2012 Subaru Legacy: MOT pass rate and reliability

74.5% of 2012 Subaru Legacies pass the MOT first time, measured across 251 DVSA tests on that model year alone. The average one had covered 95,729 miles.

How the 2012 compares

  • Against all Subaru Legacies (69.4%, 5,139 tests): +5.1 points
  • Against all 2012 cars (70.8%): +3.7 points
  • National first-time pass rate, all cars and years: 77%

Every Subaru Legacy 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 Subaru Legacy:

Year Pass rate Tests Avg mileage
2003 69% 210 111,751
2004 68.2% 465 122,610
2005 65.7% 551 123,675
2006 64.6% 587 118,064
2007 73.6% 443 116,026
2008 65.1% 361 117,722
2009 66.2% 376 106,673
2010 68.1% 432 108,435
2011 70.7% 430 105,456
2012 74.5% 251 95,729

What this means if you are buying a 2012 Legacy

The 2012 is one of the stronger years for this model, passing 5.1 points more often than the Subaru Legacy 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 Subaru Legacy the average at test was 95,729 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.

2012 is the strongest year on record for this model at 74.5%, ahead of every other year we hold data for.

Nearby model years

All Subaru Legacy MOT data · Every model