Pass rate
92.9%
Above average — 18.9 pts ahead of the 74.0% that cars this age and mileage manage.
Across 85 recorded tests.
Typical repair bill £24–£68
2009 Caterham Seven (S3) MOT pass rate
- 2009
- 2 trims combined
- typical 15,962 mi
Only 85 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
Suspension
26.2% of faults · 21.0% nationally
mostly worn arm bushes, split ball-joint boots and broken coil springs.
Which year to buy
- Best 2000 93.7% pass
- Avoid 2007 86.4% pass
Across the 13 years on record, a spread of 7.3 points. See every year →
- First-attempt pass
- 92.5%
- Typical mileage
- 16k mi
The 2009 Caterham Seven (S3) MOT pass rate is 92.9% of its MOT tests — 18.9 points ahead of what its age and mileage predict. Suspension is the biggest single reason it fails, at 26.2% of what testers record.
Check your postcode
MOT pass rates are national — type your postcode to see how Caterham Seven (S3) does in your corner of the country.
Expert verdict
Steering: 4.6× the national share
Steering accounts for 11.9% of everything recorded on the 2009 Caterham Seven (S3), against 2.6% nationally — 9.3 points above. Suspension is still the single largest share at 26.2%, but at 21.0% nationally that one is ordinary. Ask for the steering to be checked for play with the wheels on the ground, not on a jack.
- 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 74.0% and this one manages 92.9% — 18.9 points ahead of what its age and mileage predict.
- When it fails, it costs. Only 33% 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 Caterham Seven (S3)? Get an email when these numbers change .
Every Caterham Seven (S3) first registered in 2009 is combined here — 2 trim and body variants in total — so the sample is as large as the DVSA data allows.
How does the 2009 Caterham Seven (S3) compare?
Cars of this age and mileage average 74.0%, so this figure is 18.9 points ahead of what its age and mileage predict. On a first attempt, before any retests, the figure drops to 92.5%. The median 2009 Caterham Seven (S3) in this dataset had covered 15,962 mi.
The single most recorded failure item is "Wipers blade defective", noted on 3.53% of tests.
- 85 recorded tests behind this page.
- 92.9% overall pass rate, 92.5% on a first attempt.
- Across every year of the Caterham Seven (S3), the average is 90.3% — best year 2000 (93.7%), worst 2007 (86.4%).
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
- 85
- Typical mileage (median)
- 15,962 mi
- Make and model
- Caterham Seven (S3)
- Updated
- 2026-11-05
Source: DVSA anonymised MOT test data (2023–2025), OGL v3.0.
Top part to budget for
Wiper Blade
Usually a DIY or independent-garage job.
Does mileage affect the Seven (S3) MOT pass rate?
Pass rate by odometer reading. Bar lengths start at 77% so small gaps stay visible.
Regional pass rates for the Seven (S3)
| Region | Tests | Pass rate |
|---|---|---|
| South East | 49 | 95.9% |
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 2009 Seven (S3)
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 2009 Seven (S3)
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 wipers and washers 3.5% of tests
“wipers blade defective”
Run the wipers with the screen wet: they should clear it in one sweep without smearing or juddering. Top the washer bottle up and check both jets hit the screen.
-
Check the lights 2.4% of tests
“registration plate lamp(s) inoperative in the case of a single lamp or all lamps”
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 suspension joints 2.4% of tests
“track rod end ball joint dust cover damaged or deteriorated,”
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 2009 Seven (S3) through its MOT
Across the 10 items that are recorded most often on this model, the average repair comes to £24–£68 — and 33% of those repairs are parts that cost under £30.
- Average repair across the 10 common items
- £24–£68
- Cheapest common item: registration plate lamp(s) inoperative in the…
- £5–£20
- Dearest common item: catalyst emissions lambda reading after 2nd…
- £60–£250
- Common items a careful owner can do at home
- 70%
- Repairs that still cost under £30
- 33%
Estimates from typical UK parts prices, weighted by how often each item appears in 85 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 (S3), side by side
13 model years on record, from 2000 to 2012. Across them the pass rate runs from 86.4% to 93.7% — a spread of 7.3 points. The bar under each year is the item that failed it most often.
