Pass rate
80.1%
Around average — 7.7 pts ahead of the 72.4% that cars this age and mileage manage.
Across 196 recorded tests.
Typical repair bill £47–£138
2005 Alfa Romeo Spider MOT pass rate
- 2005
- typical 64,325 mi
Most common fault
Suspension
32.6% of faults · 21.0% nationally
mostly worn arm bushes, split ball-joint boots and broken coil springs.
Which year to buy
- Best 2011 86.7% pass
- Avoid 2000 71.0% pass
Across the 11 years on record, a spread of 15.7 points. See every year →
- First-attempt pass
- 76.8%
- Typical mileage
- 64k mi
The 2005 Alfa Romeo Spider MOT pass rate is 80.1% of its MOT tests — 7.7 points ahead of what its age and mileage predict. Suspension is the biggest single reason it fails, at 32.6% of what testers record.
Check your postcode
MOT pass rates are national — type your postcode to see how Alfa Romeo Spider does in your corner of the country.
Expert verdict
Suspension: 1.6× the national share
Suspension accounts for 32.6% of everything recorded on the 2005 Alfa Romeo Spider, against 21.0% nationally — 11.6 points above. Ask for the front and rear suspension to be checked on a ramp before you buy — worn bushes and broken springs are cheap to look at and expensive to discover at test time.
- Beats its own age and mileage. Once you allow for how old and how far these cars have been driven, the expected pass rate is 72.4% and this one manages 80.1% — 7.7 points ahead of what its age and mileage predict.
- When it fails, it costs. Only 16% of this model’s typical repairs come in under £30 in parts — the failures here tend to be the kind that need a garage rather than a bulb.
Written from this page's own figures: fault shares against the national composition, the like-for-like pass rate, and the priced repair list. How these are worked out
Watching a Alfa Romeo Spider? Get an email when these numbers change .
How does the 2005 Alfa Romeo Spider compare?
Cars of this age and mileage average 72.4%, so this figure is 7.7 points ahead of what its age and mileage predict. On a first attempt, before any retests, the figure drops to 76.8%. The median 2005 Alfa Romeo Spider in this dataset had covered 64,325 mi.
Pass rates also shift with the test month: tests recorded October–March passed 78.3% of the time, April–September 80.7%.
The single most recorded failure item is "Rbt (sp) efficiency below requirements", noted on 10.71% of tests.
- 196 recorded tests behind this page.
- 80.1% overall pass rate, 76.8% on a first attempt.
- Across every year of the Alfa Romeo Spider, the average is 79.0% — best year 2011 (86.7%), worst 2000 (71.0%).
Figures count every completed test on this vehicle-year in the dataset, including retests. See methodology for the exact definition.
This page's data
- Tests analysed
- 196
- Typical mileage (median)
- 64,325 mi
- Make and model
- Alfa Romeo Spider
- Updated
- 2026-11-05
Source: DVSA anonymised MOT test data (2023–2025), OGL v3.0.
Top part to budget for
Brake Discs and Pads Set
Usually a DIY or independent-garage job.
Does mileage affect the Spider MOT pass rate?
Pass rate by odometer reading. Bar lengths start at 53% so small gaps stay visible.
Regional pass rates for the Spider
| Region | Tests | Pass rate |
|---|---|---|
| South East | 35 | 85.7% |
| West Midlands | 34 | 76.5% |
| East of England | 32 | 78.1% |
| South West | 28 | 78.6% |
| Scotland | 17 | 64.7% |
| North West | 15 | 86.7% |
Regions come from the postcode area recorded at the test station. Areas on region borders are assigned to the region with the majority of their population.
What fails a 2005 Spider
Everything a tester recorded on this vehicle, grouped into the inspection sections that produced it. The notch on each bar is the national share, so you can see at a glance whether this car is unusual or just ordinary.
A test can record several items, so these percentages do not add up to 100%. The exact strings, with prices, are in the full DVSA record at the bottom of this page.
Before your test
Three checks worth doing on a 2005 Spider
These are not generic tips — they are the faults recorded most often on this exact model, rewritten as things you can check yourself. All three take about ten minutes and cost nothing.
