MG 3 MOT reliability

MG 3s passed their MOT first time 75% of the time across 24,992 tests in 2025. 55,715 are still licensed in Great Britain.

Example photo of a MG 3 — Photo: KrisfromGermany · Public domain · Wikimedia Commons

First-time pass rate

75%

MOTs analysed

24,992

Still licensed (GB)

55,715

Body type

–

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

2021 petrol

1,932 MOTs

Passed first time 82%. Typical mileage 23,981 (most between 17,132 and 32,097).

2021: 100% → 2022: 100% → 2023: 93% → 2024: 85% → 2025: 82%

Most common failures

Headlamp aim: too low (3.4%)
Condition: has ply or cords exposed (2.2%)
Condition: has a cut in excess of the requirements deep enough to reach the ply or cords (1.9%)
Wipers: does not clear the windscreen effectively (1.8%)
Stop lamp: not working (1.6%)

Where 2021 3s fail

Lights & electrics

7.2%

Wheels & tyres

6.7%

Visibility & wipers

3.1%

Brakes

2.6%

Suspension & axles

1.0%

Steering

0.4%

Body, structure & corrosion

0.3%

Exhaust, emissions & leaks

0.3%

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.