1997 Mazda Bongo: MOT pass rate and reliability

55% of 1997 Mazda Bongos pass the MOT first time, measured across 533 DVSA tests on that model year alone. The average one had covered 148,518 miles.

How the 1997 compares

  • Against all Mazda Bongos (59.1%, 9,346 tests): -4.1 points
  • Against all 1997 cars (70.4%): -15.4 points
  • National first-time pass rate, all cars and years: 77%

Every Mazda Bongo model year

Pass rates fall as cars age, so the only fair comparison for a 1997 car is other cars of the same age. The full run for the Mazda Bongo:

Year Pass rate Tests Avg mileage
1995 49% 469 155,502
1996 55.1% 573 152,550
1997 55% 533 148,518
1998 56.6% 343 137,567
1999 59.2% 475 126,157
2000 57.9% 484 119,550
2001 60.9% 476 114,237
2002 63.5% 490 109,057
2003 67% 315 116,147
2004 61.6% 440 122,513
2005 61.9% 582 134,447
2006 58.8% 483 146,295
2007 54.2% 498 152,236
2008 56.8% 373 156,099
2009 54.9% 284 145,657
2010 56.6% 309 146,170
2011 55.9% 254 146,634
2012 61.3% 230 146,540
2013 59.3% 268 134,730
2014 58.5% 325 126,520
2015 64.3% 305 119,794
2016 65.4% 298 112,534

What this means if you are buying a 1997 Bongo

The 1997 is a weaker year for this model, passing 4.1 points less often than the Mazda Bongo average. Some of that is simply age, so compare it against the 1997 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 29-year-old car fails on

A 1997 car is 29 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 1997 Mazda Bongo the average at test was 148,518 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 2003 at 67%, and the weakest in our data is 1995 at 49%. That 18.0 point spread across the model's life is why comparing a 1997 car against a newer one tells you very little.

Nearby model years

All Mazda Bongo MOT data · Every model