Mazda Bt-50: MOT pass rate and reliability data

The Mazda Bt-50 fails its first MOT more often than the average UK car, by 7 percentage points. These figures come from the DVSA's full year of anonymised MOT results, covering 824 individual Mazda Bt-50 tests. Nothing here is an estimate or a survey.

The numbers

What this means if you are buying one

A 69.7% first-time pass rate means roughly 30 in every 100 Mazda Bt-50s 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 Mazda Bt-50 tested had covered 115,222 miles and was built around 2008.

What this means at salvage auction

Pass rate is a proxy for what a car costs to keep on the road. On a Mazda Bt-50 bought as a 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 Mazda Bt-50 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 Mazda Bt-50s actually sold for at UK salvage auction.

Most common MOT failures on a Mazda Bt-50

1. Body, cab or chassis excessively corroded at a mounting point, 3.5% of tests (17.61x the national rate for this defect)
2. An obligatory rear fog lamp missing, or a front or rear fog lamp inoperative or in the case of a multiple light source more than 1/2 not functioning, 3% of tests (8.97x the national rate for this defect)
3. Brake pipe damaged or excessively corroded, 5.2% of tests (6.31x the national rate for this defect)
4. 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% of tests (5.98x the national rate for this defect)
5. Vehicle structure corroded to the extent that the rigidity of the assembly is seriously reduced, 1.8% of tests (4.86x the national rate for this defect)
6. A lamp missing, inoperative or in the case of a multiple light source more than 1/2 not functioning, 7.2% of tests (4.44x the national rate for this defect)
7. Significant brake effort recorded with no brake applied indicating a binding brake, 2.8% of tests (3.63x the national rate for this defect)
8. A rear registration plate lamp or light source missing or inoperative in the case of a single lamp or all lamps, 2.1% of tests (3.24x the national rate for this defect)
9. A headlamp or light source missing, inoperative or more than ½ not functioning in the case of LED, 2.8% of tests (3.1x the national rate for this defect)
10. A transmission shaft constant velocity joint boot missing or no longer prevents the ingress of dirt etc, 2.9% of tests (2.63x the national rate for this defect)

From 1,189 DVSA-tracked Mazda Bt-50 tests, 2024. DVSA testers marked 3.95% of these flagged Mazda Bt-50 defects as "dangerous", meaning the tester judged the car unsafe to drive away, against 4.97% nationally.

Mazda Bt-50 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 Mazda Bt-50 year:

• 2007 Mazda Bt-50 - 75.2% first-time pass, 214 tests
• 2008 Mazda Bt-50 - 65.8% first-time pass, 243 tests
• 2009 Mazda Bt-50 - 70.4% first-time pass, 307 tests

Other Mazda models

• Mazda 2 - 73.4%
• Mazda 3 - 73.4%
• Mazda Mx-5 - 77.2%
• Mazda 6 - 74%
• Mazda Cx-5 - 83.1%
• Mazda Cx-3 - 88%
• Mazda 5 - 59%
• Mazda Bongo - 58.1%

Models with a similar pass rate

• Peugeot 107 - 69.7%
• Volkswagen Jetta - 69.7%
• Honda Prelude - 69.7%
• Ford Galaxy - 69.6%
• MG Mgf - 69.6%
• Jeep Grand Cherokee Crd Ltd A - 69.6%

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