2003 SEAT Leon: MOT pass rate and reliability

70.3% of 2003 SEAT Leons pass the MOT first time, measured across 1,054 DVSA tests on that model year alone. The average one had covered 129,482 miles.

How the 2003 compares

  • Against all SEAT Leons (79.9%, 169,018 tests): -9.6 points
  • Against all 2003 cars (64.7%): +5.6 points
  • National first-time pass rate, all cars and years: 77%

Every SEAT Leon 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 SEAT Leon:

Year Pass rate Tests Avg mileage
2001 67.9% 237 124,574
2002 68% 525 123,826
2003 70.3% 1,054 129,482
2004 69.4% 1,369 134,853
2005 68.6% 1,619 129,060
2006 64.7% 2,677 128,502
2007 66.9% 4,124 128,057
2008 66.7% 4,547 122,634
2009 68.7% 4,780 118,070
2010 67.7% 5,653 119,434
2011 70% 6,461 112,922
2012 72.7% 8,800 107,436
2013 78.5% 11,504 99,034
2014 81.5% 18,425 93,246
2015 82.7% 17,079 83,283
2016 84.3% 15,782 72,674
2017 84.4% 18,172 63,469
2018 84.7% 21,078 53,345
2019 85% 18,006 46,049
2020 87.7% 7,011 39,055

What this means if you are buying a 2003 Leon

The 2003 is a weaker year for this model, passing 9.6 points less often than the SEAT Leon average. Some of that is simply age, so compare it against the 2003 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 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 SEAT Leon the average at test was 129,482 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 2020 at 87.7%, and the weakest in our data is 2006 at 64.7%. That 23.0 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 SEAT Leon MOT data · Every model