Austin Metro MOT reliability

Austin Metros passed their MOT first time 72% of the time across 187 tests in 2025. 292 are still licensed in Great Britain.

First-time pass rate

72%

MOTs analysed

187

Still licensed (GB)

292

Body type

Hatchback

Pass rate by year of first registration

Older cars fail more often, so compare a car with others of the same age. Years with very few MOTs can show extreme pass rates, even 0% or 100%, so give more weight to years with more tests.

In detail:

First registered

1988 petrol

42 MOTs

These figures come from 42 MOT tests. That's a fairly small number of cars, so they may not be typical of these cars as a whole.

Passed first time 76%. Typical mileage 39,990 (most between 23,269 and 58,005).

2005: 50% → 2006: 52% → 2007: 52% → 2008: 49% → 2009: 60% → 2010: 60% → 2011: 59% → 2012: 60% → 2013: 57% → 2014: 65% → 2015: 63% → 2016: 67% → 2017: 61% → 2018: 58% → 2019: 69% → 2020: 73% → 2021: 67% → 2022: 54% → 2023: 59% → 2024: 64% → 2025: 76%

Most common failures

Washers: not working (7.1%)
Non catalyst emissions: emissions carbon monoxide content excessive (4.8%)
Wipers: does not clear the windscreen effectively (4.8%)
Rbt (sp): efficiency below requirements (2.4%)
Condition: has ply or cords exposed (2.4%)

Where 1988 Metros fail

Visibility & wipers

14.3%

Brakes

7.1%

Exhaust, emissions & leaks

7.1%

Body, structure & corrosion

4.8%

Lights & electrics

4.8%

Suspension & axles

4.8%

Wheels & tyres

2.4%

Steering

2.4%

Looking at a particular car?

See its own MOT history, mileage and red flags, compared with these figures. Free.

Based on 2025 initial MOT tests in DVSA's anonymised MOT dataset (cars and light vans). Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Model details: Vehicle data by VehiclesDB.