At a glance
How 4,784 first tests went in 2025.
- Passed first time
- 75 in every 100
- Did not pass first time
- 25 in every 1001,215 failed first-attempt tests
- The typical car
- 17 yearsabout 45,331 miles
- First tests counted
- 4,784
What failed most often
- Handbrake efficiency below minimum (roller test)12 in every 100 failed tests
- Headlight aim10 in every 100 failed tests
- Diesel engine warning light8 in every 100 failed tests
How we count this. Data: UK MOT open data, 2025. Only Class 4 cars on their first MOT of the year are counted. A car that fails and is fixed at the test station still counts as a fail in the first-attempt rate. These are raw results, not adjusted for age, mileage, or peer mix. The MOT does not test engine or gearbox internals.
These are patterns across 2008 Fiat Ducato vehicles in 2025, not a prediction that any one car will have them. Faults are grouped by part of the car. They come from MOT defect codes, not manufacturer bulletins, recalls or a diagnosis of any one car.
Lamps and electrical
Four faults. The strongest is the outline marker light (front): 41 times as often as on similar cars.
Figures below are measured across the 1,212 of 1,215 failed first attempts (99.8%) that recorded an odometer reading in 2025. Mileage is needed to compare like with like.
We only list faults with at least 20 failures and a rate of about 2.0 times that of similar cars, which keeps one-off results out of the list.
Outline marker light (front)
What it means
End-outline marker lamps are inspected only on vehicles first used after a set date that are wider than a set width, excluding side mirrors. White lamps must be visible from the front and red from the rear, and a lamp showing red light to the front or white light to the rear is Major. A lamp that does not light up with the position lamps is also Major.
Outline marker light (rear)
What it means
End-outline marker lamps are inspected only on vehicles first used after a set date that are wider than a set width, excluding side mirrors. White lamps must be visible from the front and red from the rear, and a lamp showing red light to the front or white light to the rear is Major. A lamp that does not light up with the position lamps is also Major.
Rear fog light
What it means
A missing obligatory rear fog lamp, one that is not working, or one that does not emit a steady red light is graded Major. A rear fog lamp adversely affected by the operation of any other lamp is Major too. The manual allows it to go out when main beam is switched on or when dipped beam headlamps are switched off.
Side repeater indicators
What it means
Sequential or dynamic direction indicators are not a reason to fail. Where a side repeater is required, it is allowed to be part of the front direction indicator if it has a marked wraparound lens, or an amber light coming through the front lens when viewed from a set distance to the side of the rear bumper. A lens defect with no effect on the emitted light is Minor, and one that adversely affects the light is Major.
Data: UK MOT open data, 2025. Compared with cars of the same age and mileage.
Noise, emissions and leaks
Three faults. The strongest is the diesel engine warning light: 9.9 times as often as on similar cars.
Diesel engine warning light
What it means
An engine malfunction indicator lamp that is illuminated to show a malfunction is graded Major on a diesel, but only on the diesels the test covers, which depends on the vehicle type and when it was first used. DVSA lists it under exhaust emissions for compression ignition engines, and the detail line for the row also names an inoperative lamp.
Diesel emissions test (compression-ignition rules for vehicles from 01/07/2008)
Diesel emissions test (pre-reg turbo rules before 01/07/2008)
Data: UK MOT open data, 2025. Compared with cars of the same age and mileage.
Brakes
Three faults. The strongest is the brake efficiency below minimum (roller test): 3.4 times as often as on similar cars.
Brake efficiency below minimum (roller test)
Brake performance (roller test, front)
Also noted as an advisory
Testers also noted it as an advisory, worn but not yet failing, on 57 first tests, 2.4 times as often as on similar cars.
Handbrake efficiency below minimum (roller test)
What it means
A parking brake with efficiency below the minimum requirement is Major, and graded Dangerous where efficiency is less than half of the required value. On a roller brake tester, the requirement counts as met if more than half of the wheels of a brake system lock. The check applies only to vehicles whose parking brake was not already tested as the secondary brake.
Data: UK MOT open data, 2025. Compared with cars of the same age and mileage. Advisories count notes recorded on failed first tests only.
Advisories
Other things testers noted as worn or close to failing, more often than on similar cars.
An advisory is a note from the tester about something that has not failed yet. It is an early warning, not a fail. Advisories for the faults above are shown with those faults.
Other power steering components
Data: UK MOT open data, 2025. Counts cover advisories recorded on failed first tests only, compared with cars of the same age and mileage.
MOT pass rates
How first tests ended, and how the pass rates are counted.
- Passed first time
- 75in every 100
- Passed on the first test.
