Vauxhall Tigra: MOT pass rate and reliability data

The Vauxhall Tigra fails its first MOT more often than the average UK car, by 18.6 percentage points. These figures come from the DVSA's full year of anonymised MOT results, covering 6,774 individual Vauxhall Tigra tests. Nothing here is an estimate or a survey.

The numbers

What this means if you are buying one

A 58.1% first-time pass rate means roughly 42 in every 100 Vauxhall Tigras 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 Tigra tested had covered 75,963 miles and was built around 2007.

What this means at salvage auction

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

Most common MOT failures on a Vauxhall Tigra

1. Parking brake efficiency below minimum requirement, 6.3% of tests (6.43x the national rate for this defect)
2. Brake pipe damaged or excessively corroded, 4.5% of tests (5.42x the national rate for this defect)
3. A steering ball joint with excessive wear or free play, 4.3% of tests (4.51x the national rate for this defect)
4. Exhaust system leaking or insecure, 3% of tests (3.98x the national rate for this defect)
5. A suspension joint dust cover missing or no longer prevents the ingress of dirt etc, 5% of tests (3.74x the national rate for this defect)
6. A spring or spring component fractured or seriously weakened, 5.7% of tests (3.43x the national rate for this defect)
7. A transmission shaft constant velocity joint boot missing or no longer prevents the ingress of dirt etc, 3.6% of tests (3.22x the national rate for this defect)
8. Windscreen washers not working or not providing sufficient fluid to clear the windscreen, 3.1% of tests (2.53x the national rate for this defect)
9. Wiper blade missing or obviously not clearing the windscreen, 3.3% of tests (2.37x the national rate for this defect)
10. A suspension pin, bush or joint excessively worn, 8.5% of tests (2.31x the national rate for this defect)

From 10,270 DVSA-tracked Vauxhall Tigra tests, 2024. DVSA testers marked 5.61% of these flagged Vauxhall Tigra defects as "dangerous", meaning the tester judged the car unsafe to drive away, against 4.97% nationally.

Vauxhall Tigra 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 Tigra year:

• 2005 Vauxhall Tigra - 58.6% first-time pass, 800 tests
• 2006 Vauxhall Tigra - 57.3% first-time pass, 1,469 tests
• 2007 Vauxhall Tigra - 57.4% first-time pass, 1,391 tests
• 2008 Vauxhall Tigra - 57.6% first-time pass, 1,182 tests
• 2009 Vauxhall Tigra - 59.8% first-time pass, 1,503 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

• Talbot Express - 58.3%
• Chrysler Voyager - 58.2%
• Mazda Bongo - 58.1%
• Hyundai Coupe - 58.1%
• Mitsubishi Carisma - 58.1%
• Citroen Xsara - 58%

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