2004 SEAT Ibiza: MOT pass rate and reliability

59.8% of 2004 SEAT Ibizas pass the MOT first time, measured across 1,177 DVSA tests on that model year alone. The average one had covered 94,743 miles.

How the 2004 compares

  • Against all SEAT Ibizas (71.7%, 192,330 tests): -11.9 points
  • Against all 2004 cars (64%): -4.2 points
  • National first-time pass rate, all cars and years: 77%

Every SEAT Ibiza model year

Pass rates fall as cars age, so the only fair comparison for a 2004 car is other cars of the same age. The full run for the SEAT Ibiza:

Year Pass rate Tests Avg mileage
2002 63.5% 299 93,340
2003 59.1% 890 99,465
2004 59.8% 1,177 94,743
2005 59.7% 1,455 100,072
2006 60.9% 2,734 101,936
2007 58.1% 3,872 101,532
2008 57.6% 5,419 102,829
2009 61.1% 8,852 100,340
2010 64% 10,524 98,552
2011 64.5% 13,859 94,309
2012 67% 13,475 88,393
2013 67.7% 16,364 83,508
2014 69.6% 19,497 74,388
2015 71.6% 18,012 66,837
2016 72.5% 18,340 60,416
2017 74.5% 15,918 52,211
2018 78.8% 13,000 45,529
2019 88.7% 11,683 37,041
2020 89.2% 7,671 31,652
2021 90.5% 8,589 24,544
2022 94.4% 249 22,147

What this means if you are buying a 2004 Ibiza

The 2004 is a weaker year for this model, passing 11.9 points less often than the SEAT Ibiza average. Some of that is simply age, so compare it against the 2004 figure for all cars above rather than against newer examples. 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 22-year-old car fails on

A 2004 car is 22 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, the point where suspension bushes, drop links and exhaust corrosion start showing up as advisories before they become failures. On a 2004 SEAT Ibiza the average at test was 94,743 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 2022 at 94.4%, and the weakest in our data is 2008 at 57.6%. That 36.8 point spread across the model's life is why comparing a 2004 car against a newer one tells you very little.

Nearby model years

All SEAT Ibiza MOT data · Every model