Pass rate
68.2%
Below average — 4.4 pts behind the 72.6% that cars this age and mileage manage.
Across 10,717 recorded tests.
Typical repair bill £41–£107
2003 Citroen C3 MOT pass rate
- 2003
- typical 82,438 mi
Check your postcode
Most common fault
Suspension
22.9% of faults · 21.0% nationally
mostly worn arm bushes, split ball-joint boots and broken coil springs.
Which year to buy
- Best 2023 95.7% pass
- Avoid 2003 68.2% pass · this year
Across the 22 years on record, a spread of 27.5 points. See every year →
- First-attempt pass
- 57.3%
- Typical mileage
- 82k mi
The 2003 Citroen C3 MOT pass rate is 68.2% of its MOT tests — 4.4 points behind what its age and mileage predict. Suspension is the biggest single reason it fails, at 22.9% of what testers record.
Expert verdict
Lamps & electrics: 1.8× the national share
Lamps & electrics make up 21.8% of everything recorded on the 2003 Citroen C3, against 12.2% nationally — 9.6 points above. Suspension is still the single largest share at 22.9%, 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.
- Falls short of its own age and mileage. Like-for-like, cars this age and mileage expect about 72.6%; this one manages 68.2% — 4.4 points below. Age is a fair excuse; this is not age.
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 Citroen C3? Get an email when these numbers change .
How does the 2003 Citroen C3 compare?
Cars of this age and mileage average 72.6%, so this figure is 4.4 points behind what its age and mileage predict. On a first attempt, before any retests, the figure drops to 57.3%. The median 2003 Citroen C3 in this dataset had covered 82,438 mi.
83% of the tests on this vehicle ran on Petrol, which passed 68.3% of the time. Pass rates also shift with the test month: tests recorded October–March passed 68.4% of the time, April–September 68.0%.
The single most recorded failure item is "Registration plate lamp(s) inoperative in the case of multiple lamps or light sources", noted on 7.18% of tests.
- 10,717 recorded tests behind this page.
- 68.2% overall pass rate, 57.3% on a first attempt.
- Across every year of the Citroen C3, the average is 77.7% — best year 2023 (95.7%), worst 2003 (68.2%).
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
- 10,717
- Typical mileage (median)
- 82,438 mi
- Make and model
- Citroen C3
- Updated
- 2026-11-07
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 C3 MOT pass rate?
Pass rate by odometer reading. Bar lengths start at 55% so small gaps stay visible.
Fuel type and reliability
Pass rate by fuel type. Petrol is the most common here (83% of tests).
Where the Citroen C3 is most common
Across all C3 model years on record (2002–2023): 274,772 Citroen C3 cars tested in a recordable postcode area, across 710,110 tests. Birmingham (B) has the most, with 8,507 cars tested there. Cars are counted by the postcode area of the MOT station, so this is where they were tested, not necessarily where their owners live.
