2011 Volvo V50: MOT pass rate and reliability
61.2% of 2011 Volvo V50s pass the MOT first time, measured across 4,197 DVSA tests on that model year alone. The average one had covered 128,491 miles.
How the 2011 compares
- Against all Volvo V50s (60.8%, 29,910 tests): +0.4 points
- Against all 2011 cars (68.7%): -7.5 points
- National first-time pass rate, all cars and years: 77%
Every Volvo V50 model year
Pass rates fall as cars age, so the only fair comparison for a 2011 car is other cars of the same age. The full run for the Volvo V50:
| Year | Pass rate | Tests | Avg mileage |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2004 | 57.7% | 832 | 133,262 |
| 2005 | 57.4% | 1,927 | 138,182 |
| 2006 | 58.8% | 2,691 | 140,907 |
| 2007 | 60.2% | 2,807 | 140,067 |
| 2008 | 59.4% | 5,196 | 135,841 |
| 2009 | 62.2% | 4,529 | 127,566 |
| 2010 | 61.7% | 4,607 | 126,728 |
| 2011 | 61.2% | 4,197 | 128,491 |
| 2012 | 64.5% | 3,117 | 118,644 |
What this means if you are buying a 2011 V50
The 2011 sits close to the Volvo V50 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 a 15-year-old car fails on
A 2011 car is 15 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 2011 Volvo V50 the average at test was 128,491 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 64.5%, and the weakest in our data is 2005 at 57.4%. That 7.1 point spread across the model's life is why comparing a 2011 car against a newer one tells you very little.
Nearby model years
- 2008 Volvo V50 - 59.4%
- 2009 Volvo V50 - 62.2%
- 2010 Volvo V50 - 61.7%
- 2012 Volvo V50 - 64.5%