Pass rate
91.5%
Above average — 14.3 pts ahead of the 77.2% that cars this age and mileage manage.
Across 71 recorded tests.
Typical repair bill £37–£132
2012 Caterham Seven (S3) MOT pass rate
- 2012
- typical 12,606 mi
Only 71 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
24.3% 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
- 90.9%
- Typical mileage
- 13k mi
The 2012 Caterham Seven (S3) MOT pass rate is 91.5% of its MOT tests — 14.3 points ahead of what its age and mileage predict. Suspension is the biggest single reason it fails, at 24.3% 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
Emissions & leaks: 2.9× the national share
Emissions & leaks make up 16.2% of everything recorded on the 2012 Caterham Seven (S3), against 5.5% nationally — 10.7 points above. Suspension is still the single largest share at 24.3%, but at 21.0% nationally that one is ordinary. A smoky diesel or a leaking joint fails on emissions more often than on wear, so ask for a recent emissions printout.
- 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 77.2% and this one manages 91.5% — 14.3 points ahead of what its age and mileage predict.
- Based on a small sample. 71 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 (S3)? Get an email when these numbers change .
How does the 2012 Caterham Seven (S3) compare?
Cars of this age and mileage average 77.2%, so this figure is 14.3 points ahead of what its age and mileage predict. On a first attempt, before any retests, the figure drops to 90.9%. The median 2012 Caterham Seven (S3) in this dataset had covered 12,606 mi.
The single most recorded failure item is "Registration plate lamp(s) inoperative in the case of multiple lamps or light sources", noted on 2.82% of tests.
- 71 recorded tests behind this page.
- 91.5% overall pass rate, 90.9% 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
- 71
- Typical mileage (median)
- 12,606 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
Number Plate Lamp
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 83% so small gaps stay visible.
Regional pass rates for the Seven (S3)
| Region | Tests | Pass rate |
|---|---|---|
| South East | 25 | 92.0% |
| South West | 21 | 95.2% |
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 2012 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 2012 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 lights 2.8% of tests
“registration plate lamp(s) inoperative in the case of multiple lamps or light sources”
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 1.4% 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 brake pipes 1.4% of tests
“flexible brake hoses excessively chafed”
Brake pipes run under the car, usually in front of the rear wheels. Flaking or crusty metal is what fails; a light dusting of surface rust does not. Worth asking a garage to look while it is on a ramp.
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 2012 Seven (S3) through its MOT
Across the 10 items that are recorded most often on this model, the average repair comes to £37–£132 — and 36% of those repairs are parts that cost under £30.
- Average repair across the 10 common items
- £37–£132
- Cheapest common item: individual direction indicators not working
- £3–£12
- Dearest common item: catalytic converter missing where one was…
- £120–£400
- Common items a careful owner can do at home
- 40%
- Repairs that still cost under £30
- 36%
Estimates from typical UK parts prices, weighted by how often each item appears in 71 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 2012 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 2012 cars with a similar record
- Porsche Boxster 91.6%
- Audi A8 90.2%
- Porsche 911 93.4%
- Bentley Continental 93.4%
- Honda Fit 89.3%
- Toyota Estima 88.3%
Closest pass rates among 2012 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 2012 Caterham Seven (S3) 10 failure items · 6 advisories · 7 inspection categories · mileage brackets · all of it in the page, none of it above the fold
Every inspection category
Shares of the 37 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 | 9 | 24.30% | 20.98% | +3.32 |
| Brakes | 7 | 18.90% | 20.89% | −1.99 |
| Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | 7 | 18.90% | 12.21% | +6.69 |
| Noise, emissions and leaks | 6 | 16.20% | 5.52% | +10.68 |
| Visibility | 4 | 10.80% | 4.97% | +5.83 |
| Steering | 3 | 8.10% | 2.57% | +5.53 |
| Non-component advisories | 1 | 2.70% | 4.18% | −1.48 |
The exact failure items, in the tester's words
| Recorded item | Severity | Tests | Est. cost |
|---|---|---|---|
| Registration plate lamp(s) inoperative in the case of multiple lamps or light sources Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | Minor | 2.8% | £5–20 |
| Catalyst emissions carbon monoxide content after 2nd fast idle exceeds manufacturer's specified limits Noise, emissions and leaks | Major | 1.4% | £60–250 |
| Catalyst emissions carbon monoxide content at idle exceeds manufacturer's specified limits Noise, emissions and leaks | Major | 1.4% | £60–250 |
| Catalytic converter missing where one was fitted as standard Noise, emissions and leaks | Major | 1.4% | £120–400 |
| Emissions not tested unable to be completed Noise, emissions and leaks | Major | 1.4% | £60–250 |
| Flexible brake hoses excessively chafed Brakes | Major | 1.4% | £25–70 |
| Headlamp aim projected beam image is obviously incorrect Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | Rectified | 1.4% | £30–80 |
| Headlamp aim too high Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | Major | 1.4% | £30–80 |
| Horn not working Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | Rectified | 1.4% | £8–25 |
| Individual direction indicators not working Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | Rectified | 1.4% | £3–12 |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Shock absorbers has a serious fluid leak Suspension | Advisory | 5.6% | £30–75 |
| Brake discs in such a condition that it is seriously weakened Brakes | Advisory | 4.2% | £45–110 |
| Linkage ball joints ball joint excessively worn Suspension | Advisory | 4.2% | £18–45 |
| Transmission oil leaks leaking excessively from transmission Noise, emissions and leaks | Advisory | 2.8% | £200–700 |
| Non-component advisories Coolant leak Non-component advisories | Advisory | 1.4% | £20–80 |
| Service brake performance grabbing severely Brakes | Advisory | 1.4% | £60–150 |
Pass rate by mileage
| Mileage | Tests | Pass rate | Median odometer |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0-30k | 69 | 91.3% | 13,545 mi |
| 30-60k | 2 | 100.0% | 31,197 mi |
Source: 71 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.
2012 Seven (S3) MOT questions
What is the MOT pass rate for a 2012 Caterham Seven (S3)?
91.5% of the 71 2012 Caterham Seven (S3) tests in this dataset passed, against a national average of 77.2% for cars first used in 2012. First-attempt pass rate: 90.9%.
What are the most common MOT failures on a 2012 Caterham Seven (S3)?
The three most recorded items are registration plate lamp(s) inoperative in the case of multiple lamps or light sources (2.82%), catalyst emissions carbon monoxide content after 2nd fast idle exceeds manufacturer's specified limits (1.41%), catalyst emissions carbon monoxide content at idle exceeds manufacturer's specified limits (1.41%). Percentages are the share of tests on this vehicle that recorded the item.
Does mileage affect the 2012 Caterham Seven (S3) MOT pass rate?
Yes. Cars under 30,000 miles passed 91.3% of the time, falling to 100.0% for those over 120,000 miles. The median 2012 Caterham Seven (S3) in this dataset had covered 12,606 mi.