Vauxhall Corsa: MOT pass rate and reliability data

The Vauxhall Corsa fails its first MOT more often than the average UK car, by 6.7 percentage points. These figures come from the DVSA's full year of anonymised MOT results, covering 830,510 individual Vauxhall Corsa tests. Nothing here is an estimate or a survey.

The numbers

What this means if you are buying one

A 70% first-time pass rate means roughly 30 in every 100 Vauxhall Corsas 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 Corsa tested had covered 68,586 miles and was built around 2013.

What this means at salvage auction

Pass rate is a proxy for what a car costs to keep on the road. On a Vauxhall Corsa bought as a 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. See how it stacks up against the Ford Fiesta.

Looking at a specific Vauxhall Corsa 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 what damaged Vauxhall Corsas actually sold for at UK salvage auction, from 33 real settled sales.

Most common MOT failures on a Vauxhall Corsa

1. Steering rack gaiter or ball joint dust cover missing or no longer prevents the ingress of dirt etc, 3.7% of tests (6.76x the national rate for this defect)
2. A shock absorber damaged to the extent that it does not function or showing signs of severe leakage, 2.1% of tests (3.01x the national rate for this defect)
3. A spring or spring component fractured or seriously weakened, 4.9% of tests (2.96x the national rate for this defect)
4. Engine MIL illuminated indicating a malfunction, 2% of tests (2.14x the national rate for this defect)
5. Stop lamp missing, inoperative or in the case of a multiple light source more than 1/2 not functioning, 2% of tests (2.08x the national rate for this defect)
6. Exhaust system leaking or insecure, 1.5% of tests (1.96x the national rate for this defect)
7. A headlamp or light source missing, inoperative or more than ½ not functioning in the case of LED, 1.7% of tests (1.95x the national rate for this defect)
8. Windscreen washers not working or not providing sufficient fluid to clear the windscreen, 2.3% of tests (1.84x the national rate for this defect)
9. The aim of a headlamp is not within limits laid down in the requirements, 2.5% of tests (1.39x the national rate for this defect)
10. A transmission shaft constant velocity joint boot missing or no longer prevents the ingress of dirt etc, 1.4% of tests (1.23x the national rate for this defect)

From 1,199,450 DVSA-tracked Vauxhall Corsa tests, 2024. DVSA testers marked 4.33% of these flagged Vauxhall Corsa defects as "dangerous", meaning the tester judged the car unsafe to drive away, against 4.97% nationally.

Vauxhall Corsa pass rate by model year

Pass rates fall steadily as cars age, so the model year matters as much as the model. First-time pass rate for each Vauxhall Corsa year:

• 1996 Vauxhall Corsa - 69.5% first-time pass, 256 tests
• 1997 Vauxhall Corsa - 66.1% first-time pass, 498 tests
• 1998 Vauxhall Corsa - 68% first-time pass, 772 tests
• 1999 Vauxhall Corsa - 67.4% first-time pass, 992 tests
• 2000 Vauxhall Corsa - 64.6% first-time pass, 1,362 tests
• 2001 Vauxhall Corsa - 58.2% first-time pass, 3,195 tests
• 2002 Vauxhall Corsa - 57.9% first-time pass, 4,765 tests
• 2003 Vauxhall Corsa - 56.7% first-time pass, 7,245 tests
• 2004 Vauxhall Corsa - 57.5% first-time pass, 8,598 tests
• 2005 Vauxhall Corsa - 56.9% first-time pass, 11,914 tests
• 2006 Vauxhall Corsa - 57.8% first-time pass, 17,360 tests
• 2007 Vauxhall Corsa - 63.5% first-time pass, 33,442 tests
• 2008 Vauxhall Corsa - 64.2% first-time pass, 43,549 tests
• 2009 Vauxhall Corsa - 65.1% first-time pass, 47,227 tests
• 2010 Vauxhall Corsa - 66.3% first-time pass, 52,386 tests
• 2011 Vauxhall Corsa - 68.3% first-time pass, 59,151 tests
• 2012 Vauxhall Corsa - 68.7% first-time pass, 73,127 tests
• 2013 Vauxhall Corsa - 69.3% first-time pass, 72,999 tests
• 2014 Vauxhall Corsa - 67.2% first-time pass, 74,832 tests
• 2015 Vauxhall Corsa - 71.8% first-time pass, 87,912 tests
• 2016 Vauxhall Corsa - 75.1% first-time pass, 75,861 tests
• 2017 Vauxhall Corsa - 78.3% first-time pass, 52,156 tests
• 2018 Vauxhall Corsa - 82.8% first-time pass, 52,986 tests
• 2019 Vauxhall Corsa - 86.1% first-time pass, 42,273 tests

Vauxhall Corsa by fuel type

Diesel and petrol versions of the same car fail on different things, so the fuel type moves the number:

• Petrol Vauxhall Corsa - 70.7% first-time pass, 755,988 tests
• Diesel Vauxhall Corsa - 67.2% first-time pass, 69,438 tests

Other Vauxhall models

• 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%
• Vauxhall Adam - 74.6%

Models with a similar pass rate

• SEAT Exeo - 70.1%
• Mitsubishi Pajero - 70.1%
• Vauxhall Combo 2300 Edition Td S/S - 70.1%
• Peugeot 308 - 70%
• Ford S-Max - 70%
• Kia Carens - 70%

If this car is a salvage or write-off

• Vauxhall Corsa salvage buying guide
• Does where you live affect your MOT pass rate? A 23-point gap across Britain
• Britain's most and least reliable car brands: MOT pass rate by manufacturer
• Diesel vs petrol MOT pass rate by manufacturer: petrol wins for 28 of 31 brands
• Best salvage cars for beginners
• What does Cat N mean? Category N explained
• What does Cat S mean? Category S explained
• Cat S vs Cat N: the real differences

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All 2,005 models ranked by MOT pass rate