Motoring
HOW TO PASS YOUR MOT
‘How long is the MOT?’ is a question anyone buying a used car will (should) have asked.
The MOT test – named after the old Ministry of Transport – has been around since 1960, when it was intended to check only brakes, lights and steering once a decade. Now a car can fail because of a pinhole in the exhaust or a faulty dashboard light. The latter is ever more of a problem as cars become ever more electronic.
According to government figures, the overall MOT failure rate for cars is 34.5%. The most common reasons are lights (quaintly called lamps) and electronics at 12.8%, suspension (9.1%), brakes (7.5%) and tyres (5.8%). But on the question of which makes of car most commonly fail or pass, the published figures are frustratingly silent.
Autocar’s James Ruppert has some useful guidance. His research comprised cars registered in 2015 which underwent their first MOT in 2018. The three models least likely to fail were the Honda Jazz, Vauxhall Viva and Hyundai i20.
Gratifyingly – for Oldie readers – he attributes this in part to the fact that buyers of these models come mostly from the mature part of the population who pay for cars themselves, drive them carefully and service them regularly.
Yet fourth, fifth and sixth spots are claimed by the Audi TT, A1 and Q3, with the Q5 at number nine. Maybe we oldies frequently buy the A1 but probably not the others – so why do they do so well? Probably because they’re well built, and also because they’re bought by companies or people who can afford to look after them. The remaining three top-ten places were taken by SUVS – the Honda CR-V, VW Tiguan and Mercedes GLA. Again, ownership and how they’re looked after and driven are doubtless important factors.
The bottom ten include the Ford Galaxy and the Citroen C4 Grand Picasso; both hardworking peoplecarriers often serving as taxis. Next comes the Dacia Sandero, a budget car whose failures may reflect either cheap build or owners who skip maintenance, or both.
Ditto the Nissan Micra, a surprise presence in the bottom ten since it is reputedly reliable and long-lasting. The VW Passat is another surprise, given its reputation as a high-miler, though the Jaguar XF is less of a surprise because of its known complexity. The remaining three in the bottom ten are the Vauxhall Insignia, Citroen DS and C3.
So what does all this tell us, leaving aside the suspicion that statistics can be made to say whatever someone wants us to hear?
First, it tells us that Japanese and Korean cars remain the most reliable. Why this should be – and has been for so many years – is another question.
It tells us too that ownership and use may strongly influence how a car performs, although build and component quality, and quality control, should be at least as influential.
The lesson must therefore be that, whatever make you choose, regular maintenance pays. Service your car annually or every 10,000 miles, whichever is sooner – even if the electronics say you don’t need it – and get it done just before the MOT, so that any faults are picked up.
Then, when you come to sell, you’ll have an unblemished MOT history and a demonstrably well-cared-for car.