Vauxhall Vectra: MOT pass rate and reliability data

The Vauxhall Vectra fails its first MOT more often than the average UK car, by 15.6 percentage points. These figures come from the DVSA's full year of anonymised MOT results, covering 29,803 individual Vauxhall Vectra tests. Nothing here is an estimate or a survey.

The numbers

What this means if you are buying one

A 61.1% first-time pass rate means roughly 39 in every 100 Vauxhall Vectras 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 Vectra tested had covered 117,397 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 Vectra 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 Vectra 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 Vectras actually sold for at UK salvage auction.

Most common MOT failures on a Vauxhall Vectra

1. A brake hose ferrule excessively corroded, 2.1% of tests (19.29x the national rate for this defect)
2. Parking brake inoperative on one side, 3.1% of tests (6.85x the national rate for this defect)
3. Brake pipe damaged or excessively corroded, 4.8% of tests (5.85x the national rate for this defect)
4. Exhaust system leaking or insecure, 3.9% of tests (5.09x the national rate for this defect)
5. Parking brake efficiency below minimum requirement, 4.3% of tests (4.38x the national rate for this defect)
6. A spring or spring component fractured or seriously weakened, 5.7% of tests (3.46x the national rate for this defect)
7. The aim of a headlamp is not within limits laid down in the requirements, 6% of tests (3.41x the national rate for this defect)
8. A suspension pin, bush or joint excessively worn, 10.6% of tests (2.89x the national rate for this defect)
9. A suspension joint dust cover missing or no longer prevents the ingress of dirt etc, 3.2% of tests (2.39x the national rate for this defect)
10. Wiper blade missing or obviously not clearing the windscreen, 2.8% of tests (2.01x the national rate for this defect)

From 45,033 DVSA-tracked Vauxhall Vectra tests, 2024. DVSA testers marked 4.35% of these flagged Vauxhall Vectra defects as "dangerous", meaning the tester judged the car unsafe to drive away, against 4.97% nationally.

Vauxhall Vectra 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 Vectra year:

• 1999 Vauxhall Vectra - 68.6% first-time pass, 258 tests
• 2000 Vauxhall Vectra - 67.3% first-time pass, 376 tests
• 2001 Vauxhall Vectra - 68.8% first-time pass, 593 tests
• 2002 Vauxhall Vectra - 66.5% first-time pass, 564 tests
• 2003 Vauxhall Vectra - 62.3% first-time pass, 669 tests
• 2004 Vauxhall Vectra - 58.8% first-time pass, 1,225 tests
• 2005 Vauxhall Vectra - 59.4% first-time pass, 2,071 tests
• 2006 Vauxhall Vectra - 62.7% first-time pass, 4,448 tests
• 2007 Vauxhall Vectra - 61.3% first-time pass, 8,066 tests
• 2008 Vauxhall Vectra - 61.2% first-time pass, 9,322 tests
• 2009 Vauxhall Vectra - 60.8% first-time pass, 1,640 tests

Vauxhall Vectra by fuel type

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

• Petrol Vauxhall Vectra - 61.5% first-time pass, 19,249 tests
• Diesel Vauxhall Vectra - 62.1% first-time pass, 10,256 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 Corsavan - 61.2%
• Renault Megane - 61.1%
• Renault Kangoo - 61.1%
• Citroen Saxo - 61.1%
• Dodge Journey - 61.1%
• Fiat Doblo Cargo - 61%

If this car is a salvage or write-off

• Britain's most and least reliable cars: 33 million MOT tests analysed
• 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