Delorean DMC12 MOT reliability

Delorean DMC12s passed their MOT first time 81% of the time across 16 tests in 2025.

These figures come from only 16 MOT tests. With so few cars, a single pass or fail changes the percentages a lot, so treat them as a rough guide rather than a true average.

First-time pass rate

81%

MOTs analysed

16

Still licensed (GB)

–

Body type

Coupe

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

1981 petrol

10 MOTs

Passed first time 70%. Typical mileage 35,000 (most between 21,500 and 38,750).

2005: 100% → 2006: 78% → 2007: 83% → 2008: 85% → 2009: 56% → 2010: 69% → 2011: 59% → 2012: 63% → 2013: 62% → 2014: 83% → 2015: 76% → 2016: 63% → 2017: 76% → 2018: 80% → 2019: 83% → 2020: 74% → 2021: 60% → 2022: 100% → 2023: 75% → 2024: 100% → 2025: 70%

Combined model spellings: DMC12, UNCLASSIFIED. Mileage percentiles and individual failure rankings are unavailable for this combined group.

Most common failures

Headlamp aim not tested: unable to be tested (10.0%)
Headlamp: not working on dipped beam (10.0%)
Individual direction indicators: not working (10.0%)
Pedal: anti-slip provision missing (10.0%)
Rbt (sp): efficiency below requirements (10.0%)

1981 electric

1 MOT

Passed first time 100%. Typical mileage 47,746 (most between 47,746 and 47,746).

2024: 0% → 2025: 100%

Where 1981 DMC12s fail

Brakes

20.0%

Lights & electrics

20.0%

Visibility & wipers

10.0%

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.