Volkswagen Bora: MOT pass rate and reliability data

The Volkswagen Bora fails its first MOT more often than the average UK car, by 11.1 percentage points. These figures come from the DVSA's full year of anonymised MOT results, covering 5,440 individual Volkswagen Bora tests. Nothing here is an estimate or a survey.

The numbers

What this means if you are buying one

A 65.6% first-time pass rate means roughly 34 in every 100 Volkswagen Boras 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 Volkswagen Bora tested had covered 139,674 miles and was built around 2003.

What this means at salvage auction

Pass rate is a proxy for what a car costs to keep on the road. On a Volkswagen Bora 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 Volkswagen Bora 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 Volkswagen Boras actually sold for at UK salvage auction.

Most common MOT failures on a Volkswagen Bora

1. Steering rack gaiter or ball joint dust cover missing or no longer prevents the ingress of dirt etc, 3.9% of tests (7.13x the national rate for this defect)
2. Parking brake inoperative on one side, 1.7% of tests (3.85x the national rate for this defect)
3. A transmission shaft constant velocity joint boot missing or no longer prevents the ingress of dirt etc, 4.1% of tests (3.66x the national rate for this defect)
4. Brake pipe damaged or excessively corroded, 3% of tests (3.63x the national rate for this defect)
5. Parking brake efficiency below minimum requirement, 3.5% of tests (3.6x the national rate for this defect)
6. The aim of a headlamp is not within limits laid down in the requirements, 6.3% of tests (3.56x the national rate for this defect)
7. Exhaust system leaking or insecure, 2.7% of tests (3.51x the national rate for this defect)
8. The strength or continuity of the load bearing structure within 30cm of any sub-frame, spring or suspension component mounting (a 'prescribed area') is significantly reduced or inadequately repaired, 2.7% of tests (3.25x the national rate for this defect)
9. A steering ball joint with excessive wear or free play, 2.8% of tests (2.96x the national rate for this defect)
10. Significant brake effort recorded with no brake applied indicating a binding brake, 2.2% of tests (2.85x the national rate for this defect)

From 8,699 DVSA-tracked Volkswagen Bora tests, 2024. DVSA testers marked 3.16% of these flagged Volkswagen Bora defects as "dangerous", meaning the tester judged the car unsafe to drive away, against 4.97% nationally.

Volkswagen Bora 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 Volkswagen Bora year:

• 2000 Volkswagen Bora - 64.9% first-time pass, 350 tests
• 2001 Volkswagen Bora - 69.6% first-time pass, 481 tests
• 2002 Volkswagen Bora - 68.9% first-time pass, 819 tests
• 2003 Volkswagen Bora - 67.9% first-time pass, 967 tests
• 2004 Volkswagen Bora - 66.7% first-time pass, 1,014 tests
• 2005 Volkswagen Bora - 64.9% first-time pass, 1,383 tests

Volkswagen Bora by fuel type

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

• Diesel Volkswagen Bora - 66.2% first-time pass, 3,796 tests
• Petrol Volkswagen Bora - 66.4% first-time pass, 1,586 tests

Other Volkswagen models

• Volkswagen Golf - 77.1%
• Volkswagen Polo - 71.4%
• Volkswagen Transporter - 70.8%
• Volkswagen Tiguan - 82.4%
• Volkswagen Passat - 74.7%
• Volkswagen Caddy - 73.5%
• Volkswagen Up - 84.4%
• Volkswagen Touran - 72.7%

Models with a similar pass rate

• Alfa Romeo 156 - 65.8%
• Volkswagen Lupo - 65.7%
• Citroen Ds5 - 65.7%
• Hyundai Veloster - 65.6%
• Mazda B Series - 65.5%
• SEAT Altea Xl - 65.5%

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