Vauxhall Signum: MOT pass rate and reliability data

The Vauxhall Signum fails its first MOT more often than the average UK car, by 14.9 percentage points. These figures come from the DVSA's full year of anonymised MOT results, covering 1,169 individual Vauxhall Signum tests. Nothing here is an estimate or a survey.

The numbers

What this means if you are buying one

A 61.8% first-time pass rate means roughly 38 in every 100 Vauxhall Signums 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 Signum tested had covered 121,910 miles and was built around 2006.

What this means at salvage auction

Pass rate is a proxy for what a car costs to keep on the road. On a Vauxhall Signum 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 Signum 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 Signums actually sold for at UK salvage auction.

Most common MOT failures on a Vauxhall Signum

1. Brake pipe damaged or excessively corroded, 4.9% of tests (5.94x the national rate for this defect)
2. Exhaust system leaking or insecure, 3.6% of tests (4.76x the national rate for this defect)
3. A spring or spring component fractured or seriously weakened, 6.1% of tests (3.72x the national rate for this defect)
4. The aim of a headlamp is not within limits laid down in the requirements, 6.2% of tests (3.55x the national rate for this defect)
5. A transmission shaft constant velocity joint boot missing or no longer prevents the ingress of dirt etc, 3.9% of tests (3.44x the national rate for this defect)
6. Parking brake efficiency below minimum requirement, 2.8% of tests (2.87x the national rate for this defect)
7. A suspension pin, bush or joint excessively worn, 10.4% of tests (2.83x the national rate for this defect)
8. A tyre seriously damaged, 4.3% of tests (2.14x the national rate for this defect)
9. Wiper blade missing or obviously not clearing the windscreen, 2.6% of tests (1.87x the national rate for this defect)
10. A tyre cords visible or damaged, 2.2% of tests (1.78x the national rate for this defect)

From 1,714 DVSA-tracked Vauxhall Signum tests, 2024. DVSA testers marked 4.34% of these flagged Vauxhall Signum defects as "dangerous", meaning the tester judged the car unsafe to drive away, against 4.97% nationally.

Vauxhall Signum 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 Signum year:

• 2005 Vauxhall Signum - 64.3% first-time pass, 210 tests
• 2006 Vauxhall Signum - 66.3% first-time pass, 436 tests
• 2007 Vauxhall Signum - 59.4% first-time pass, 271 tests

Vauxhall Signum by fuel type

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

• Diesel Vauxhall Signum - 62.2% first-time pass, 704 tests
• Petrol Vauxhall Signum - 62.5% first-time pass, 453 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

• Vauxhall Astravan - 61.8%
• Isuzu Rodeo - 61.8%
• Mitsubishi Shogun Sport - 61.8%
• Alfa Romeo 147 - 61.7%
• Renault Clio - 61.6%
• Renault Trafic - 61.6%

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

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All 2,005 models ranked by MOT pass rate