-
Check the lights 3.1% of tests
“malfunction indicator lamp inoperative or indicates a malfunction”
Switch everything on and walk round the car: both headlamps on dip and main, every indicator, both brake lights, reverse, fog and the two number-plate lamps. A bulb is a few pounds and a five-minute job.
-
Check the exhaust and emissions 2.5% of tests
“catalyst emissions carbon monoxide content after 2nd fast idle exceeds manufacturer's specified limits”
Listen for a blow at idle and have someone rev it gently. Then look at the tailpipe smoke: blue is oil, white when warm is coolant, black is over-fuelling. Any of those and the emissions test is the least of it.
-
Check the wheel bearings 1.5% of tests
“wheel bearings rough when rotated”
Listen for a hum that rises and falls with speed and changes when you load one side in a bend. A noisy bearing is an easy pre-test diagnosis and an awkward surprise at the test station.
Shares are the proportion of tests on this vehicle that recorded the item, so they overlap: one test can record several.
What it costs to get a 2005 Spider through its MOT
Across the 10 items that are recorded most often on this model, the average repair comes to £47–£138 — and 16% of those repairs are parts that cost under £30.
- Average repair across the 10 common items
- £47–£138
- Cheapest common item: malfunction indicator lamp inoperative or…
- £3–£12
- Dearest common item: joints constant velocity boot severely…
- £80–£250
- Common items a careful owner can do at home
- 40%
- Repairs that still cost under £30
- 16%
Estimates from typical UK parts prices, weighted by how often each item appears in 196 MOT tests on this vehicle. They exclude diagnostics, retest fees and garage labour where the part is a DIY fit, and they are not figures from the DVSA dataset. Older and higher-mileage examples cost more than the average. How these estimates are built → · All MOT repair costs → · Cheapest cars to put through a test →
Every year of the Spider, side by side
11 model years on record, from 2000 to 2011. Across them the pass rate runs from 71.0% to 86.7% — a spread of 15.7 points. The bar under each year is the item that failed it most often.
- 2000 71.0% rbt (sp) efficiency below…
- 2001 78.5% rbt (sp) efficiency below…
- 2002 78.5% rbt (sp) efficiency below…
- 2003 71.3% rbt (sp) efficiency below…
- 2004 83.5% joints constant velocity boot…
- 2005 80.1%rbt (sp) efficiency below…
- 2007 79.3% coil spring fractured or broken
- 2008 79.7% coil spring fractured or broken
- 2009 85.5% coil spring fractured or broken
- 2010 85.7% coil spring fractured or broken
- 2011 86.7% coil spring fractured or broken
Colour is the pass rate on a fixed scale, so a block means the same thing on any model. Each year links to its own page with the full fault breakdown.
Compare the 2005 Alfa Romeo Spider with another year
The raw pass rate mostly measures age. The year comparison adds the like-for-like figure, the mileage bands and the repair bill.
Other 2005 cars with a similar record
- Lexus IS250 80.2%
- Mercedes-Benz Cls 79.9%
- Lexus GS300 79.8%
- Toyota Alphard 80.4%
- Jaguar Xj 79.6%
- Subaru Impreza 80.8%
Closest pass rates among 2005 cars with at least 2,000 tests, so a small sample cannot flatter itself into the list. See the full rankings: best and worst MOT pass rates.
The full DVSA record for the 2005 Alfa Romeo Spider 10 failure items · 6 advisories · 10 inspection categories · mileage brackets · all of it in the page, none of it above the fold
Every inspection category
Shares of the 324 individual items recorded on this vehicle, and the same share across all cars nationally. A single test can record several items, so a row is not a percentage of tests.
