Pass rate
92.2%
Above average — 16.3 pts ahead of the 75.9% that cars this age and mileage manage.
Across 51 recorded tests.
Typical repair bill £41–£105
2011 Caterham Seven MOT pass rate
- 2011
- typical 20,961 mi
Only 51 tests of this exact model and year are in the DVSA data, below the 100 we ask for before a page goes in the index. The figures are still shown, because they are the only ones there are.
Most common fault
Lamps & electrics
27.3% of faults · 12.2% nationally
Which year to buy
- Best 2008 92.5% pass
- Avoid 2007 90.3% pass
Across the 3 years on record, a spread of 2.2 points. See every year →
- First-attempt pass
- 91.7%
- Typical mileage
- 21k mi
The 2011 Caterham Seven MOT pass rate is 92.2% of its MOT tests — 16.3 points ahead of what its age and mileage predict. Lamps & electrics is the biggest single reason it fails, at 27.3% of what testers record.
Check your postcode
MOT pass rates are national — type your postcode to see how Caterham Seven does in your corner of the country.
Expert verdict
Lamps & electrics: 2.2× the national share
Lamps & electrics make up 27.3% of everything recorded on the 2011 Caterham Seven, against 12.2% nationally — 15.1 points above. Walk round the car with the lights on before the test: bulbs, indicators and number-plate lamps are the cheapest failures to prevent and among the most common.
- 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 75.9% and this one manages 92.2% — 16.3 points ahead of what its age and mileage predict.
- Based on a small sample. 51 tests back this page. That is enough to publish and to index, not enough to treat the decimal places as precise — read the pattern, not the second digit.
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 Caterham Seven? Get an email when these numbers change .
How does the 2011 Caterham Seven compare?
Cars of this age and mileage average 75.9%, so this figure is 16.3 points ahead of what its age and mileage predict. On a first attempt, before any retests, the figure drops to 91.7%. The median 2011 Caterham Seven in this dataset had covered 20,961 mi.
The single most recorded failure item is "Reversing lamps inoperative", noted on 5.88% of tests.
- 51 recorded tests behind this page.
- 92.2% overall pass rate, 91.7% on a first attempt.
- Across every year of the Caterham Seven, the average is 91.6% — best year 2008 (92.5%), worst 2007 (90.3%).
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
- 51
- Typical mileage (median)
- 20,961 mi
- Make and model
- Caterham Seven
- Updated
- 2026-11-05
Source: DVSA anonymised MOT test data (2023–2025), OGL v3.0.
Top part to budget for
Bulb
Usually a DIY or independent-garage job.
Does mileage affect the Seven MOT pass rate?
Pass rate by odometer reading. Bar lengths start at 80% so small gaps stay visible.
Regional pass rates for the Seven
| Region | Tests | Pass rate |
|---|---|---|
| South East | 20 | 95.0% |
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 2011 Seven
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 2011 Seven
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 5.9% of tests
“reversing lamps inoperative”
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 windscreen 5.9% of tests
“windscreen damaged”
Check the driver’s side of the screen within the swept area for chips and cracks; anything larger than 10mm in the driver’s central view is a fail. Most chips can be resin-repaired for far less than a new screen.
-
Check the suspension joints 2.0% of tests
“ball joint dust cover no longer prevents the ingress of dirt”
With the car parked on level ground, rock the top of each front wheel in and out while someone watches the suspension arm. Clunks, or rubber boots split and greasy, are what testers record here.
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 2011 Seven through its MOT
Across the 9 items that are recorded most often on this model, the average repair comes to £41–£105 — and 38% of those repairs are parts that cost under £30.
- Average repair across the 9 common items
- £41–£105
- Cheapest common item: reversing lamps inoperative
- £3–£15
- Dearest common item: steering rack gaiter damaged or deteriorated,
- £120–£300
- Common items a careful owner can do at home
- 56%
- Repairs that still cost under £30
- 38%
Estimates from typical UK parts prices, weighted by how often each item appears in 51 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 Seven, side by side
3 model years on record, from 2007 to 2011. Across them the pass rate runs from 90.3% to 92.5% — a spread of 2.2 points. The bar under each year is the item that failed it most often.
