2008 Volvo S40: MOT pass rate and reliability

64.1% of 2008 Volvo S40s pass the MOT first time, measured across 2,893 DVSA tests on that model year alone. The average one had covered 114,170 miles.

How the 2008 compares

  • Against all Volvo S40s (63.6%, 18,113 tests): +0.5 points
  • Against all 2008 cars (64.7%): -0.6 points
  • National first-time pass rate, all cars and years: 77%

Every Volvo S40 model year

Pass rates fall as cars age, so the only fair comparison for a 2008 car is other cars of the same age. The full run for the Volvo S40:

Year Pass rate Tests Avg mileage
2000 60.8% 209 94,189
2001 61.1% 311 99,592
2002 58.7% 443 102,015
2003 58.3% 655 105,160
2004 59.7% 1,145 105,421
2005 61.5% 1,437 116,350
2006 64.3% 1,684 117,539
2007 64.5% 1,831 118,452
2008 64.1% 2,893 114,170
2009 65.7% 2,397 107,033
2010 63.8% 1,985 108,658
2011 63.6% 1,466 109,480
2012 67.3% 1,284 102,728

What this means if you are buying a 2008 S40

The 2008 sits close to the Volvo S40 average, so there is no strong model-year signal either way. Judge the individual car on its own history. 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 an 18-year-old car fails on

A 2008 car is 18 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 high mileage, so timing belts, clutches, suspension bushes and corrosion are the items worth budgeting for rather than the MOT itself. On a 2008 Volvo S40 the average at test was 114,170 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 2012 at 67.3%, and the weakest in our data is 2003 at 58.3%. That 9.0 point spread across the model's life is why comparing a 2008 car against a newer one tells you very little.

Nearby model years

All Volvo S40 MOT data · Every model