Rover 75: MOT pass rate and reliability data

The Rover 75 fails its first MOT more often than the average UK car, by 14.1 percentage points. These figures come from the DVSA's full year of anonymised MOT results, covering 7,626 individual Rover 75 tests. Nothing here is an estimate or a survey.

The numbers

What this means if you are buying one

A 62.6% first-time pass rate means roughly 37 in every 100 Rover 75s 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 Rover 75 tested had covered 104,562 miles and was built around 2003.

What this means at salvage auction

Pass rate is a proxy for what a car costs to keep on the road. The Rover 75 sits 14.1 points below the national average, ranked 1,902 of 2,005 models. On one bought as 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 Rover 75 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 Rover 75s at UK salvage auction.

Most common MOT failures on a Rover 75

1. 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, 10.9% of tests (11.55x the national rate for this defect)
2. A suspension component excessively damaged or corroded, 3.6% of tests (10.18x the national rate for this defect)
3. An SRS malfunction indicator lamp (MIL) indicates a system malfunction, 3.5% of tests (8.38x the national rate for this defect)
4. Vehicle structure corroded to the extent that the rigidity of the assembly is seriously reduced, 2.9% of tests (7.08x the national rate for this defect)
5. Lamp emitted colour, position or intensity not in accordance with the requirements, 2.9% of tests (4.89x the national rate for this defect)
6. Brake pipe damaged or excessively corroded, 4.4% of tests (4.16x the national rate for this defect)
7. The aim of a headlamp is not within limits laid down in the requirements, 8% of tests (3.39x the national rate for this defect)
8. A suspension joint dust cover missing or no longer prevents the ingress of dirt etc, 6.1% of tests (3.33x the national rate for this defect)
9. Parking brake efficiency below minimum requirement, 4.1% of tests (3.14x the national rate for this defect)
10. A suspension pin, bush or joint excessively worn, 14.3% of tests (2.85x the national rate for this defect)

From 7,622 DVSA-tracked Rover 75 tests, 2024. DVSA testers marked 3.11% of these flagged Rover 75 defects as "dangerous", meaning the tester judged the car unsafe to drive away, against 5.11% nationally.

Most common MOT advisories on a Rover 75

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 Rover 75 before it actually fails on it.

1. 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, 10.8% of tests (7.13x the national rate for this advisory), also fails
2. A suspension component excessively damaged or corroded, 30.1% of tests (5.81x the national rate for this advisory), also fails
3. Brake pipe damaged or excessively corroded, 34.4% of tests (5.55x the national rate for this advisory), also fails
4. Lamp emitted colour, position or intensity not in accordance with the requirements, 7.2% of tests (5.25x the national rate for this advisory), also fails
5. Vehicle structure corroded to the extent that the rigidity of the assembly is seriously reduced, 5.3% of tests (4.29x the national rate for this advisory), also fails
6. Product on the lens or light source which obviously reduces light intensity or changes emitted colour to other than white or yellow, 4.7% of tests (4.26x the national rate for this advisory)
7. Number plate inscription missing or illegible, 5.4% of tests (2.02x the national rate for this advisory)
8. Exhaust system leaking or insecure, 5.4% of tests (1.9x the national rate for this advisory)
9. A suspension pin, bush or joint excessively worn, 23.5% of tests (1.76x the national rate for this advisory), also fails
10. A spring or spring component fractured or seriously weakened, 7.9% of tests (1.68x the national rate for this advisory)

From 7,622 DVSA-tracked Rover 75 tests, 2024.

Rover 75 pass rate by model year

From its 2000 to its 2005 model year, the Rover 75's first-time pass rate has fallen 5.5 points, from 70% to 64.5%, an unusual pattern where even its newest years fail more than its oldest. First-time pass rate for each Rover 75 year:

• 2000 Rover 75 - 70% first-time pass, 387 tests
• 2001 Rover 75 - 62.7% first-time pass, 703 tests
• 2002 Rover 75 - 64.1% first-time pass, 1,276 tests
• 2003 Rover 75 - 62.8% first-time pass, 1,699 tests
• 2004 Rover 75 - 60.6% first-time pass, 2,081 tests
• 2005 Rover 75 - 64.5% first-time pass, 1,028 tests

Rover 75 by fuel type

The Rover 75's two most-tested fuel types split by 5.1 points: diesel passes first time 61.1% of the time (4,445 tests) against 66.2% for petrol (3,093 tests).

• Diesel Rover 75 - 61.1% first-time pass, 4,445 tests
• Petrol Rover 75 - 66.2% first-time pass, 3,093 tests

Other Rover models

• Rover MINI - 73.7%
• Rover 25 - 69.2%
• Rover 45 - 62.1%
• Rover 216 - 70.7%
• Rover Metro - 70.4%
• Rover 214 - 67.9%

Models with a similar pass rate

• Kia Magentis - 62.9%
• Mazda 323 - 62.8%
• Nissan D22 - 62.7%
• Nissan Terrano - 62.6%
• Fiat Grand Punto - 62.5%
• Citroen Ds4 - 62.4%

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