Morris Minor: MOT pass rate and reliability data
The Morris Minor passes its MOT first time more often than the average UK car, by 5.3 percentage points. These figures come from the DVSA's full year of anonymised MOT results, covering 789 individual Morris Minor tests. Nothing here is an estimate or a survey.
The numbers
| First-time pass rate | 82% |
| UK national average | 76.7% |
| Difference | +5.3 points |
| Tests analysed | 789 |
| Average mileage at test | 45,796 miles |
| Average year of manufacture | 1980 |
| Reliability rank | 1,380 of 2,005 models |
What this means if you are buying one
A 82% first-time pass rate means roughly 18 in every 100 Morris Minors presented for MOT fail on the first attempt. That is better than average, so a well-kept example is a reasonably safe used buy. The average Morris Minor tested had covered 45,796 miles and was built around 1980.
What this means at salvage auction
Pass rate is a proxy for what a car costs to keep on the road. On a Morris Minor bought as a repairable salvage, the mechanical side is less likely to spring surprises, so your repair estimate should hold up reasonably well.
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 Morris Minor 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 Morris Minors actually sold for at UK salvage auction.
Most common MOT failures on a Morris Minor
- Braking effort not recording at a wheel, 1.6% of tests (47.55x the national rate for this defect)
- Wiper not operating or missing, 1.3% of tests (27.97x the national rate for this defect)
- Stop lamps all missing or inoperative, 1.4% of tests (21.63x the national rate for this defect)
- Brakes imbalance across an axle such that the braking effort from any wheel is less than 70% of the maximum effort recorded from the other wheel on the same axle., 6.1% of tests (15.44x the national rate for this defect)
- Service brake efficiency below minimum requirement, 2.3% of tests (13.65x the national rate for this defect)
- 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, 5.7% of tests (6.82x the national rate for this defect)
- Significant brake effort recorded with no brake applied indicating a binding brake, 3.3% of tests (4.27x the national rate for this defect)
- Steering rack gaiter or ball joint dust cover missing or no longer prevents the ingress of dirt etc, 1.6% of tests (2.89x the national rate for this defect)
- A direction indicator lamp missing, inoperative or in the case of a multiple light source more than 1/2 not functioning, 1.4% of tests (2.77x the national rate for this defect)
- A headlamp or light source missing, inoperative or more than ½ not functioning in the case of LED, 2% of tests (2.22x the national rate for this defect)
From 1,254 DVSA-tracked Morris Minor tests, 2024. DVSA testers marked 6.89% of these flagged Morris Minor defects as "dangerous", meaning the tester judged the car unsafe to drive away, against 4.97% nationally.
Other Morris models
- Morris Minor 1000 - 80.5%
Models with a similar pass rate
- Vauxhall Crossland X Sport - 82.1%
- Land Rover Range Rover Sport - 82%
- Lexus Ls430 - 82%
- BMW 118 - 81.9%
- Audi A6 - 81.9%
- Jaguar Xk - 81.9%
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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