Volvo 700 Series: MOT pass rate and reliability data

The Volvo 700 Series fails its first MOT more often than the average UK car, by 5 percentage points. These figures come from the DVSA's full year of anonymised MOT results, covering 875 individual Volvo 700 Series tests. Nothing here is an estimate or a survey.

The numbers

What this means if you are buying one

A 71.7% first-time pass rate means roughly 28 in every 100 Volvo 700 Series 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 Volvo 700 Series tested had covered 132,977 miles and was built around 1989.

What this means at salvage auction

Pass rate is a proxy for what a car costs to keep on the road. On a Volvo 700 Series 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 Volvo 700 Series 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 Volvo 700 Series actually sold for at UK salvage auction.

Most common MOT failures on a Volvo 700 Series

1. The strength or continuity of the load bearing structure within 30cm of any seat belt anchorage (a 'prescribed area') is significantly reduced or inadequately repaired, 3% of tests (13.24x the national rate for this defect)
2. Vehicle structure corroded to the extent that the rigidity of the assembly is seriously reduced, 2.5% of tests (7.01x the national rate for this defect)
3. An obligatory rear fog lamp missing, or a front or rear fog lamp inoperative or in the case of a multiple light source more than 1/2 not functioning, 2.4% of tests (7.01x the national rate for this defect)
4. 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, 5.3% of tests (6.41x the national rate for this defect)
5. A direction indicator lamp missing, inoperative or in the case of a multiple light source more than 1/2 not functioning, 3% of tests (6.14x the national rate for this defect)
6. 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., 2.2% of tests (5.49x the national rate for this defect)
7. Significant brake effort recorded with no brake applied indicating a binding brake, 3.7% of tests (4.87x the national rate for this defect)
8. Steering rack gaiter or ball joint dust cover missing or no longer prevents the ingress of dirt etc, 2.3% of tests (4.2x the national rate for this defect)
9. Exhaust system leaking or insecure, 3% of tests (3.95x the national rate for this defect)
10. Windscreen washers not working or not providing sufficient fluid to clear the windscreen, 4.1% of tests (3.35x the national rate for this defect)

From 2,198 DVSA-tracked Volvo 700 Series tests, 2024. DVSA testers marked 3.18% of these flagged Volvo 700 Series defects as "dangerous", meaning the tester judged the car unsafe to drive away, against 4.97% nationally.

Other Volvo models

• Volvo V40 - 76.1%
• Volvo Xc60 - 81.2%
• Volvo Xc90 - 75.2%
• Volvo Xc40 - 90.5%
• Volvo V70 - 69%
• Volvo V60 - 79%
• Volvo V50 - 60.4%
• Volvo C30 - 65.2%

Models with a similar pass rate

• Ford Fiesta - 71.7%
• Nissan Micra - 71.7%
• Chrysler Crossfire - 71.7%
• Fiat 500 - 71.6%
• Kia Ceed - 71.6%
• Toyota Starlet - 71.6%

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