I’ve been slightly involved with a national newspaper doing a freedom of information request when it comes to MOT test failures. I provided some of the comments on what the stats revealed and it bears repetition. These are 2015 cars that had their first MOT last year and there needed to be at least 5000 tests for that particular model.
Without printing out a boring table, let’s dig into the results. My eye is drawn to the models least likely to fail and yet again it is a win for the older buyers with their favourite little runabout, the Honda Jazz. They love them and look after them. The real surprise is the Vauxhall Viva, a model that is mostly invisible in the marketplace, but again oldies remember the name from the 1960s and 1970s, buy ’em and then make sure they are looked after.
The Hyundai i20 is another old favourite, an inoffensive car that just gets on with the job and has a suitably reassuring warranty, so yet another one to tempt private buyers, especially the more mature ones.
Otherwise, it is a big win for perceived German build quality, as you only get what you pay for with Audi, Volkswagen and Mercedes.
Good news, then, for Audi with the Audi TT, Audi A1 and Audi Q3 taking the fourth, fifth and sixth spots, and the Audi Q5 making an entry at number nine. These are costly cars usually bought by companies or people who can afford to run them, so no real surprise there. The SUV invasion is confirmed, because there are strong showings from the Mercedes GLA, Honda CR-V and Volkswagen Tiguan.
At the troublesome end of the table, the first two entries from Citroën and Ford on the list of those most likeautoly to fail are hard-working people-carriers, the C4 Grand Picasso and Ford Galaxy, which lead tough lives, sometimes as taxis. The Dacia Sandero, however, is marketed as a bargain buy, but a low price seems to suggest low quality and more breakdowns. It may also be cheapskates skimping on regular maintenance. The appearance of the VW Volkswagen Passat at number four is a surprise because they rack up huge mileages.
The Jaguar XF is getting older and more fragile and its complicated running gear makes it a regular MOT failure in sixth position. Citroën’s long-term reputation is not great and sibling brand DS is also in the mix, with the 3. Hard-used Vauxhall Insignias scrape in at 10 and that also explains the Nissan Micra at nine, a generally reliable car that is worked hard and then neglected.
Used car owners’ surveys tell you nothing whereas actual stats like these give used car buyers some very useful guidance. Buy this, be careful with that and know what to avoid.
