Pass rate
93.7%
Above average — 19.7 pts ahead of the 74.0% that cars this age and mileage manage.
Across 79 recorded tests.
Typical repair bill £43–£134
2009 Caterham Super MOT pass rate
- 2009
- typical 17,063 mi
Only 79 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
25.0% of faults · 21.0% nationally
mostly worn arm bushes, split ball-joint boots and broken coil springs.
Which year to buy
- Best 2007 95.5% pass
- Avoid 2003 83.8% pass
Across the 12 years on record, a spread of 11.7 points. See every year →
- First-attempt pass
- 93.2%
- Typical mileage
- 17k mi
The 2009 Caterham Super MOT pass rate is 93.7% of its MOT tests — 19.7 points ahead of what its age and mileage predict. Suspension is the biggest single reason it fails, at 25.0% of what testers record.
Check your postcode
MOT pass rates are national — type your postcode to see how Caterham Super does in your corner of the country.
Expert verdict
Lamps & electrics: 2.0× the national share
Lamps & electrics make up 25.0% of everything recorded on the 2009 Caterham Super, against 12.2% nationally — 12.8 points above. Suspension is still the single largest share at 25.0%, but at 21.0% nationally that one is ordinary. 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 74.0% and this one manages 93.7% — 19.7 points ahead of what its age and mileage predict.
- When it fails, it costs. Only 23% 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 Super? Get an email when these numbers change .
How does the 2009 Caterham Super compare?
Cars of this age and mileage average 74.0%, so this figure is 19.7 points ahead of what its age and mileage predict. On a first attempt, before any retests, the figure drops to 93.2%. The median 2009 Caterham Super in this dataset had covered 17,063 mi.
The single most recorded failure item is "Headlamp aim too low", noted on 2.53% of tests.
- 79 recorded tests behind this page.
- 93.7% overall pass rate, 93.2% on a first attempt.
- Across every year of the Caterham Super, the average is 92.0% — best year 2007 (95.5%), worst 2003 (83.8%).
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
- 79
- Typical mileage (median)
- 17,063 mi
- Make and model
- Caterham Super
- Updated
- 2026-11-05
Source: DVSA anonymised MOT test data (2023–2025), OGL v3.0.
Top part to budget for
Headlight Alignment
Typically a garage job — get quotes before committing.
Does mileage affect the Super MOT pass rate?
Pass rate by odometer reading. Bar lengths start at 84% so small gaps stay visible.
Regional pass rates for the Super
| Region | Tests | Pass rate |
|---|---|---|
| South East | 20 | 100.0% |
| South West | 17 | 88.2% |
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 2009 Super
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 Super
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 2.5% of tests
“headlamp aim too low”
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 steering 2.5% of tests
“steering rack gaiter damaged or deteriorated,”
With the wheels straight, rock the steering wheel gently with the engine off — more than about an inch of free play before the wheels move is worth investigating. Split rack gaiters are cheap to replace and commonly recorded.
-
Check the suspension joints 2.5% 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 Super through its MOT
Across the 10 items that are recorded most often on this model, the average repair comes to £43–£134 — and 23% of those repairs are parts that cost under £30.
- Average repair across the 10 common items
- £43–£134
- Cheapest common item: rear fog lamp not working
- £3–£15
- Dearest common item: steering rack gaiter damaged or deteriorated,
- £120–£300
- Common items a careful owner can do at home
- 40%
- Repairs that still cost under £30
- 23%
Estimates from typical UK parts prices, weighted by how often each item appears in 79 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 Super, side by side
12 model years on record, from 2001 to 2012. Across them the pass rate runs from 83.8% to 95.5% — a spread of 11.7 points. The bar under each year is the item that failed it most often.