- 2007 90.3% headlamp aim too low
- 2008 92.5% steering rack gaiter missing or…
- 2011 92.2%reversing lamps inoperative
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 2011 Caterham Seven 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 2011 cars with a similar record
- Porsche Boxster 91.5%
- Porsche 911 93.4%
- BMW M3 90.9%
- Audi A8 90.3%
- Honda Fit 86.9%
- Porsche Cayenne 86.8%
Closest pass rates among 2011 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 2011 Caterham Seven 9 failure items · 6 advisories · 8 inspection categories · mileage brackets · all of it in the page, none of it above the fold
Every inspection category
Shares of the 22 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | 6 | 27.30% | 12.21% | +15.09 |
| Brakes | 4 | 18.20% | 20.89% | −2.69 |
| Suspension | 3 | 13.60% | 20.98% | −7.38 |
| Tyres | 3 | 13.60% | 19.76% | −6.16 |
| Visibility | 3 | 13.60% | 4.97% | +8.63 |
| Non-component advisories | 1 | 4.50% | 4.18% | +0.32 |
| Steering | 1 | 4.50% | 2.57% | +1.93 |
| Identification of the vehicle | 1 | 4.50% | 1.76% | +2.74 |
The exact failure items, in the tester's words
| Recorded item | Severity | Tests | Est. cost |
|---|---|---|---|
| Reversing lamps inoperative Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | Major | 5.9% | £3–15 |
| Windscreen damaged but not adversely affecting driver's view Visibility | Minor | 5.9% | £80–200 |
| Ball joint dust cover no longer prevents the ingress of dirt Suspension | Major | 2.0% | £18–45 |
| Headlamp aim too high Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | Major | 2.0% | £30–80 |
| Horn not working Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | Major | 2.0% | £8–25 |
| Rear fog lamp not working Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | Rectified | 2.0% | £3–15 |
| Service brake imbalance across an axle Brakes | Major | 2.0% | £45–110 |
| Service brake performance excessively binding Brakes | Major | 2.0% | £60–150 |
| Steering rack gaiter damaged or deteriorated, but preventing the ingress of dirt Steering | Minor | 2.0% | £120–300 |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tread depth below requirements of 1.6mm Tyres | Advisory | 5.9% | £45–95 |
| Linkage ball joints ball joint excessively worn Suspension | Advisory | 3.9% | £18–45 |
| Brake discs in such a condition that it is seriously weakened Brakes | Advisory | 2.0% | £45–110 |
| Brake pads less than 1.5 mm thick Brakes | Advisory | 2.0% | £18–45 |
| Non-component advisories Play in steering rack inner joint(s) Non-component advisories | Advisory | 2.0% | £120–300 |
| Registration plates inscription illegible Identification of the vehicle | Advisory | 2.0% | £20–80 |
Pass rate by mileage
| Mileage | Tests | Pass rate | Median odometer |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0-30k | 41 | 92.7% | 15,968 mi |
| 30-60k | 9 | 88.9% | 41,168 mi |
| 60-90k | 1 | 100.0% | 61,928 mi |
Source: 51 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.
2011 Seven MOT questions
What is the MOT pass rate for a 2011 Caterham Seven?
92.2% of the 51 2011 Caterham Seven tests in this dataset passed, against a national average of 75.9% for cars first used in 2011. First-attempt pass rate: 91.7%.
What are the most common MOT failures on a 2011 Caterham Seven?
The three most recorded items are reversing lamps inoperative (5.88%), windscreen damaged but not adversely affecting driver's view (5.88%), ball joint dust cover no longer prevents the ingress of dirt (1.96%). Percentages are the share of tests on this vehicle that recorded the item.
Does mileage affect the 2011 Caterham Seven MOT pass rate?
Yes. Cars under 30,000 miles passed 92.7% of the time, falling to 100.0% for those over 120,000 miles. The median 2011 Caterham Seven in this dataset had covered 20,961 mi.