Alfa Romeo Spider: MOT pass rate and reliability data

The Alfa Romeo Spider fails its first MOT more often than the average UK car, by 3.8 percentage points. These figures come from the DVSA's full year of anonymised MOT results, covering 3,279 individual Alfa Romeo Spider tests. Nothing here is an estimate or a survey.

The numbers

What this means if you are buying one

A 72.9% first-time pass rate means roughly 27 in every 100 Alfa Romeo Spiders 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 Alfa Romeo Spider tested had covered 75,978 miles and was built around 2001.

What this means at salvage auction

Pass rate is a proxy for what a car costs to keep on the road. On a Alfa Romeo Spider 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 Alfa Romeo Spider 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 Alfa Romeo Spiders actually sold for at UK salvage auction.

Most common MOT failures on a Alfa Romeo Spider

1. Service brake efficiency below minimum requirement, 2.8% of tests (16.36x the national rate for this defect)
2. Emissions levels exceed default limits, 1.9% of tests (6.62x the national rate for this defect)
3. Parking brake efficiency below minimum requirement, 5% of tests (5.09x the national rate for this defect)
4. An SRS malfunction indicator lamp (MIL) indicates a system malfunction, 1.3% of tests (4.13x the national rate for this defect)
5. Exhaust system leaking or insecure, 1.8% of tests (2.4x the national rate for this defect)
6. The strength or continuity of the load bearing structure within 30cm of any sub-frame, spring or suspension component mounting (a 'prescribed area') is significantly reduced or inadequately repaired, 1.7% of tests (2.03x the national rate for this defect)
7. Significant brake effort recorded with no brake applied indicating a binding brake, 1.3% of tests (1.73x the national rate for this defect)
8. Windscreen washers not working or not providing sufficient fluid to clear the windscreen, 2.1% of tests (1.7x the national rate for this defect)
9. A spring or spring component fractured or seriously weakened, 2.7% of tests (1.62x the national rate for this defect)
10. Wiper blade missing or obviously not clearing the windscreen, 2% of tests (1.43x the national rate for this defect)

From 6,098 DVSA-tracked Alfa Romeo Spider tests, 2024. DVSA testers marked 3.15% of these flagged Alfa Romeo Spider defects as "dangerous", meaning the tester judged the car unsafe to drive away, against 4.97% nationally.

Alfa Romeo Spider 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 Alfa Romeo Spider year:

• 1999 Alfa Romeo Spider - 69.5% first-time pass, 226 tests
• 2001 Alfa Romeo Spider - 76.4% first-time pass, 254 tests
• 2007 Alfa Romeo Spider - 71.2% first-time pass, 507 tests
• 2008 Alfa Romeo Spider - 76.4% first-time pass, 539 tests

Alfa Romeo Spider by fuel type

Diesel and petrol versions of the same car fail on different things, so the fuel type moves the number:

• Petrol Alfa Romeo Spider - 73.9% first-time pass, 3,018 tests
• Diesel Alfa Romeo Spider - 68.2% first-time pass, 233 tests

Other Alfa Romeo models

• Alfa Romeo Giulietta - 71.9%
• Alfa Romeo Mito - 66.8%
• Alfa Romeo Giulia - 86.9%
• Alfa Romeo 159 - 60.1%
• Alfa Romeo Stelvio - 89%
• Alfa Romeo 147 - 61.7%
• Alfa Romeo Brera - 68.8%
• Alfa Romeo GT - 60.5%

Models with a similar pass rate

• Daihatsu Materia - 73%
• Nissan Navara - 72.9%
• Suzuki Jimny - 72.9%
• Nissan Unclassified - 72.9%
• Nissan Pixo - 72.8%
• Smart (Mcc) Fortwo Cabriolet - 72.8%

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