Bentley Continental: MOT pass rate and reliability data

The Bentley Continental passes its MOT first time more often than the average UK car, by 14.1 percentage points. These figures come from the DVSA's full year of anonymised MOT results, covering 11,001 individual Bentley Continental tests. Nothing here is an estimate or a survey.

The numbers

What this means if you are buying one

A 90.8% first-time pass rate means roughly 9 in every 100 Bentley Continentals presented for MOT fail on the first attempt. That is better than average, so a well-kept example is a reasonably safe used buy. The average Bentley Continental tested had covered 52,332 miles and was built around 2009.

What this means at salvage auction

Pass rate is a proxy for what a car costs to keep on the road. On a Bentley Continental bought as a repairable salvage, the mechanical side is less likely to spring surprises, so your repair estimate should hold up reasonably well.

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 Bentley Continental 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 Bentley Continentals actually sold for at UK salvage auction.

Most common MOT failures on a Bentley Continental

1. Number plate does not conform to the specified requirements, 0.2% of tests (1.42x the national rate for this defect)
2. ESC MIL indicates a system malfunction, 0.2% of tests (1.16x the national rate for this defect)
3. A tyre seriously damaged, 0.9% of tests
4. Engine MIL illuminated indicating a malfunction, 0.8% of tests
5. A suspension pin, bush or joint excessively worn, 0.7% of tests
6. A tyre cords visible or damaged, 0.4% of tests
7. Windscreen washers not working or not providing sufficient fluid to clear the windscreen, 0.3% of tests
8. The aim of a headlamp is not within limits laid down in the requirements, 0.3% of tests
9. Significant brake effort recorded with no brake applied indicating a binding brake, 0.3% of tests
10. a brake lining or pad worn below 1.5mm, 0.2% of tests

From 31,630 DVSA-tracked Bentley Continental tests, 2024. DVSA testers marked 4.07% of these flagged Bentley Continental defects as "dangerous", meaning the tester judged the car unsafe to drive away, against 4.97% nationally.

Bentley Continental 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 Bentley Continental year:

• 2004 Bentley Continental - 88.9% first-time pass, 1,054 tests
• 2005 Bentley Continental - 89.8% first-time pass, 1,150 tests
• 2006 Bentley Continental - 89.9% first-time pass, 1,104 tests
• 2007 Bentley Continental - 90.6% first-time pass, 1,336 tests
• 2008 Bentley Continental - 90% first-time pass, 894 tests
• 2009 Bentley Continental - 92.3% first-time pass, 417 tests
• 2010 Bentley Continental - 91% first-time pass, 543 tests
• 2011 Bentley Continental - 90.4% first-time pass, 542 tests
• 2012 Bentley Continental - 92.6% first-time pass, 745 tests
• 2013 Bentley Continental - 92.9% first-time pass, 722 tests
• 2014 Bentley Continental - 95.3% first-time pass, 748 tests
• 2015 Bentley Continental - 94.7% first-time pass, 773 tests
• 2016 Bentley Continental - 95.5% first-time pass, 357 tests

Other Bentley models

• Bentley Continental GT - 95.1%
• Bentley Bentayga - 95.3%
• Bentley Arnage - 87.7%
• Bentley Mulsanne - 93.4%
• Bentley Turbo - 85.5%
• Bentley Flying Spur - 93.6%
• Bentley Continental GT V8 Auto - 94.6%

Models with a similar pass rate

• Land Rover R R Evoque R-Dyn Hse D Mhev A - 90.9%
• Audi A1 Technik 25 Tfsi S-A - 90.9%
• Audi Q3 S Line Ed 1 35 Tfsi Mhev Sa - 90.9%
• Volkswagen Tiguan Match Tsi Evo - 90.8%
• Skoda Octavia Se Technology Tsi - 90.8%
• Porsche Taycan 4s 93kwh - 90.8%

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