Vauxhall Agila: MOT pass rate and reliability data

The Vauxhall Agila fails its first MOT more often than the average UK car, by 9 percentage points. These figures come from the DVSA's full year of anonymised MOT results, covering 35,515 individual Vauxhall Agila tests. Nothing here is an estimate or a survey.

The numbers

What this means if you are buying one

A 67.7% first-time pass rate means roughly 32 in every 100 Vauxhall Agilas presented for MOT fail on the first attempt. That is worse than average, so budget for remedial work and treat a fresh 12-month MOT as a genuine selling point rather than a given. The average Vauxhall Agila tested had covered 63,619 miles and was built around 2010.

What this means at salvage auction

Pass rate is a proxy for what a car costs to keep on the road. The Vauxhall Agila sits 9 points below the national average, ranked 1,812 of 2,005 models. On one bought as repairable salvage, assume the mechanical side needs more than the visible accident damage, and pad your repair estimate accordingly.

Before you bid: run the lot through the analyzer, check the car's own record, check the mileage, decode the VIN, and if it carries a marker use the write-off value calculator. Or compare it against another model.

Looking at a specific Vauxhall Agila rather than the model in general? The free check covers its MOT and mileage history, and the full HPI report confirms the insurance write-off category, outstanding finance and whether it is recorded stolen, from licensed data for 5 credits. Already own one that has been damaged? Work out whether fixing it beats selling it with the repair or scrap calculator, and see the median recorded closing bid for a damaged Vauxhall Agila: £400 at UK salvage auction, from 7 ended listings, not independently confirmed sales.

Most common MOT failures on a Vauxhall Agila

1. Brake pipe damaged or excessively corroded, 5.3% of tests (4.97x the national rate for this defect)
2. Significant brake effort recorded with no brake applied indicating a binding brake, 3.8% of tests (3.66x the national rate for this defect)
3. Lamp emitted colour, position or intensity not in accordance with the requirements, 2.1% of tests (3.49x the national rate for this defect)
4. A suspension pin, bush or joint excessively worn, 11.6% of tests (2.32x the national rate for this defect)
5. A spring or spring component fractured or seriously weakened, 5.2% of tests (2.3x the national rate for this defect)
6. Parking brake efficiency below minimum requirement, 2.8% of tests (2.16x the national rate for this defect)
7. Wiper blade missing or obviously not clearing the windscreen, 3.7% of tests (1.94x the national rate for this defect)
8. A shock absorber damaged to the extent that it does not function or showing signs of severe leakage, 1.8% of tests (1.93x the national rate for this defect)
9. A suspension joint dust cover missing or no longer prevents the ingress of dirt etc, 3.4% of tests (1.87x the national rate for this defect)
10. Stop lamp missing, inoperative or in the case of a multiple light source more than 1/2 not functioning, 2.1% of tests (1.57x the national rate for this defect)

From 35,495 DVSA-tracked Vauxhall Agila tests, 2024. DVSA testers marked 3.68% of these flagged Vauxhall Agila defects as "dangerous", meaning the tester judged the car unsafe to drive away, against 5.11% nationally.

Most common MOT advisories on a Vauxhall Agila

An advisory doesn't fail the car - the tester flags it as worth watching, but it still passes. A different list from the failures above: what testers are noting on a Vauxhall Agila before it actually fails on it.

1. Brake pipe damaged or excessively corroded, 33.7% of tests (5.45x the national rate for this advisory), also fails
2. A brake hose ferrule excessively corroded, 5.9% of tests (4.66x the national rate for this advisory)
3. Lamp emitted colour, position or intensity not in accordance with the requirements, 4.6% of tests (3.34x the national rate for this advisory), also fails
4. Significant brake effort recorded with no brake applied indicating a binding brake, 5.2% of tests (2.62x the national rate for this advisory), also fails
5. The strength or continuity of the load bearing structure within 30cm of any sub-frame, spring or suspension component mounting (a 'prescribed area') is significantly reduced or inadequately repaired, 3.3% of tests (2.14x the national rate for this advisory)
6. Number plate inscription missing or illegible, 5.2% of tests (1.95x the national rate for this advisory)
7. A suspension pin, bush or joint excessively worn, 22.7% of tests (1.7x the national rate for this advisory), also fails
8. A suspension component excessively damaged or corroded, 8.5% of tests (1.65x the national rate for this advisory)
9. A tyre seriously damaged, 23.7% of tests (1.53x the national rate for this advisory)
10. A spring or spring component fractured or seriously weakened, 6.6% of tests (1.39x the national rate for this advisory), also fails

From 35,495 DVSA-tracked Vauxhall Agila tests, 2024.

Vauxhall Agila pass rate by model year

From its 2001 to its 2014 model year, the Vauxhall Agila's first-time pass rate has risen 13.6 points, from 64.2% to 77.8%, the usual pattern: a newer model year is a younger car today, so it fails less. First-time pass rate for each Vauxhall Agila year:

• 2000 Vauxhall Agila - 68.8% first-time pass, 272 tests
• 2001 Vauxhall Agila - 64.2% first-time pass, 595 tests
• 2002 Vauxhall Agila - 64.5% first-time pass, 701 tests
• 2003 Vauxhall Agila - 66.2% first-time pass, 1,315 tests
• 2004 Vauxhall Agila - 67.5% first-time pass, 1,181 tests
• 2005 Vauxhall Agila - 69.2% first-time pass, 1,211 tests
• 2006 Vauxhall Agila - 69.1% first-time pass, 1,139 tests
• 2007 Vauxhall Agila - 68.9% first-time pass, 1,008 tests
• 2008 Vauxhall Agila - 59.7% first-time pass, 2,988 tests
• 2009 Vauxhall Agila - 61.5% first-time pass, 5,573 tests
• 2010 Vauxhall Agila - 65.6% first-time pass, 3,795 tests
• 2011 Vauxhall Agila - 66.4% first-time pass, 4,311 tests
• 2012 Vauxhall Agila - 72.6% first-time pass, 4,058 tests
• 2013 Vauxhall Agila - 75.8% first-time pass, 3,477 tests
• 2014 Vauxhall Agila - 77.8% first-time pass, 3,503 tests
• 2015 Vauxhall Agila - 82.8% first-time pass, 215 tests

Vauxhall Agila by fuel type

The Vauxhall Agila's two most-tested fuel types split by 7.1 points: petrol passes first time 68.2% of the time (34,768 tests) against 61.1% for diesel (574 tests).

• Petrol Vauxhall Agila - 68.2% first-time pass, 34,768 tests
• Diesel Vauxhall Agila - 61.1% first-time pass, 574 tests

Other Vauxhall models

• Vauxhall Corsa - 70%
• Vauxhall Astra - 71.9%
• Vauxhall Mokka - 75.6%
• Vauxhall Zafira - 68.7%
• Vauxhall Insignia - 73.5%
• Vauxhall Vivaro - 59.7%
• Vauxhall Meriva - 68.9%
• Vauxhall Combo - 66.3%

Models with a similar pass rate

• Hyundai Iload - 67.9%
• Rover 214 - 67.9%
• Iveco Daily - 67.8%
• Volvo 240 - 67.7%
• Ford Transit - 67.6%
• Mercedes-Benz Clk - 67.5%

If this car is a salvage or write-off

• What does Cat N mean? Category N explained
• What does Cat S mean? Category S explained
• Cat S vs Cat N: the real differences
• Do you need an HPI check on a car you know is a write-off?

Embed this data

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All 2,005 models ranked by MOT pass rate