2012 SEAT Altea: MOT pass rate and reliability

71.3% of 2012 SEAT Alteas pass the MOT first time, measured across 1,499 DVSA tests on that model year alone. The average one had covered 98,784 miles.

How the 2012 compares

  • Against all SEAT Alteas (66.3%, 13,199 tests): +5 points
  • Against all 2012 cars (70.8%): +0.5 points
  • National first-time pass rate, all cars and years: 77%

Every SEAT Altea 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 SEAT Altea:

Year Pass rate Tests Avg mileage
2004 54.9% 224 125,218
2005 57.5% 577 129,491
2006 62.4% 1,144 121,194
2007 63.9% 1,892 122,838
2008 61.5% 1,589 121,906
2009 63.6% 1,441 116,019
2010 64.2% 1,232 110,767
2011 68.6% 1,205 105,222
2012 71.3% 1,499 98,784
2013 72.8% 1,217 90,307
2014 75.3% 716 82,076
2015 79.2% 462 76,052

What this means if you are buying a 2012 Altea

The 2012 is one of the stronger years for this model, passing 5 points more often than the SEAT Altea average. That is a point in its favour, though condition and service history still matter more than the model year. 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 above average and into the range where cambelts and water pumps are due if they have not already been done, so ask for the service history rather than take the mileage on trust. On a 2012 SEAT Altea the average at test was 98,784 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 2015 at 79.2%, and the weakest in our data is 2004 at 54.9%. That 24.3 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 SEAT Altea MOT data · Every model