2006 Citroen C3: MOT pass rate and reliability

61.2% of 2006 Citroen C3s pass the MOT first time, measured across 4,734 DVSA tests on that model year alone. The average one had covered 81,408 miles.

How the 2006 compares

  • Against all Citroen C3s (70.8%, 183,530 tests): -9.6 points
  • Against all 2006 cars (64.1%): -2.9 points
  • National first-time pass rate, all cars and years: 77%

Every Citroen C3 model year

Pass rates fall as cars age, so the only fair comparison for a 2006 car is other cars of the same age. The full run for the Citroen C3:

Year Pass rate Tests Avg mileage
2002 58.9% 920 91,627
2003 57.5% 2,608 85,463
2004 59% 3,264 83,554
2005 58.9% 4,037 83,594
2006 61.2% 4,734 81,408
2007 60.5% 5,335 81,826
2008 59.8% 4,924 81,181
2009 59.8% 9,530 89,299
2010 59.9% 18,379 91,235
2011 61.8% 15,471 86,030
2012 65.2% 15,042 78,089
2013 68% 13,563 71,946
2014 72.1% 13,898 63,008
2015 74.9% 12,260 57,093
2016 76.9% 8,845 49,157
2017 80.5% 15,657 48,163
2018 84.7% 15,945 42,217
2019 88.6% 13,422 34,479
2020 91% 4,837 28,037
2021 94.3% 849 23,181

What this means if you are buying a 2006 C3

The 2006 is a weaker year for this model, passing 9.6 points less often than the Citroen C3 average. Some of that is simply age, so compare it against the 2006 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 20-year-old car fails on

A 2006 car is 20 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 above average, the point where suspension bushes, drop links and exhaust corrosion start showing up as advisories before they become failures. On a 2006 Citroen C3 the average at test was 81,408 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 94.3%, and the weakest in our data is 2003 at 57.5%. That 36.8 point spread across the model's life is why comparing a 2006 car against a newer one tells you very little.

Nearby model years

All Citroen C3 MOT data · Every model