Volkswagen Caddy: MOT pass rate and reliability data

The Volkswagen Caddy fails its first MOT more often than the average UK vehicle, by 3.2 percentage points. These figures come from the DVSA's full year of anonymised MOT results, covering 145,524 individual Volkswagen Caddy tests. Nothing here is an estimate or a survey.

The numbers

What this means if you are buying one

A 73.5% first-time pass rate means roughly 27 in every 100 Volkswagen Caddies 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 Caddy tested had covered 110,240 miles and was built around 2014.

What this means at salvage auction

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

Most common MOT failures on a Volkswagen Caddy

1. A suspension pin, bush or joint excessively worn, 8.8% of tests (2.4x the national rate for this defect)
2. A suspension joint dust cover missing or no longer prevents the ingress of dirt etc, 2.4% of tests (1.8x the national rate for this defect)
3. Engine MIL illuminated indicating a malfunction, 1.6% of tests (1.75x the national rate for this defect)
4. Windscreen washers not working or not providing sufficient fluid to clear the windscreen, 2.1% of tests (1.71x the national rate for this defect)
5. A tyre cords visible or damaged, 1.9% of tests (1.57x the national rate for this defect)
6. Significant brake effort recorded with no brake applied indicating a binding brake, 1% of tests (1.35x the national rate for this defect)
7. A transmission shaft constant velocity joint boot missing or no longer prevents the ingress of dirt etc, 1.5% of tests (1.3x the national rate for this defect)
8. a brake lining or pad worn below 1.5mm, 1.9% of tests (1.26x the national rate for this defect)
9. Tyre tread depth not in accordance with the requirements, 2.7% of tests (1.16x the national rate for this defect)
10. A tyre seriously damaged, 2.2% of tests

From 226,685 DVSA-tracked Volkswagen Caddy tests, 2024. DVSA testers marked 5.24% of these flagged Volkswagen Caddy defects as "dangerous", meaning the tester judged the car unsafe to drive away, against 4.97% nationally.

Volkswagen Caddy 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 Caddy year:

• 2002 Volkswagen Caddy - 63% first-time pass, 257 tests
• 2003 Volkswagen Caddy - 56.6% first-time pass, 295 tests
• 2004 Volkswagen Caddy - 64.3% first-time pass, 1,178 tests
• 2005 Volkswagen Caddy - 64.4% first-time pass, 1,948 tests
• 2006 Volkswagen Caddy - 64.2% first-time pass, 2,913 tests
• 2007 Volkswagen Caddy - 65.6% first-time pass, 4,413 tests
• 2008 Volkswagen Caddy - 66.9% first-time pass, 5,396 tests
• 2009 Volkswagen Caddy - 66.3% first-time pass, 6,599 tests
• 2010 Volkswagen Caddy - 65.5% first-time pass, 9,014 tests
• 2011 Volkswagen Caddy - 69.1% first-time pass, 11,894 tests
• 2012 Volkswagen Caddy - 70.2% first-time pass, 9,699 tests
• 2013 Volkswagen Caddy - 71.2% first-time pass, 12,361 tests
• 2014 Volkswagen Caddy - 72.3% first-time pass, 11,830 tests
• 2015 Volkswagen Caddy - 74.8% first-time pass, 11,952 tests
• 2016 Volkswagen Caddy - 76.9% first-time pass, 13,033 tests
• 2017 Volkswagen Caddy - 79.4% first-time pass, 11,791 tests
• 2018 Volkswagen Caddy - 83.8% first-time pass, 10,812 tests
• 2019 Volkswagen Caddy - 83.6% first-time pass, 10,710 tests
• 2020 Volkswagen Caddy - 86% first-time pass, 6,660 tests
• 2021 Volkswagen Caddy - 87.5% first-time pass, 969 tests

Volkswagen Caddy by fuel type

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

• Diesel Volkswagen Caddy - 73.7% first-time pass, 141,528 tests
• Petrol Volkswagen Caddy - 84.7% first-time pass, 3,076 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 Up - 84.4%
• Volkswagen Touran - 72.7%
• Volkswagen T-Roc - 92.3%

Models with a similar pass rate

• Daihatsu Copen - 73.6%
• Fiat Motor Caravan - 73.6%
• Vauxhall Insignia - 73.5%
• Nissan X-Trail - 73.5%
• Subaru Forester - 73.5%
• Volkswagen Unclassified - 73.5%

If this van is a salvage or write-off

• Britain's most and least reliable vans: 2.1 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