| # | Postcode area | Cars | Pass rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Birmingham (B) | 8,507 | 81.7% |
| 2 | Sheffield (S) | 7,022 | 79.6% |
| 3 | Newcastle upon Tyne (NE) | 6,562 | 77.8% |
| 4 | Cardiff (CF) | 5,604 | 75.2% |
| 5 | Peterborough (PE) | 5,544 | 78.8% |
| 6 | Nottingham (NG) | 5,208 | 76.3% |
| 7 | Bristol (BS) | 5,068 | 75.5% |
| 8 | Coventry (CV) | 4,698 | 80.2% |
| 9 | Portsmouth (PO) | 4,621 | 76.9% |
| 10 | Manchester (M) | 4,544 | 79.5% |
| 11 | Swansea (SA) | 4,530 | 77.7% |
| 12 | Glasgow (G) | 4,443 | 77.7% |
| 13 | Doncaster (DN) | 4,254 | 77.5% |
| 14 | Leicester (LE) | 4,188 | 78.7% |
| 15 | Derby (DE) | 4,171 | 79.5% |
| 16 | Plymouth (PL) | 4,150 | 73.7% |
| 17 | Brighton (BN) | 3,896 | 76.6% |
| 18 | Norwich (NR) | 3,845 | 77.0% |
| 19 | Edinburgh (EH) | 3,740 | 74.3% |
| 20 | Ashford (TN) | 3,737 | 78.2% |
The twenty areas with the most Citroen C3 cars in the record, sorted by car count — sort the columns for a different question. Cars tested at a station whose postcode area could not be resolved are counted in the model's total but in no area, so the shares add up to slightly under 100% even across every area, and an area's cars are a subset of the model's. Pass rate is blank below 30 tests in an area, where a percentage is noise rather than a finding. How this model's pass rate varies by postcode →
Regional pass rates for the C3
| Region | Tests | Pass rate |
|---|---|---|
| South East | 2,468 | 71.8% |
| South West | 1,923 | 65.5% |
| East of England | 1,261 | 70.1% |
| West Midlands | 1,114 | 67.1% |
| North West | 1,046 | 66.5% |
| Yorkshire | 783 | 65.4% |
| East Midlands | 745 | 68.5% |
| Wales | 436 | 64.0% |
| London | 407 | 75.7% |
| North East | 307 | 65.5% |
| Scotland | 227 | 62.6% |
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 2003 C3
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 2003 C3
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 7.2% 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 corrosion 6.3% of tests
“component mounting prescribed areas prescribed area excessively corroded significantly reducing structural strength”
Look under the sills, around the jacking points and where the suspension mounts meet the body. Flaking, holed or crumbly metal fails; a brown stain on sound metal does not.
-
Check the coil springs 5.3% of tests
“coil spring fractured or broken”
Look up inside each wheel arch with a torch, all the way round the spring. A snapped spring usually breaks at the very bottom coil, where a quick glance will not reach.
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 2003 C3 through its MOT
Across the 10 items that are recorded most often on this model, the average repair comes to £41–£107 — and 48% of those repairs are parts that cost under £30.
- Average repair across the 10 common items
- £41–£107
- Cheapest common item: registration plate lamp(s) inoperative in the…
- £5–£20
- Dearest common item: component mounting prescribed areas…
- £180–£450
- Common items a careful owner can do at home
- 70%
- Repairs that still cost under £30
- 48%
Estimates from typical UK parts prices, weighted by how often each item appears in 10,717 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 C3, side by side
22 model years on record, from 2002 to 2023. Across them the pass rate runs from 68.2% to 95.7% — a spread of 27.5 points. The bar under each year is the item that failed it most often.
- 2002 68.6% headlamp lens slightly defective
- 2003 68.2%registration plate lamp(s)…
- 2004 69.3% registration plate lamp(s)…
- 2005 69.5% registration plate lamp(s)…
- 2006 70.6% registration plate lamp(s)…
- 2007 70.5% registration plate lamp(s)…
- 2008 69.9% registration plate lamp(s)…
- 2009 70.6% registration plate lamp(s)…
- 2010 70.8% registration plate lamp(s)…
- 2011 72.2% registration plate lamp(s)…
- 2012 74.0% registration plate lamp(s)…
- 2013 75.9% registration plate lamp(s)…
- 2014 77.7% registration plate lamp(s)…
- 2015 80.0% registration plate lamp(s)…
- 2016 81.4% joints constant velocity boot…
- 2017 83.7% registration plate lamp(s)…
- 2018 86.8% registration plate lamp(s)…
- 2019 89.8% registration plate lamp(s)…
- 2020 92.5% has a cut in excess of the…
- 2021 93.3% has a cut in excess of the…
- 2022 94.0% brake pads less than 1.5 mm thick
- 2023 95.7% headlamp aim too high
