Volkswagen Motor Caravan: MOT pass rate and reliability data

The Volkswagen Motor Caravan fails its first MOT more often than the average UK car, by 6 percentage points. These figures come from the DVSA's full year of anonymised MOT results, covering 1,594 individual Volkswagen Motor Caravan tests. Nothing here is an estimate or a survey.

The numbers

What this means if you are buying one

A 70.7% first-time pass rate means roughly 29 in every 100 Volkswagen Motor Caravans 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 Motor Caravan tested had covered 75,385 miles and was built around 1991.

What this means at salvage auction

Pass rate is a proxy for what a car costs to keep on the road. The Volkswagen Motor Caravan sits 6 points below the national average, ranked 1,740 of 2,005 models. On one bought as 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 Motor Caravan 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 recorded closing bids for damaged Volkswagen Motor Caravans at UK salvage auction.

Most common MOT failures on a Volkswagen Motor Caravan

1. Vehicle structure corroded to the extent that the rigidity of the assembly is seriously reduced, 4% of tests (9.64x the national rate for this defect)
2. Emissions levels exceed default limits, 2.6% of tests (7.32x the national rate for this defect)
3. 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, 5.2% of tests (5.49x the national rate for this defect)
4. Brakes imbalance across an axle such that the braking effort from any wheel is less than 70% of the maximum effort recorded from the other wheel on the same axle., 2.7% of tests (5.21x the national rate for this defect)
5. Windscreen washers not working or not providing sufficient fluid to clear the windscreen, 6.3% of tests (3.74x the national rate for this defect)
6. Steering rack gaiter or ball joint dust cover missing or no longer prevents the ingress of dirt etc, 2.7% of tests (3.57x the national rate for this defect)
7. Significant brake effort recorded with no brake applied indicating a binding brake, 3.3% of tests (3.2x the national rate for this defect)
8. A headlamp or light source missing, inoperative or more than ½ not functioning in the case of LED, 3.4% of tests (2.76x the national rate for this defect)
9. Parking brake efficiency below minimum requirement, 3.3% of tests (2.5x the national rate for this defect)
10. The aim of a headlamp is not within limits laid down in the requirements, 5.4% of tests (2.32x the national rate for this defect)

From 1,506 DVSA-tracked Volkswagen Motor Caravan tests, 2024. DVSA testers marked 3.69% of these flagged Volkswagen Motor Caravan defects as "dangerous", meaning the tester judged the car unsafe to drive away, against 5.11% nationally.

Most common MOT advisories on a Volkswagen Motor Caravan

An advisory doesn't fail the car - the tester flags it as worth watching, but it still passes. A different list from the failures above: what testers are noting on a Volkswagen Motor Caravan before it actually fails on it.

1. A wheel bearing with excessive play, 13% of tests (20.05x the national rate for this advisory)
2. Free play in the steering, measured at the rim of the steering wheel is excessive, 2.4% of tests (12.55x the national rate for this advisory)
3. A wheel bearing excessively rough, 2.3% of tests (6.06x the national rate for this advisory)
4. Vehicle structure corroded to the extent that the rigidity of the assembly is seriously reduced, 7.4% of tests (5.92x the national rate for this advisory), also fails
5. A flexible brake hose excessively damaged, deteriorated, chafed, twisted or stretched, 2.3% of tests (4.03x the national rate for this advisory)
6. A brake hose ferrule excessively corroded, 2.8% of tests (2.19x the national rate for this advisory)
7. 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, 3.3% of tests (2.14x the national rate for this advisory), also fails
8. Fluid leaking excessively and likely to harm the environment or to pose a safety risk to other road users, 11.6% of tests (2.08x the national rate for this advisory)
9. Significant brake effort recorded with no brake applied indicating a binding brake, 3.6% of tests (1.79x the national rate for this advisory), also fails
10. Brake pipe damaged or excessively corroded, 9.2% of tests (1.49x the national rate for this advisory)

From 1,506 DVSA-tracked Volkswagen Motor Caravan tests, 2024.

Volkswagen Motor Caravan by fuel type

The Volkswagen Motor Caravan's two most-tested fuel types split by 4.8 points: petrol passes first time 70.1% of the time (1,082 tests) against 74.9% for diesel (470 tests).

• Petrol Volkswagen Motor Caravan - 70.1% first-time pass, 1,082 tests
• Diesel Volkswagen Motor Caravan - 74.9% first-time pass, 470 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

• Skoda Roomster - 70.8%
• Mercedes-Benz Viano - 70.7%
• Mazda Rx-8 - 70.7%
• Rover 216 - 70.7%
• Land Rover Freelander - 70.6%
• Hyundai I30 - 70.5%

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
• Do you need an HPI check on a car you know is a write-off?

Embed this data

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All 2,005 models ranked by MOT pass rate