2003 Saab 9-3: MOT pass rate and reliability

68.1% of 2003 Saab 9-3s pass the MOT first time, measured across 907 DVSA tests on that model year alone. The average one had covered 114,407 miles.

How the 2003 compares

  • Against all Saab 9-3s (68.6%, 36,326 tests): -0.5 points
  • Against all 2003 cars (64.7%): +3.4 points
  • National first-time pass rate, all cars and years: 77%

Every Saab 9-3 model year

Pass rates fall as cars age, so the only fair comparison for a 2003 car is other cars of the same age. The full run for the Saab 9-3:

Year Pass rate Tests Avg mileage
1998 70.9% 292 110,818
1999 72.6% 508 109,727
2000 71.4% 660 106,624
2001 71% 751 108,107
2002 69.2% 819 108,245
2003 68.1% 907 114,407
2004 66% 2,184 113,610
2005 67.3% 3,365 115,987
2006 65.9% 5,244 118,853
2007 67.4% 6,628 119,012
2008 69.3% 5,720 123,246
2009 69.7% 3,612 113,082
2010 71.5% 3,272 111,142
2011 71.4% 2,196 112,993

What this means if you are buying a 2003 9-3

The 2003 sits close to the Saab 9-3 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 23-year-old car fails on

A 2003 car is 23 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 high mileage, so timing belts, clutches, suspension bushes and corrosion are the items worth budgeting for rather than the MOT itself. On a 2003 Saab 9-3 the average at test was 114,407 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 1999 at 72.6%, and the weakest in our data is 2006 at 65.9%. That 6.7 point spread across the model's life is why comparing a 2003 car against a newer one tells you very little.

Nearby model years

All Saab 9-3 MOT data · Every model