Chevrolet Spark: MOT pass rate and reliability data

The Chevrolet Spark fails its first MOT more often than the average UK car, by 12 percentage points. These figures come from the DVSA's full year of anonymised MOT results, covering 14,826 individual Chevrolet Spark tests. Nothing here is an estimate or a survey.

The numbers

What this means if you are buying one

A 64.7% first-time pass rate means roughly 35 in every 100 Chevrolet Sparks 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 Chevrolet Spark tested had covered 67,745 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 Chevrolet Spark 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 Chevrolet Spark 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 Chevrolet Sparks actually sold for at UK salvage auction.

Most common MOT failures on a Chevrolet Spark

1. A suspension pin, bush, joint or bearing excessively worn, 1.8% of tests (23.79x the national rate for this defect)
2. Brake pipe damaged or excessively corroded, 9.9% of tests (12.02x the national rate for this defect)
3. Significant brake effort recorded with no brake applied indicating a binding brake, 6.2% of tests (8.09x the national rate for this defect)
4. Brakes imbalance across an axle such that the braking effort from any wheel is less than 70% of the maximum effort recorded from the other wheel on the same axle., 2.9% of tests (7.18x the national rate for this defect)
5. Stop lamp missing, inoperative or in the case of a multiple light source more than 1/2 not functioning, 3.8% of tests (3.83x the national rate for this defect)
6. A lamp missing, inoperative or in the case of a multiple light source more than 1/2 not functioning, 5.8% of tests (3.54x the national rate for this defect)
7. Exhaust system leaking or insecure, 2.7% of tests (3.51x the national rate for this defect)
8. A rear registration plate lamp or light source missing or inoperative in the case of a single lamp or all lamps, 1.9% of tests (2.97x 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, 2.5% of tests (2.82x the national rate for this defect)
10. A shock absorber damaged to the extent that it does not function or showing signs of severe leakage, 1.9% of tests (2.75x the national rate for this defect)

From 20,395 DVSA-tracked Chevrolet Spark tests, 2024. DVSA testers marked 3.88% of these flagged Chevrolet Spark defects as "dangerous", meaning the tester judged the car unsafe to drive away, against 4.97% nationally.

Chevrolet Spark 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 Chevrolet Spark year:

• 2010 Chevrolet Spark - 65.6% first-time pass, 3,048 tests
• 2011 Chevrolet Spark - 65.3% first-time pass, 3,549 tests
• 2012 Chevrolet Spark - 64.4% first-time pass, 3,552 tests
• 2013 Chevrolet Spark - 64.7% first-time pass, 3,825 tests
• 2014 Chevrolet Spark - 67.4% first-time pass, 752 tests

Other Chevrolet models

• Chevrolet Matiz - 57.7%
• Chevrolet Aveo - 56.6%
• Chevrolet Captiva - 58.3%
• Chevrolet Cruze - 69%
• Chevrolet Orlando - 68.5%
• Chevrolet Kalos - 54.5%
• Chevrolet Lacetti - 56.2%
• Chevrolet Trax - 67.5%

Models with a similar pass rate

• Chrysler-Jeep Cherokee - 65.1%
• Isuzu Trooper - 65%
• Renault Wind - 64.8%
• Daihatsu Charade - 64.7%
• Honda Stream - 64.6%
• Great Wall Steed - 64.6%

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