	MOT fail rate	Tests (n)	All cars
2002	21 years in 2023	36.5%	1,005	42.1%
2003	20 years in 2023	41.1%	1,218	42.8%
2004	21 years in 2025	40.9%	1,872	42.1%
2005	20 years in 2025	38.6%	2,868	42.8%
2006	19 years in 2025	38.9%	4,451	43.2%
2007	18 years in 2025	36.5%	5,812	43.3%
2008	17 years in 2025	35.8%	5,072	43.1%
2009	16 years in 2025	34.6%	3,359	42.6%
2010	15 years in 2025	33.8%	3,261	41.6%
2011	14 years in 2025	33.0%	2,276	40.3%

More on the Saab 9-3

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.

Looking at one Saab 9-3?

These are figures for the model, not for one car. The VetTheCar Buying Report looks at a single car: its MOT tests, defects, advisories and mileage readings.

See an example report Browse the car tools

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