Morris Minor 1000: MOT pass rate and reliability data

The Morris Minor 1000 passes its MOT first time more often than the average UK car, by 3.8 percentage points. These figures come from the DVSA's full year of anonymised MOT results, covering 1,201 individual Morris Minor 1000 tests. Nothing here is an estimate or a survey.

The numbers

What this means if you are buying one

A 80.5% first-time pass rate means roughly 20 in every 100 Morris Minor 1000s 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 1000 tested had covered 47,537 miles and was built around 1975.

What this means at salvage auction

Pass rate is a proxy for what a car costs to keep on the road. The Morris Minor 1000 sits 3.8 points above the national average, ranked 1,422 of 2,005 models. On one bought as 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 1000 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 recorded closing bids for damaged Morris Minor 1000s at UK salvage auction.

Most common MOT failures on a Morris Minor 1000

1. Braking effort not recording at a wheel, 1.3% of tests (31.29x the national rate for this defect)
2. 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., 7.5% of tests (14.35x the national rate for this defect)
3. 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, 6.7% of tests (7.14x the national rate for this defect)
4. Service brake efficiency below minimum requirement, 1.5% of tests (7.03x the national rate for this defect)
5. Significant brake effort recorded with no brake applied indicating a binding brake, 5.5% of tests (5.3x the national rate for this defect)
6. Steering rack gaiter or ball joint dust cover missing or no longer prevents the ingress of dirt etc, 3.7% of tests (4.92x the national rate for this defect)
7. Vehicle structure corroded to the extent that the rigidity of the assembly is seriously reduced, 1.3% of tests (3.22x the national rate for this defect)
8. A headlamp or light source missing, inoperative or more than ½ not functioning in the case of LED, 3.9% of tests (3.19x the national rate for this defect)
9. Parking brake inoperative on one side, 1.5% of tests (2.51x the national rate for this defect)
10. Parking brake efficiency below minimum requirement, 3.1% of tests (2.37x the national rate for this defect)

From 1,201 DVSA-tracked Morris Minor 1000 tests, 2024. DVSA testers marked 4.81% of these flagged Morris Minor 1000 defects as "dangerous", meaning the tester judged the car unsafe to drive away, against 5.11% nationally.

Most common MOT advisories on a Morris Minor 1000

An advisory doesn't fail the car - the tester flags it as worth watching, but it still passes. A different list from the failures above: what testers are noting on a Morris Minor 1000 before it actually fails on it.

1. A wheel bearing excessively rough, 1.9% of tests (5.14x the national rate for this advisory)
2. A wheel bearing with excessive play, 3.3% of tests (5.13x the national rate for this advisory)
3. 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., 1.2% of tests (3.79x the national rate for this advisory), also fails
4. Fluid leaking excessively and likely to harm the environment or to pose a safety risk to other road users, 15.9% of tests (2.86x the national rate for this advisory)
5. Vehicle structure corroded to the extent that the rigidity of the assembly is seriously reduced, 3.3% of tests (2.68x the national rate for this advisory), also fails
6. 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, 3.3% of tests (2.19x the national rate for this advisory), also fails
7. Significant brake effort recorded with no brake applied indicating a binding brake, 4.2% of tests (2.08x the national rate for this advisory), also fails
8. A suspension pin, bush or joint excessively worn, 8.5% of tests
9. A tyre seriously damaged, 8.4% of tests
10. A shock absorber damaged to the extent that it does not function or showing signs of severe leakage, 4.1% of tests

From 1,201 DVSA-tracked Morris Minor 1000 tests, 2024.

Other Morris models

• Morris Minor - 82%

Models with a similar pass rate

• Maserati Quattroporte - 80.6%
• Toyota Auris - 80.5%
• Peugeot Traveller - 80.5%
• Citroen Dispatch 1400 En-Prise Bhdi Ss - 80.5%
• Audi A5 - 80.4%
• Tesla Model S - 80.4%

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
• Do you need an HPI check on a car you know is a write-off?

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All 2,005 models ranked by MOT pass rate