1998 Volkswagen Caravelle: MOT pass rate and reliability

61.2% of 1998 Volkswagen Caravelles pass the MOT first time, measured across 407 DVSA tests on that model year alone. The average one had covered 191,750 miles.

How the 1998 compares

  • Against all Volkswagen Caravelles (68.6%, 17,625 tests): -7.4 points
  • Against all 1998 cars (70%): -8.8 points
  • National first-time pass rate, all cars and years: 77%

Every Volkswagen Caravelle model year

Pass rates fall as cars age, so the only fair comparison for a 1998 car is other cars of the same age. The full run for the Volkswagen Caravelle:

Year Pass rate Tests Avg mileage
1994 55.3% 208 181,816
1995 55.6% 297 192,416
1996 53.2% 284 190,771
1997 58.9% 394 175,647
1998 61.2% 407 191,750
1999 61.3% 403 200,898
2000 61% 546 196,085
2001 63.8% 635 197,712
2002 65.6% 680 198,212
2003 61.6% 571 193,249
2004 60.3% 501 176,705
2005 58.8% 651 170,057
2006 60.2% 603 165,758
2007 63.2% 590 148,556
2008 61.4% 567 144,960
2009 62.5% 408 121,249
2010 67.2% 601 123,202
2011 74.4% 668 115,161
2012 75.7% 812 123,771
2013 75.1% 700 92,383
2014 75% 632 85,483
2015 73.7% 718 92,227
2016 77% 1,040 79,832
2017 81.5% 971 75,763
2018 80.2% 665 55,853
2019 84.9% 727 45,822

What this means if you are buying a 1998 Caravelle

The 1998 is a weaker year for this model, passing 7.4 points less often than the Volkswagen Caravelle average. Some of that is simply age, so compare it against the 1998 figure for all cars above rather than against newer examples. 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 28-year-old car fails on

A 1998 car is 28 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 very high mileage. Clutches, dual-mass flywheels and head gaskets have usually been through at least one repair by this point, so ask for evidence rather than assume the car is original everywhere. On a 1998 Volkswagen Caravelle the average at test was 191,750 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 2019 at 84.9%, and the weakest in our data is 1996 at 53.2%. That 31.7 point spread across the model's life is why comparing a 1998 car against a newer one tells you very little.

Nearby model years

All Volkswagen Caravelle MOT data · Every model