| Category | Items | This car | Nationally | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Suspension | 108 | 32.60% | 20.98% | +11.62 |
| Brakes | 82 | 24.80% | 20.89% | +3.91 |
| Tyres | 37 | 11.20% | 19.76% | −8.56 |
| Noise, emissions and leaks | 34 | 10.30% | 5.52% | +4.78 |
| Body, chassis, structure | 22 | 6.60% | 5.57% | +1.03 |
| Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | 16 | 4.80% | 12.21% | −7.41 |
| Visibility | 11 | 3.30% | 4.97% | −1.67 |
| Seat belts and supplementary restraint systems | 6 | 1.80% | 0.82% | +0.98 |
| Steering | 4 | 1.20% | 2.57% | −1.37 |
| Identification of the vehicle | 4 | 1.20% | 1.76% | −0.56 |
The exact failure items, in the tester's words
| Recorded item | Severity | Tests | Est. cost |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rbt (sp) efficiency below requirements Brakes | Major | 10.7% | £45–110 |
| Joints constant velocity boot severely deteriorated Body, chassis, structure | Minor | 3.6% | £80–250 |
| Malfunction indicator lamp inoperative or indicates a malfunction Noise, emissions and leaks | Major | 3.1% | £3–12 |
| Catalyst emissions carbon monoxide content after 2nd fast idle exceeds manufacturer's specified limits Noise, emissions and leaks | Major | 2.5% | £60–250 |
| Service brake performance efficiency below requirements Brakes | Major | 2.5% | £60–150 |
| Catalyst emissions Lambda reading after 2nd fast idle outside specified limits Noise, emissions and leaks | Major | 2.0% | £60–250 |
| Parking brake performance inoperative on one side Brakes | Major | 2.0% | £60–150 |
| Srs malfunction indicator lamp warning lamp indicates a fault Seat belts and supplementary restraint systems | Major | 2.0% | £3–12 |
| Wheel bearings rough when rotated Suspension | Major | 1.5% | £20–55 |
| Windscreen damaged but not adversely affecting driver's view Visibility | Minor | 1.5% | £80–200 |
Severity is as recorded: Major and Dangerous fail the test outright; Minor and Advisory do not. Costs are estimates from typical UK parts prices — see how they are built.
What testers noted without failing the car
Advisories are the early warnings — the same parts a year or two before they fail. Reading them is how you tell a car that has been maintained from one that has been patched.
| Recorded item | Severity | Tests | Est. cost |
|---|---|---|---|
| Brake discs in such a condition that it is seriously weakened Brakes | Advisory | 12.2% | £45–110 |
| Coil spring corroded so that its cross sectional area is reduced and seriously weakened Suspension | Advisory | 11.2% | £25–65 |
| Pins and bushes pin or bush excessively worn Suspension | Advisory | 9.7% | £40–150 |
| Tread depth below requirements of 1.6mm Tyres | Advisory | 9.2% | £45–95 |
| Ball joint excessively worn Suspension | Advisory | 7.1% | £18–45 |
| Has a tear, caused by separation or partial failure of its structure Tyres | Advisory | 7.1% | £45–95 |
Pass rate by mileage
| Mileage | Tests | Pass rate | Median odometer |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0-30k | 14 | 78.6% | 19,644 mi |
| 30-60k | 64 | 87.5% | 47,506 mi |
| 60-90k | 95 | 77.9% | 72,771 mi |
| 90-120k | 13 | 61.5% | 99,843 mi |
| 120k+ | 3 | 66.7% | 146,685 mi |
Source: 196 recorded tests on this vehicle-year. Every row above is recomputed from the same DVSA extract as the rest of the page — see the methodology.
2005 Spider MOT questions
What is the MOT pass rate for a 2005 Alfa Romeo Spider?
80.1% of the 196 2005 Alfa Romeo Spider tests in this dataset passed, against a national average of 72.4% for cars first used in 2005. First-attempt pass rate: 76.8%.
What are the most common MOT failures on a 2005 Alfa Romeo Spider?
The three most recorded items are rbt (sp) efficiency below requirements (10.71%), joints constant velocity boot severely deteriorated (3.57%), malfunction indicator lamp inoperative or indicates a malfunction (3.06%). Percentages are the share of tests on this vehicle that recorded the item.
Does mileage affect the 2005 Alfa Romeo Spider MOT pass rate?
Yes. Cars under 30,000 miles passed 78.6% of the time, falling to 66.7% for those over 120,000 miles. The median 2005 Alfa Romeo Spider in this dataset had covered 64,325 mi.
Does the season affect the 2005 Alfa Romeo Spider MOT pass rate?
Tests recorded in the winter months (October–March) passed 78.3% of the time; summer months (April–September) passed 80.7%. Brakes, tyres and lights are tested harder in bad weather, but the difference is small on most models.