2012 MINI Cooper: MOT pass rate and reliability

81.8% of 2012 MINI Coopers pass the MOT first time, measured across 3,660 DVSA tests on that model year alone. The average one had covered 72,143 miles.

How the 2012 compares

  • Against all MINI Coopers (88.3%, 216,033 tests): -6.5 points
  • Against all 2012 cars (70.8%): +11 points
  • National first-time pass rate, all cars and years: 77%

Every MINI Cooper 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:

Year Pass rate Tests Avg mileage
2003 63.5% 219 99,201
2004 60.7% 354 100,838
2005 58% 421 96,681
2006 62.3% 462 90,675
2007 60.2% 831 91,899
2008 64.7% 734 90,754
2009 66.6% 894 86,870
2010 76.1% 961 84,724
2011 76.2% 1,153 83,635
2012 81.8% 3,660 72,143
2013 81.3% 6,827 66,003
2014 85.1% 19,035 65,900
2015 87.3% 26,283 60,067
2016 88.2% 26,861 52,462
2017 88.7% 28,017 45,158
2018 89.7% 30,847 37,101
2019 91% 29,792 30,648
2020 92.3% 19,402 24,853
2021 92.2% 17,867 20,495
2022 96.3% 1,142 16,703

What this means if you are buying a 2012 Cooper

The 2012 is a weaker year for this model, passing 6.5 points less often than the MINI Cooper average. Some of that is simply age, so compare it against the 2012 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 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 a shade above the middle of the range, still ordinary wear rather than a red flag, but worth checking against the service book for the car's age. On a 2012 MINI Cooper the average at test was 72,143 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 2022 at 96.3%, and the weakest in our data is 2005 at 58%. That 38.3 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 MOT data · Every model