Motorists can see MOT failure rates (From South Wales Argus)

Motorists can see MOT failure rates

2:50pm Monday 25th January 2010

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CAR AND van buyers can now access Government agency data revealing the MOT failure rates of different makes and models of vehicles..

The figures were published on The Vehicle and Operator Services Agency's (VOSA) website following an 18-month Freedom of Information bid by BBC News to make it available to the public.

VOSA, which is part of the Department for Transport, is the agency responsible for licensing and testing vehicles and enforcing vehicle-related regulations.

The data appears to show a variation in the average frequency of MOT failures between different models even of the same age.

BBC News Freedom of Information specialist Martin Rosenbaum said: "We fought over 18 months for this information to be released because it will help car purchasers form a full picture of the reliability of different models they might buy.

"If someone is interested in buying a particular model it makes sense to see what the vehicle's record is and what kind of things it failed on.

"It's another tool to make sure consumers are making a wise choice when buying a vehicle."

In two tables compiled by the BBC using only the most popular models - those with more than 20,000 MOTs in 2007 - the vehicles with the highest failure rate among those first used in 2004 were: Ford Transit Connect on 30.5%; Renault Megane on 28.1% and Ford Transit on 26.3%.

In a second table showing vehicles first used in 1997 and 10 years old at the time of their 2007 MOT, the models with the highest failure rates were: Rover 420 on 52.6%; Fiat Punto on 51.7% and Ford KA on 51.7%.

However, consumers wishing to look at the data were being reminded that it only presented a partial snapshot and did not take into account the individual mileage of vehicles or how different owners looked after their cars or vans regardless of make.

Commenting on the data, some internet bloggers argued worn out tyres, broken headlamp bulbs or cracked number plates had no bearing on the manufacturing quality of a vehicle and more popular makes would naturally tend to appear higher up the table.

A VOSA spokesman said: "MOT failure rates may be affected by many factors including the age of the vehicle, the mileage it has covered, the way it has been driven and, most importantly, the way it has been maintained.

"It would be wrong to make any sweeping generalisations about what facts may be revealed by this information."

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