Citroen C8: MOT pass rate and reliability data

The Citroen C8 fails its first MOT more often than the average UK car, by 22 percentage points. These figures come from the DVSA's full year of anonymised MOT results, covering 969 individual Citroen C8 tests. Nothing here is an estimate or a survey.

The numbers

What this means if you are buying one

A 54.7% first-time pass rate means roughly 45 in every 100 Citroen C8s 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 Citroen C8 tested had covered 116,922 miles and was built around 2007.

What this means at salvage auction

Pass rate is a proxy for what a car costs to keep on the road. The Citroen C8 sits 22 points below the national average, ranked 1,999 of 2,005 models. On one bought as 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 Citroen C8 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 recorded closing bids for damaged Citroen C8s at UK salvage auction.

Most common MOT failures on a Citroen C8

1. Parking brake inoperative on one side, 7.9% of tests (13.19x the national rate for this defect)
2. 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, 11.4% of tests (12.05x the national rate for this defect)
3. Parking brake efficiency less than 50% of the required value, 3.8% of tests (10.44x the national rate for this defect)
4. Vehicle structure corroded to the extent that the rigidity of the assembly is seriously reduced, 4.2% of tests (10.26x the national rate for this defect)
5. Parking brake efficiency below minimum requirement, 12.3% of tests (9.45x the national rate for this defect)
6. Exhaust system leaking or insecure, 6% of tests (5.92x the national rate for this defect)
7. A transmission shaft constant velocity joint boot missing or no longer prevents the ingress of dirt etc, 9% of tests (5.87x the national rate for this defect)
8. Stop lamp missing, inoperative or in the case of a multiple light source more than 1/2 not functioning, 6.5% of tests (4.79x the national rate for this defect)
9. A lamp missing, inoperative or in the case of a multiple light source more than 1/2 not functioning, 9.9% of tests (4.46x the national rate for this defect)
10. A suspension joint dust cover missing or no longer prevents the ingress of dirt etc, 6.9% of tests (3.77x the national rate for this defect)

From 967 DVSA-tracked Citroen C8 tests, 2024. DVSA testers marked 4.07% of these flagged Citroen C8 defects as "dangerous", meaning the tester judged the car unsafe to drive away, against 5.11% nationally.

Most common MOT advisories on a Citroen C8

An advisory doesn't fail the car - the tester flags it as worth watching, but it still passes. A different list from the failures above: what testers are noting on a Citroen C8 before it actually fails on it.

1. Exhaust system leaking or insecure, 13.2% of tests (4.65x the national rate for this advisory), also fails
2. Vehicle structure corroded to the extent that the rigidity of the assembly is seriously reduced, 4.9% of tests (3.91x the national rate for this advisory), also fails
3. 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, 5.9% of tests (3.88x the national rate for this advisory), also fails
4. Fluid leaking excessively and likely to harm the environment or to pose a safety risk to other road users, 18.5% of tests (3.33x the national rate for this advisory)
5. A steering ball joint with excessive wear or free play, 4.2% of tests (3.18x the national rate for this advisory)
6. A spring or spring component fractured or seriously weakened, 12.1% of tests (2.56x the national rate for this advisory)
7. Brake pipe damaged or excessively corroded, 12.9% of tests (2.09x the national rate for this advisory)
8. A suspension component excessively damaged or corroded, 9.5% of tests (1.84x the national rate for this advisory)
9. Number plate inscription missing or illegible, 4.7% of tests (1.75x the national rate for this advisory)
10. Brake disc or drum excessively weakened, insecure or fractured, 18.8% of tests (1.54x the national rate for this advisory)

From 967 DVSA-tracked Citroen C8 tests, 2024.

Other Citroen models

• Citroen C3 - 70.4%
• Citroen Berlingo - 68.3%
• Citroen C1 - 75.1%
• Citroen C4 - 66%
• Citroen Ds3 - 60.4%
• Citroen Dispatch - 66.2%
• Citroen Xsara - 58%
• Citroen C3 Aircross - 86.4%

Models with a similar pass rate

• Citroen C15 - 55.2%
• Peugeot 807 - 54.8%
• Daewoo Matiz - 54.8%
• Chevrolet Kalos - 54.5%
• Dodge Caliber - 54.5%
• Chrysler-Jeep Patriot - 54.4%

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
• Do you need an HPI check on a car you know is a write-off?

Embed this data

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All 2,005 models ranked by MOT pass rate