2011 Audi A3: MOT pass rate and reliability
70.5% of 2011 Audi A3s pass the MOT first time, measured across 21,562 DVSA tests on that model year alone. The average one had covered 116,883 miles.
How the 2011 compares
- Against all Audi A3s (78.6%, 390,222 tests): -8.1 points
- Against all 2011 cars (68.7%): +1.8 points
- National first-time pass rate, all cars and years: 77%
Every Audi A3 model year
Pass rates fall as cars age, so the only fair comparison for a 2011 car is other cars of the same age. The full run for the Audi A3:
| Year | Pass rate | Tests | Avg mileage |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1998 | 61% | 246 | 122,849 |
| 1999 | 69.2% | 305 | 129,947 |
| 2000 | 65.6% | 550 | 129,651 |
| 2001 | 66.9% | 888 | 128,600 |
| 2002 | 64.8% | 1,219 | 139,414 |
| 2003 | 66.4% | 1,588 | 135,739 |
| 2004 | 62.4% | 3,426 | 135,238 |
| 2005 | 63.7% | 7,940 | 138,705 |
| 2006 | 63.7% | 11,790 | 136,941 |
| 2007 | 66.4% | 14,658 | 134,983 |
| 2008 | 66.8% | 18,949 | 128,430 |
| 2009 | 67.9% | 22,330 | 122,827 |
| 2010 | 68.8% | 24,765 | 116,494 |
| 2011 | 70.5% | 21,562 | 116,883 |
| 2012 | 72.2% | 25,744 | 108,999 |
| 2013 | 78.1% | 27,391 | 99,641 |
| 2014 | 81.8% | 39,051 | 88,964 |
| 2015 | 84.9% | 41,841 | 78,976 |
| 2016 | 87.4% | 39,116 | 68,677 |
| 2017 | 88.1% | 34,036 | 59,872 |
| 2018 | 89.2% | 27,197 | 49,745 |
| 2019 | 89.9% | 20,705 | 42,222 |
| 2020 | 90.4% | 4,581 | 34,532 |
| 2021 | 91.5% | 213 | 29,151 |
What this means if you are buying a 2011 A3
The 2011 is a weaker year for this model, passing 8.1 points less often than the Audi A3 average. Some of that is simply age, so compare it against the 2011 figure for all cars above rather than against newer examples. Check the exact car with the free MOT history checker before you buy, and run its VIN and mileage through our free VIN decoder and clocking check.
What a 15-year-old car fails on
A 2011 car is 15 years old now, and age drives the failure mix more than the badge does. Across all cars tested, these are the categories that actually cause failures:
- Lights and electrical: 10.36% of all cars tested
- Suspension: 8.65% of all cars tested
- Tyres: 6.23% of all cars tested
- Brakes: 6.1% of all cars tested
- Visibility: wipers, washers, glass: 4.65% of all cars tested
- Body, chassis and structure: 3.18% of all cars tested
That is high mileage, so timing belts, clutches, suspension bushes and corrosion are the items worth budgeting for rather than the MOT itself. On a 2011 Audi A3 the average at test was 116,883 miles, so treat anything far above that as a car that has worked harder than its peers, and anything far below as one worth checking for the faults that come from standing still.
The strongest year for this model is 2021 at 91.5%, and the weakest in our data is 1998 at 61%. That 30.5 point spread across the model's life is why comparing a 2011 car against a newer one tells you very little.
Nearby model years
- 2008 Audi A3 - 66.8%
- 2009 Audi A3 - 67.9%
- 2010 Audi A3 - 68.8%
- 2012 Audi A3 - 72.2%
- 2013 Audi A3 - 78.1%
- 2014 Audi A3 - 81.8%