Vauxhall Meriva: MOT pass rate and reliability data

The Vauxhall Meriva fails its first MOT more often than the average UK car, by 7.8 percentage points. These figures come from the DVSA's full year of anonymised MOT results, covering 91,976 individual Vauxhall Meriva tests. Nothing here is an estimate or a survey.

The numbers

What this means if you are buying one

A 68.9% first-time pass rate means roughly 31 in every 100 Vauxhall Merivas 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 Meriva tested had covered 73,711 miles and was built around 2011.

What this means at salvage auction

Pass rate is a proxy for what a car costs to keep on the road. On a Vauxhall Meriva 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. Or compare it against another model.

Looking at a specific Vauxhall Meriva 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 Merivas actually sold for at UK salvage auction, from 9 real settled sales.

Most common MOT failures on a Vauxhall Meriva

1. A spring or spring component fractured or seriously weakened, 6.8% of tests (4.15x the national rate for this defect)
2. Brake pipe damaged or excessively corroded, 3.2% of tests (3.83x the national rate for this defect)
3. Exhaust system leaking or insecure, 1.9% of tests (2.56x the national rate for this defect)
4. Engine MIL illuminated indicating a malfunction, 2.2% of tests (2.34x the national rate for this defect)
5. A steering ball joint with excessive wear or free play, 2.2% of tests (2.28x the national rate for this defect)
6. A tyre cords visible or damaged, 2.2% of tests (1.82x the national rate for this defect)
7. A transmission shaft constant velocity joint boot missing or no longer prevents the ingress of dirt etc, 2% of tests (1.82x the national rate for this defect)
8. A suspension joint dust cover missing or no longer prevents the ingress of dirt etc, 2.3% of tests (1.69x the national rate for this defect)
9. The aim of a headlamp is not within limits laid down in the requirements, 3% of tests (1.68x the national rate for this defect)
10. a brake lining or pad worn below 1.5mm, 2.4% of tests (1.59x the national rate for this defect)

From 125,463 DVSA-tracked Vauxhall Meriva tests, 2024. DVSA testers marked 4.81% of these flagged Vauxhall Meriva defects as "dangerous", meaning the tester judged the car unsafe to drive away, against 4.97% nationally.

Vauxhall Meriva 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 Meriva year:

• 2003 Vauxhall Meriva - 56.5% first-time pass, 356 tests
• 2004 Vauxhall Meriva - 56.8% first-time pass, 1,709 tests
• 2005 Vauxhall Meriva - 55.9% first-time pass, 2,360 tests
• 2006 Vauxhall Meriva - 55% first-time pass, 3,863 tests
• 2007 Vauxhall Meriva - 57.9% first-time pass, 4,640 tests
• 2008 Vauxhall Meriva - 57.4% first-time pass, 5,197 tests
• 2009 Vauxhall Meriva - 59.4% first-time pass, 5,287 tests
• 2010 Vauxhall Meriva - 65% first-time pass, 9,792 tests
• 2011 Vauxhall Meriva - 70.5% first-time pass, 14,621 tests
• 2012 Vauxhall Meriva - 73.2% first-time pass, 8,902 tests
• 2013 Vauxhall Meriva - 72.4% first-time pass, 7,800 tests
• 2014 Vauxhall Meriva - 76.8% first-time pass, 7,597 tests
• 2015 Vauxhall Meriva - 78% first-time pass, 8,280 tests
• 2016 Vauxhall Meriva - 80.1% first-time pass, 6,486 tests
• 2017 Vauxhall Meriva - 81.1% first-time pass, 4,469 tests

Vauxhall Meriva by fuel type

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

• Petrol Vauxhall Meriva - 69.6% first-time pass, 75,497 tests
• Diesel Vauxhall Meriva - 68.6% first-time pass, 15,883 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 Combo - 66.3%
• Vauxhall Adam - 74.6%

Models with a similar pass rate

• Chevrolet Cruze - 69%
• Mercedes-Benz C 320 - 69%
• Mercedes-Benz Vito 110 Pure Cdi - 69%
• Fiat Doblo - 68.9%
• Subaru Legacy - 68.8%
• Alfa Romeo Brera - 68.8%

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

Embed this data

Run a site about the Vauxhall Meriva? Embed the real DVSA pass-rate badge free, linked back to this page.

<a href="https://www.salvageprophet.co.uk/mot/vauxhall-meriva"><img src="https://www.salvageprophet.co.uk/badge/vauxhall-meriva.svg" width="340" height="92" alt="Vauxhall Meriva MOT Pass Rate: 68.9% - Salvage Prophet"></a>

All 2,005 models ranked by MOT pass rate