Fiat 124: MOT pass rate and reliability data

The Fiat 124 passes its MOT first time more often than the average UK car, by 11.5 percentage points. These figures come from the DVSA's full year of anonymised MOT results, covering 2,854 individual Fiat 124 tests. Nothing here is an estimate or a survey.

The numbers

What this means if you are buying one

A 88.2% first-time pass rate means roughly 12 in every 100 Fiat 124s 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 Fiat 124 tested had covered 29,781 miles and was built around 2017.

What this means at salvage auction

Pass rate is a proxy for what a car costs to keep on the road. On a Fiat 124 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 Fiat 124 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 Fiat 124s actually sold for at UK salvage auction.

Most common MOT failures on a Fiat 124

1. A headlamp cleaning device inoperative in the case of LED or gas discharge systems (HID), 0.4% of tests (15.71x the national rate for this defect)
2. Brake disc or drum excessively weakened, insecure or fractured, 0.5% of tests (2.32x the national rate for this defect)
3. Excessive fluctuation in brake effort through each wheel revolution., 0.5% of tests (1.71x the national rate for this defect)
4. a brake lining or pad worn below 1.5mm, 1.9% of tests (1.22x the national rate for this defect)
5. Wiper blade missing or obviously not clearing the windscreen, 1.4% of tests
6. A tyre seriously damaged, 1.4% of tests
7. A spring or spring component fractured or seriously weakened, 0.9% of tests
8. Tyre tread depth not in accordance with the requirements, 0.9% of tests
9. A lamp missing, inoperative or in the case of a multiple light source more than 1/2 not functioning, 0.9% of tests
10. A suspension pin, bush or joint excessively worn, 0.7% of tests

From 4,730 DVSA-tracked Fiat 124 tests, 2024. DVSA testers marked 5.32% of these flagged Fiat 124 defects as "dangerous", meaning the tester judged the car unsafe to drive away, against 4.97% nationally.

Fiat 124 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 Fiat 124 year:

• 2016 Fiat 124 - 86.7% first-time pass, 646 tests
• 2017 Fiat 124 - 88.8% first-time pass, 838 tests
• 2018 Fiat 124 - 89.2% first-time pass, 1,314 tests

Other Fiat models

• Fiat 500 - 71.6%
• Fiat Panda - 69.3%
• Fiat Ducato - 77.1%
• Fiat Punto - 63.5%
• Fiat Doblo - 68.9%
• Fiat 500x - 79.2%
• Fiat 500l - 69.9%
• Fiat 500c - 70.4%

Models with a similar pass rate

• Mercedes-Benz A 250 Amg Line Edition E Auto - 88.3%
• Volvo V60 R-Design B4 Mhev Auto - 88.3%
• Audi E-Tron Black Edition 50 Quat - 88.3%
• Dacia Duster Essential Tce 4x2 - 88.2%
• Kia Stinger - 88.2%
• Skoda Superb Se L Tdi S-A - 88.2%

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