Abarth 500: MOT pass rate and reliability data

The Abarth 500 fails its first MOT more often than the average UK car, by 4.8 percentage points. These figures come from the DVSA's full year of anonymised MOT results, covering 5,490 individual Abarth 500 tests. Nothing here is an estimate or a survey.

The numbers

What this means if you are buying one

A 71.9% first-time pass rate means roughly 28 in every 100 Abarth 500s presented for MOT fail on the first attempt. That is worse than average, so budget for remedial work and treat a fresh 12-month MOT as a genuine selling point rather than a given. The average Abarth 500 tested had covered 69,011 miles and was built around 2012.

What this means at salvage auction

Pass rate is a proxy for what a car costs to keep on the road. On a Abarth 500 bought as a repairable salvage, assume the mechanical side needs more than the visible accident damage, and pad your repair estimate accordingly.

Before you bid: run the lot through the analyzer, check the car's own record, check the mileage, decode the VIN, and if it carries a marker use the write-off value calculator. Or compare it against another model.

Looking at a specific Abarth 500 rather than the model in general? The free check covers its MOT and mileage history, and the full HPI report confirms the insurance write-off category, outstanding finance and whether it is recorded stolen, from licensed data for 5 credits. Already own one that has been damaged? Work out whether fixing it beats selling it with the repair or scrap calculator, and see what damaged Abarth 500s actually sold for at UK salvage auction.

Most common MOT failures on a Abarth 500

1. A shock absorber bush excessively worn, 2.2% of tests (15.36x the national rate for this defect)
2. A wheel bearing excessively rough, 1% of tests (4.47x the national rate for this defect)
3. Lambda coefficient outside the default limits or the range specified by the manufacturer, 1.4% of tests (3.5x the national rate for this defect)
4. A transmission shaft constant velocity joint boot missing or no longer prevents the ingress of dirt etc, 2.7% of tests (2.45x the national rate for this defect)
5. The aim of a headlamp is not within limits laid down in the requirements, 3.1% of tests (1.77x the national rate for this defect)
6. A suspension pin, bush or joint excessively worn, 5.5% of tests (1.5x the national rate for this defect)
7. Brake disc or drum significantly and obviously worn, 0.8% of tests (1.47x the national rate for this defect)
8. A shock absorber damaged to the extent that it does not function or showing signs of severe leakage, 1% of tests (1.46x the national rate for this defect)
9. A headlamp or light source missing, inoperative or more than ½ not functioning in the case of LED, 1.1% of tests (1.21x the national rate for this defect)
10. A tyre seriously damaged, 2% of tests

From 10,617 DVSA-tracked Abarth 500 tests, 2024. DVSA testers marked 4.18% of these flagged Abarth 500 defects as "dangerous", meaning the tester judged the car unsafe to drive away, against 4.97% nationally.

Abarth 500 pass rate by model year

Pass rates fall steadily as cars age, so the model year matters as much as the model. First-time pass rate for each Abarth 500 year:

• 2009 Abarth 500 - 69.4% first-time pass, 759 tests
• 2010 Abarth 500 - 68.7% first-time pass, 946 tests
• 2011 Abarth 500 - 70.3% first-time pass, 885 tests
• 2012 Abarth 500 - 71.5% first-time pass, 762 tests
• 2013 Abarth 500 - 74.3% first-time pass, 538 tests
• 2014 Abarth 500 - 75.7% first-time pass, 774 tests
• 2015 Abarth 500 - 78.8% first-time pass, 718 tests

Other Abarth models

• Abarth 595 - 82.3%
• Abarth 595c - 85.5%
• Abarth 124 Spider Multiair - 91.1%
• Abarth 124 Spider Multiair Auto - 92.7%
• Abarth 695 - 85.6%

Models with a similar pass rate

• Lexus Is200 - 72%
• Vauxhall Astra - 71.9%
• Alfa Romeo Giulietta - 71.9%
• Nissan Juke - 71.8%
• Nissan Elgrand - 71.8%
• Nissan Cube - 71.8%

If this car is a salvage or write-off

• What does Cat N mean? Category N explained
• What does Cat S mean? Category S explained
• Cat S vs Cat N: the real differences

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All 2,005 models ranked by MOT pass rate