2016 Volkswagen Beetle: MOT pass rate and reliability

74.3% of 2016 Volkswagen Beetles pass the MOT first time, measured across 2,260 DVSA tests on that model year alone. The average one had covered 52,057 miles.

How the 2016 compares

  • Against all Volkswagen Beetles (63.7%, 44,215 tests): +10.6 points
  • Against all 2016 cars (80.9%): -6.6 points
  • National first-time pass rate, all cars and years: 77%

Every Volkswagen Beetle model year

Pass rates fall as cars age, so the only fair comparison for a 2016 car is other cars of the same age. The full run for the Volkswagen Beetle:

Year Pass rate Tests Avg mileage
2000 54.9% 679 100,800
2001 57.7% 1,021 102,732
2002 56.2% 1,220 108,295
2003 55% 2,524 107,894
2004 55.4% 3,423 105,870
2005 57.2% 3,087 100,715
2006 55.5% 3,042 100,550
2007 54.2% 2,842 95,264
2008 56.3% 2,406 93,310
2009 59.8% 1,789 86,980
2010 62.3% 2,092 81,545
2011 62.7% 659 77,629
2012 69.8% 2,272 75,959
2013 68.8% 4,438 73,760
2014 71.6% 3,584 65,514
2015 72.8% 3,260 58,266
2016 74.3% 2,260 52,057
2017 77.3% 1,501 42,659
2018 81.4% 911 35,774

What this means if you are buying a 2016 Beetle

The 2016 is one of the stronger years for this model, passing 10.6 points more often than the Volkswagen Beetle average. That is a point in its favour, though condition and service history still matter more than the model year. Check the exact car with the free MOT history checker before you buy, and run its VIN and mileage through our free VIN decoder and clocking check.

What a 10-year-old car fails on

A 2016 car is 10 years old now, and age drives the failure mix more than the badge does. Across all cars tested, these are the categories that actually cause failures:

  • Lights and electrical: 10.36% of all cars tested
  • Suspension: 8.65% of all cars tested
  • Tyres: 6.23% of all cars tested
  • Brakes: 6.1% of all cars tested
  • Visibility: wipers, washers, glass: 4.65% of all cars tested
  • Body, chassis and structure: 3.18% of all cars tested

That is around average, so condition and service history will tell you more than the odometer does. On a 2016 Volkswagen Beetle the average at test was 52,057 miles, so treat anything far above that as a car that has worked harder than its peers, and anything far below as one worth checking for the faults that come from standing still.

The strongest year for this model is 2018 at 81.4%, and the weakest in our data is 2007 at 54.2%. That 27.2 point spread across the model's life is why comparing a 2016 car against a newer one tells you very little.

Nearby model years

All Volkswagen Beetle MOT data · Every model