2008 Ford Transit: MOT pass rate and reliability

59.5% of 2008 Ford Transits pass the MOT first time, measured across 22,784 DVSA tests on that model year alone. The average one had covered 147,226 miles.

How the 2008 compares

  • Against all Ford Transits (67.7%, 546,870 tests): -8.2 points
  • Against all 2008 cars (64.7%): -5.2 points
  • National first-time pass rate, all cars and years: 77%

Every Ford Transit model year

Pass rates fall as cars age, so the only fair comparison for a 2008 car is other cars of the same age. The full run for the Ford Transit:

Year Pass rate Tests Avg mileage
1990 65.8% 389 57,097
1991 63.3% 311 61,963
1992 62% 326 54,818
1993 66.9% 260 61,298
1994 67.6% 537 72,653
1995 67.5% 859 111,932
1996 67.5% 1,108 123,321
1997 67.1% 1,202 122,950
1998 68.1% 1,339 118,827
1999 68.1% 1,442 114,814
2000 66% 2,063 135,658
2001 62.5% 3,630 148,164
2002 63.2% 4,977 147,147
2003 61.3% 5,812 143,939
2004 62.3% 5,767 135,738
2005 61.1% 7,476 135,276
2006 61.8% 12,264 140,645
2007 61.2% 19,029 147,611
2008 59.5% 22,784 147,226
2009 57.7% 19,279 147,322
2010 57.7% 26,205 150,815
2011 57.3% 33,563 147,438
2012 59% 28,979 137,675
2013 62% 35,777 129,431
2014 67.7% 45,338 123,651
2015 70.3% 56,972 116,299
2016 73% 67,898 105,421
2017 75.6% 70,545 95,442
2018 78% 47,408 87,969
2019 78.3% 21,060 79,068
2020 86.2% 920 55,323
2021 88.4% 344 34,906

What this means if you are buying a 2008 Transit

The 2008 is a weaker year for this model, passing 8.2 points less often than the Ford Transit average. Some of that is simply age, so compare it against the 2008 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 an 18-year-old car fails on

A 2008 car is 18 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 very high mileage. Clutches, dual-mass flywheels and head gaskets have usually been through at least one repair by this point, so ask for evidence rather than assume the car is original everywhere. On a 2008 Ford Transit the average at test was 147,226 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 88.4%, and the weakest in our data is 2011 at 57.3%. That 31.1 point spread across the model's life is why comparing a 2008 car against a newer one tells you very little.

Nearby model years

All Ford Transit MOT data · Every model