- Fixed at the station
- 5in every 100
- Failed, then fixed at the test station the same day.
- Failed
- 20in every 100
- Did not pass, and were not fixed at the test station.
First-attempt pass 74.6% of 4,784 first tests (2025): only cars that passed first time count. Official-style pass 79.6%: cars fixed at the test station also count as a pass. The 5 fixed and the 20 not fixed make the 25 in every 100 that did not pass first time.
Same model, other years
Passed first time in every 100, all tested in 2025.
Newer cars are younger, so look for a jump rather than the climb.
| Year | Passed first time | First tests |
|---|---|---|
| 1995 | 51 in every 100 | 344 |
| 1996 | 57 in every 100 | 598 |
| 1997 | 58 in every 100 | 801 |
| 1998 | 54 in every 100 | 1,024 |
| 1999 | 56 in every 100 | 1,254 |
| 2000 | 61 in every 100 | 1,454 |
| 2001 | 57 in every 100 | 1,710 |
| 2002 | 62 in every 100 | 2,014 |
| 2003 | 63 in every 100 | 3,004 |
| 2004 | 63 in every 100 | 3,691 |
| 2005 | 65 in every 100 | 4,271 |
| 2006 | 68 in every 100 | 4,175 |
| 2007 | 71 in every 100 | 4,893 |
| 2008 This car | 75 in every 100 | 4,784 |
| 2009 | 76 in every 100 | 3,432 |
| 2010 | 78 in every 100 | 3,260 |
| 2011 | 78 in every 100 | 3,073 |
| 2012 | 80 in every 100 | 2,494 |
| 2013 | 80 in every 100 | 2,194 |
| 2014 | 81 in every 100 | 2,313 |
| 2015 | 83 in every 100 | 2,722 |
| 2016 | 82 in every 100 | 2,667 |
| 2017 | 82 in every 100 | 2,027 |
| 2018 | 84 in every 100 | 1,837 |
| 2019 | 83 in every 100 | 2,010 |
| 2020 | 88 in every 100 | 1,917 |
| 2021 | 89 in every 100 | 1,970 |
| 2022 | 88 in every 100 | 1,031 |
If you are buying one
What this year's MOT record means for the decision in front of you.
Mileage matters most on a 2008 Ducato.
Of 2008 Ducato vehicles with under 32,000 miles, 82 in every 100 passed their 2025 MOT first time. With 68,000 miles or more, 62 in every 100 did.
What to check at your mileage
How often each fault turned up on a failed first test, by the car's mileage. Read it as: what is likely to need looking at on a car like the one in front of you.
| Under 32,000 | 41,000–50,000 | 68,000 and over | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Handbrake efficiency below minimum (roller test) | 1.3 | 1.7 | 7.7 |
| Headlight aim | 1.9 | 1.7 | 3.1 |
| Diesel engine warning light | 1.7 | 2.4 | 2.5 |
| Windscreen washers | 1.2 | 1.9 | 3.3 |
| Brake performance (roller test, front) | 1.6 | 1.8 | 2.1 |
Faults per 100 first tests, by the car's mileage at the test.
When a car fails
of failed cars had one item to fix.
of failed cars had three or more items to fix.
of all first tests had a defect the tester marked dangerous (unsafe to drive away).
Every figure here is a first-attempt MOT rate from DVSA open data for this model line, for cars of this model year tested in 2025. Each mileage band holds a fifth of the tests. MOTs do not test engine or gearbox internals, so this is a pre-purchase checklist, not a full reliability score.
FAQs
Short answers about how to read this model-year guide.
About this data
How this page is built and what it can (and can't) say.
These figures come from UK MOT open data for this model year. We surface common failure patterns against similar cars, not a full reliability score, and not a pass/fail verdict on any individual vehicle.
What we include
UK Class 4 cars only. Normal MOT tests (not retests); first test per vehicle per calendar year; results pass, PRS, or fail.
Same-day repairs
PRS means the car failed items that were fixed at the test station and then passed the same day. We count PRS as a first-attempt fail in headline rates so same-day repairs do not hide problems.
How we compare
We compare this model year with other Class 4 cars of similar age and mileage in the same test year. This model family is left out of the peer group so the car is not measured against itself.
What this does not cover
- MOTs do not cover engine internals, gearboxes, or many electronics; this is not a full reliability score.
- Common faults come from MOT defect stats, not manufacturer TSBs or recalls.
- Age and mileage matching reduces, but does not remove, differences in how cars were used and maintained.
- If the data for a car is too thin to say anything useful, we say so rather than guess.
Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.
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