2012 MINI Cooper D: MOT pass rate and reliability

75.9% of 2012 MINI Cooper Ds pass the MOT first time, measured across 1,800 DVSA tests on that model year alone. The average one had covered 90,695 miles.

How the 2012 compares

  • Against all MINI Cooper Ds (76.2%, 6,178 tests): -0.3 points
  • Against all 2012 cars (70.8%): +5.1 points
  • National first-time pass rate, all cars and years: 77%

Every MINI Cooper D model year

Pass rates fall as cars age, so the only fair comparison for a 2012 car is other cars of the same age. The full run for the MINI Cooper D:

Year Pass rate Tests Avg mileage
2010 70.2% 305 108,430
2011 71.8% 738 96,422
2012 75.9% 1,800 90,695
2013 78.3% 3,116 86,141

What this means if you are buying a 2012 Cooper D

The 2012 sits close to the MINI Cooper D average, so there is no strong model-year signal either way. Judge the individual car on its own history. 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 14-year-old car fails on

A 2012 car is 14 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 above average, the point where suspension bushes, drop links and exhaust corrosion start showing up as advisories before they become failures. On a 2012 MINI Cooper D the average at test was 90,695 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 2013 at 78.3%, and the weakest in our data is 2010 at 70.2%. That 8.1 point spread across the model's life is why comparing a 2012 car against a newer one tells you very little.

Nearby model years

All MINI Cooper D MOT data · Every model