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 2003 Citroen C3 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 2003 cars with a similar record
- Volkswagen Polo 68.3%
- Vauxhall Corsa 68.4%
- Ford Ka 68.0%
- Ford Galaxy 68.0%
- Renault Clio 68.7%
- Peugeot 307 68.7%
Closest pass rates among 2003 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 2003 Citroen C3 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 35,278 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 | 8,204 | 22.90% | 20.98% | +1.92 |
| Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | 7,779 | 21.80% | 12.21% | +9.59 |
| Brakes | 5,667 | 15.80% | 20.89% | −5.09 |
| Tyres | 4,399 | 12.30% | 19.76% | −7.46 |
| Body, chassis, structure | 2,651 | 7.40% | 5.57% | +1.83 |
| Noise, emissions and leaks | 2,616 | 7.30% | 5.52% | +1.78 |
| Visibility | 1,482 | 4.10% | 4.97% | −0.87 |
| Non-component advisories | 1,101 | 3.10% | 4.18% | −1.08 |
| Identification of the vehicle | 990 | 2.80% | 1.76% | +1.04 |
| Seat belts and supplementary restraint systems | 389 | 1.10% | 0.82% | +0.28 |
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 | 7.2% | £5–20 |
| Headlamp lens slightly defective Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | Minor | 6.5% | £5–25 |
| Component mounting prescribed areas prescribed area excessively corroded significantly reducing structural strength Suspension | Major | 6.3% | £180–450 |
| Coil spring fractured or broken Suspension | Major | 5.3% | £25–65 |
| Headlamp aim projected beam image is obviously incorrect Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | Major | 4.8% | £30–80 |
| Ball joint excessively worn Suspension | Major | 4.1% | £18–45 |
| Windscreen damaged but not adversely affecting driver's view Visibility | Minor | 3.0% | £80–200 |
| Wipers does not clear the windscreen effectively Visibility | Major | 2.8% | £8–22 |
| Position lamp not working Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | Major | 2.7% | £5–25 |
| Headlamp not working on dipped beam Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | Major | 2.5% | £5–25 |
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 | 18.6% | £45–95 |
| Engine oil leaks leaking excessively from engine Noise, emissions and leaks | Advisory | 17.1% | £200–700 |
| Has a tear, caused by separation or partial failure of its structure Tyres | Advisory | 15.0% | £45–95 |
| Brake discs in such a condition that it is seriously weakened Brakes | Advisory | 12.8% | £45–110 |
| Rigid brake pipes excessively corroded Brakes | Advisory | 11.0% | £80–180 |
| Coil spring corroded so that its cross sectional area is reduced and seriously weakened Suspension | Advisory | 10.6% | £25–65 |
Pass rate by mileage
| Mileage | Tests | Pass rate | Median odometer |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0-30k | 284 | 82.0% | 23,335 mi |
| 30-60k | 2,007 | 74.0% | 48,427 mi |
| 60-90k | 4,022 | 68.3% | 74,997 mi |
| 90-120k | 2,849 | 65.4% | 103,140 mi |
| 120k+ | 1,546 | 63.5% | 141,431 mi |
Source: 10,717 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.
2003 C3 MOT questions
What is the MOT pass rate for a 2003 Citroen C3?
68.2% of the 10,717 2003 Citroen C3 tests in this dataset passed, against a national average of 72.6% for cars first used in 2003. First-attempt pass rate: 57.3%.
What are the most common MOT failures on a 2003 Citroen C3?
The three most recorded items are registration plate lamp(s) inoperative in the case of multiple lamps or light sources (7.18%), headlamp lens slightly defective (6.54%), component mounting prescribed areas prescribed area excessively corroded significantly reducing structural strength (6.28%). Percentages are the share of tests on this vehicle that recorded the item.
Does mileage affect the 2003 Citroen C3 MOT pass rate?
Yes. Cars under 30,000 miles passed 82.0% of the time, falling to 63.5% for those over 120,000 miles. The median 2003 Citroen C3 in this dataset had covered 82,438 mi.
Which fuel type is most reliable for a 2003 Citroen C3?
Petrol: 68.3% pass rate across 8,902 tests. Diesel: 68.0% pass rate across 1,813 tests. Shares are of the tests on this vehicle that recorded each fuel type.
Does the season affect the 2003 Citroen C3 MOT pass rate?
Tests recorded in the winter months (October–March) passed 68.4% of the time; summer months (April–September) passed 68.0%. Brakes, tyres and lights are tested harder in bad weather, but the difference is small on most models.