- 2000 93.7% windscreen damaged but not…
- 2001 87.5% catalyst emissions carbon…
- 2002 89.4% steering rack gaiter damaged or…
- 2003 89.4% steering rack gaiter damaged or…
- 2004 91.0% steering rack gaiter damaged or…
- 2005 89.9% catalyst emissions lambda reading…
- 2006 89.6% side repeaters not working
- 2007 86.4% windscreen damaged but not…
- 2008 92.8% windscreen damaged but not…
- 2009 92.9%wipers blade defective
- 2010 92.2% catalyst emissions lambda reading…
- 2011 88.6% registration plate lamp(s)…
- 2012 91.5% registration plate lamp(s)…
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 2009 Caterham Seven (S3) 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 2009 cars with a similar record
- Porsche Boxster 91.4%
- Porsche 911 91.3%
- BMW M3 90.3%
- Porsche Cayman 90.3%
- Toyota Estima 86.7%
- BMW Z4 85.3%
Closest pass rates among 2009 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 2009 Caterham Seven (S3) 10 failure items · 6 advisories · 9 inspection categories · mileage brackets · all of it in the page, none of it above the fold
Every inspection category
Shares of the 42 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 | 11 | 26.20% | 20.98% | +5.22 |
| Brakes | 6 | 14.30% | 20.89% | −6.59 |
| Tyres | 6 | 14.30% | 19.76% | −5.46 |
| Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | 5 | 11.90% | 12.21% | −0.31 |
| Steering | 5 | 11.90% | 2.57% | +9.33 |
| Visibility | 4 | 9.50% | 4.97% | +4.53 |
| Noise, emissions and leaks | 2 | 4.80% | 5.52% | −0.72 |
| Identification of the vehicle | 2 | 4.80% | 1.76% | +3.04 |
| Body, chassis, structure | 1 | 2.40% | 5.57% | −3.17 |
The exact failure items, in the tester's words
| Recorded item | Severity | Tests | Est. cost |
|---|---|---|---|
| Wipers blade defective Visibility | Minor | 3.5% | £8–22 |
| Registration plate lamp(s) inoperative in the case of a single lamp or all lamps Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | Major | 2.4% | £5–20 |
| Service brake imbalance across an axle Brakes | Major | 2.4% | £45–110 |
| Track rod end ball joint dust cover damaged or deteriorated, but preventing the ingress of dirt Steering | Minor | 2.4% | £18–45 |
| Ball joint dust cover no longer prevents the ingress of dirt Suspension | Major | 1.2% | £18–45 |
| Ball joint dust cover severely deteriorated Suspension | Minor | 1.2% | £18–45 |
| Brake fluid significantly below minimum mark Brakes | Major | 1.2% | £45–110 |
| Catalyst emissions Lambda reading after 2nd fast idle outside specified limits Noise, emissions and leaks | Major | 1.2% | £60–250 |
| Headlamp aim projected beam image is obviously incorrect Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | Major | 1.2% | £30–80 |
| Headlamp aim too low Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | Major | 1.2% | £30–80 |
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 | 7.1% | £45–95 |
| Wheel bearings has excessive play Suspension | Advisory | 3.5% | £20–55 |
| Ball joint excessively worn Suspension | Advisory | 2.4% | £18–45 |
| Registration plates inscription illegible Identification of the vehicle | Advisory | 2.4% | £20–80 |
| Service brake imbalance across an axle Brakes | Advisory | 2.4% | £45–110 |
| Linkage ball joints ball joint excessively worn Suspension | Advisory | 1.2% | £18–45 |
Pass rate by mileage
| Mileage | Tests | Pass rate | Median odometer |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0-30k | 67 | 95.5% | 14,141 mi |
| 30-60k | 9 | 88.9% | 36,254 mi |
| 60-90k | 7 | 85.7% | 69,552 mi |
Source: 85 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.
2009 Seven (S3) MOT questions
What is the MOT pass rate for a 2009 Caterham Seven (S3)?
92.9% of the 85 2009 Caterham Seven (S3) tests in this dataset passed, against a national average of 74.0% for cars first used in 2009. First-attempt pass rate: 92.5%.
What are the most common MOT failures on a 2009 Caterham Seven (S3)?
The three most recorded items are wipers blade defective (3.53%), registration plate lamp(s) inoperative in the case of a single lamp or all lamps (2.35%), service brake imbalance across an axle (2.35%). Percentages are the share of tests on this vehicle that recorded the item.
Does mileage affect the 2009 Caterham Seven (S3) MOT pass rate?
Yes. Cars under 30,000 miles passed 95.5% of the time, falling to 85.7% for those over 120,000 miles. The median 2009 Caterham Seven (S3) in this dataset had covered 15,962 mi.