- 2001 91.1% track rod end ball joint dust…
- 2002 95.4% windscreen damaged but not…
- 2003 83.8% catalyst emissions lambda reading…
- 2004 90.2% windscreen damaged but not…
- 2005 84.6% position lamp not working
- 2006 94.1% catalyst emissions lambda reading…
- 2007 95.5% windscreen damaged but not…
- 2008 93.8% windscreen damaged but not…
- 2009 93.7%headlamp aim too low
- 2010 93.3% windscreen damaged but not…
- 2011 91.8% steering rack gaiter damaged or…
- 2012 94.2% steering rack gaiter damaged or…
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 Super 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 Super 10 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 44 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 | 25.00% | 20.98% | +4.02 |
| Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | 11 | 25.00% | 12.21% | +12.79 |
| Tyres | 7 | 15.90% | 19.76% | −3.86 |
| Noise, emissions and leaks | 7 | 15.90% | 5.52% | +10.38 |
| Steering | 4 | 9.10% | 2.57% | +6.53 |
| Road Wheels | 2 | 4.50% | 0.75% | +3.75 |
| Brakes | 1 | 2.30% | 20.89% | −18.59 |
| Identification of the vehicle | 1 | 2.30% | 1.76% | +0.54 |
The exact failure items, in the tester's words
| Recorded item | Severity | Tests | Est. cost |
|---|---|---|---|
| Headlamp aim too low Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | Rectified | 2.5% | £30–80 |
| Steering rack gaiter damaged or deteriorated, but preventing the ingress of dirt Steering | Minor | 2.5% | £120–300 |
| Track rod end ball joint dust cover damaged or deteriorated, but preventing the ingress of dirt Steering | Minor | 2.5% | £18–45 |
| Catalyst emissions Lambda reading after 2nd fast idle outside specified limits Noise, emissions and leaks | Major | 1.3% | £60–250 |
| Catalyst emissions carbon monoxide content after 2nd fast idle exceeds default limits Noise, emissions and leaks | Major | 1.3% | £60–250 |
| Catalyst emissions hydrocarbon content after 2nd fast idle exceeds manufacturer's specified limits Noise, emissions and leaks | Major | 1.3% | £60–250 |
| Headlamp aim projected beam image is obviously incorrect Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | Rectified | 1.3% | £30–80 |
| Headlamp not working on dipped beam Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | Major | 1.3% | £5–25 |
| Position lamp not working Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | Rectified | 1.3% | £5–25 |
| Rear fog lamp not working Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | Rectified | 1.3% | £3–15 |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Engine oil leaks leaking excessively from engine Noise, emissions and leaks | Advisory | 5.1% | £200–700 |
| Linkage ball joints ball joint excessively worn Suspension | Advisory | 5.1% | £18–45 |
| Tread depth below requirements of 1.6mm Tyres | Advisory | 5.1% | £45–95 |
| Wheel bearings has excessive play Suspension | Advisory | 5.1% | £20–55 |
| Badly distorted Road Wheels | Advisory | 2.5% | £20–55 |
| Ball joint excessively worn Suspension | Advisory | 2.5% | £18–45 |
Pass rate by mileage
| Mileage | Tests | Pass rate | Median odometer |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0-30k | 64 | 92.2% | 13,697 mi |
| 30-60k | 15 | 100.0% | 38,590 mi |
Source: 79 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 Super MOT questions
What is the MOT pass rate for a 2009 Caterham Super?
93.7% of the 79 2009 Caterham Super tests in this dataset passed, against a national average of 74.0% for cars first used in 2009. First-attempt pass rate: 93.2%.
What are the most common MOT failures on a 2009 Caterham Super?
The three most recorded items are headlamp aim too low (2.53%), steering rack gaiter damaged or deteriorated, but preventing the ingress of dirt (2.53%), track rod end ball joint dust cover damaged or deteriorated, but preventing the ingress of dirt (2.53%). Percentages are the share of tests on this vehicle that recorded the item.
Does mileage affect the 2009 Caterham Super MOT pass rate?
Yes. Cars under 30,000 miles passed 92.2% of the time, falling to 100.0% for those over 120,000 miles. The median 2009 Caterham Super in this dataset had covered 17,063 mi.