Pass rate
73.7%
Below average — 1.3 pts ahead of the 72.4% that cars this age and mileage manage.
Across 433 recorded tests.
Typical repair bill £97–£260
2005 Daihatsu Copen MOT pass rate
- 2005
- typical 54,949 mi
Check your postcode
Most common fault
Suspension
23.0% of faults · 21.0% nationally
mostly worn arm bushes, split ball-joint boots and broken coil springs.
Which year to buy
- Best 2008 82.6% pass
- Avoid 2006 71.5% pass
Across the 7 years on record, a spread of 11.1 points. See every year →
- First-attempt pass
- 68.3%
- Typical mileage
- 55k mi
The 2005 Daihatsu Copen MOT pass rate is 73.7% of its MOT tests — 1.3 points ahead of what its age and mileage predict. Suspension is the biggest single reason it fails, at 23.0% of what testers record.
Expert verdict
Body & chassis: 2.3× the national share
Body & chassis accounts for 12.7% of everything recorded on the 2005 Daihatsu Copen, against 5.6% nationally — 7.1 points above. Suspension is still the single largest share at 23.0%, but at 21.0% nationally that one is ordinary. Look underneath for corrosion near the jacking points and suspension mounts; surface rust is normal, flaking metal is not.
- When it fails, it costs. Only 7% 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 Daihatsu Copen? Get an email when these numbers change .
How does the 2005 Daihatsu Copen compare?
Cars of this age and mileage average 72.4%, so this figure is 1.3 points ahead of what its age and mileage predict. On a first attempt, before any retests, the figure drops to 68.3%. The median 2005 Daihatsu Copen in this dataset had covered 54,949 mi.
Pass rates also shift with the test month: tests recorded October–March passed 73.6% of the time, April–September 73.7%.
The single most recorded failure item is "Component mounting prescribed areas prescribed area excessively corroded significantly reducing structural strength", noted on 9.24% of tests.
- 433 recorded tests behind this page.
- 73.7% overall pass rate, 68.3% on a first attempt.
- Across every year of the Daihatsu Copen, the average is 77.4% — best year 2008 (82.6%), worst 2006 (71.5%).
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
- 433
- Typical mileage (median)
- 54,949 mi
- Make and model
- Daihatsu Copen
- Updated
- 2026-11-07
Source: DVSA anonymised MOT test data (2023–2025), OGL v3.0.
Top part to budget for
Corrosion Welding Repair
Typically a garage job — get quotes before committing.
Does mileage affect the Copen MOT pass rate?
Pass rate by odometer reading. Bar lengths start at 42% so small gaps stay visible.
Where the Daihatsu Copen is most common
Across all Copen model years on record (2003–2009): 1,965 Daihatsu Copen cars tested in a recordable postcode area, across 4,548 tests. Birmingham (B) has the most, with 68 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) | 68 | 80.4% |
| 2 | Norwich (NR) | 43 | 72.0% |
| 3 | Leicester (LE) | 41 | 90.5% |
| 4 | Bristol (BS) | 40 | 66.7% |
| 5 | Sheffield (S) | 38 | 79.5% |
| 6 | Nottingham (NG) | 35 | 73.4% |
| 7 | Portsmouth (PO) | 34 | 76.8% |
| 8 | Peterborough (PE) | 34 | 78.5% |
| 9 | Ipswich (IP) | 33 | 80.2% |
| 10 | Derby (DE) | 33 | 80.3% |
| 11 | Gloucester (GL) | 32 | 66.7% |
| 12 | Exeter (EX) | 31 | 75.3% |
| 13 | Ashford (TN) | 30 | 75.3% |
| 14 | Coventry (CV) | 30 | 81.6% |
| 15 | Cambridge (CB) | 30 | 77.3% |
| 16 | Milton Keynes (MK) | 29 | 82.1% |
| 17 | Canterbury (CT) | 28 | 75.0% |
| 18 | London (NW) | 27 | 88.5% |
| 19 | Cardiff (CF) | 26 | 71.2% |
| 20 | Chelmsford (CM) | 26 | 73.7% |
The twenty areas with the most Daihatsu Copen 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 Copen
| Region | Tests | Pass rate |
|---|---|---|
| South East | 85 | 80.0% |
| South West | 68 | 69.1% |
| East of England | 55 | 81.8% |
| North West | 42 | 66.7% |
| West Midlands | 41 | 73.2% |
| Yorkshire | 37 | 73.0% |
| East Midlands | 35 | 74.3% |
| Wales | 31 | 54.8% |
| Scotland | 16 | 75.0% |
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 2005 Copen
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 2005 Copen
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 corrosion 9.2% 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 exhaust and emissions 3.2% of tests
“catalyst emissions Lambda reading after 2nd fast idle outside 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 suspension joints 3.0% of tests
“ball joint dust cover severely 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 2005 Copen through its MOT
Across the 10 items that are recorded most often on this model, the average repair comes to £97–£260 — and 7% of those repairs are parts that cost under £30.
- Average repair across the 10 common items
- £97–£260
- Cheapest common item: wipers does not clear the windscreen…
- £8–£22
- Dearest common item: component mounting prescribed areas…
- £180–£450
- Common items a careful owner can do at home
- 30%
- Repairs that still cost under £30
- 7%
Estimates from typical UK parts prices, weighted by how often each item appears in 433 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 Copen, side by side
7 model years on record, from 2003 to 2009. Across them the pass rate runs from 71.5% to 82.6% — a spread of 11.1 points. The bar under each year is the item that failed it most often.
- 2003 72.5% component mounting prescribed…
- 2004 73.9% component mounting prescribed…
- 2005 73.7%component mounting prescribed…
- 2006 71.5% component mounting prescribed…
- 2007 79.3% component mounting prescribed…
- 2008 82.6% component mounting prescribed…
- 2009 82.3% ball joint dust cover severely…
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 2005 Daihatsu Copen 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 2005 cars with a similar record
- Ford Fusion 73.7%
- Toyota Celica 73.7%
- Toyota YARIS 73.8%
- Mercedes-Benz Ml 73.8%
- Audi Tt 73.6%
- Saab 9-3 73.6%
Closest pass rates among 2005 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 2005 Daihatsu Copen 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 870 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 | 204 | 23.00% | 20.98% | +2.02 |
| Brakes | 181 | 20.40% | 20.89% | −0.49 |
| Body, chassis, structure | 113 | 12.70% | 5.57% | +7.13 |
| Tyres | 108 | 12.20% | 19.76% | −7.56 |
| Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | 97 | 10.90% | 12.21% | −1.31 |
| Noise, emissions and leaks | 82 | 9.20% | 5.52% | +3.68 |
| Visibility | 39 | 4.40% | 4.97% | −0.57 |
| Identification of the vehicle | 18 | 2.00% | 1.76% | +0.24 |
| Seat belts and supplementary restraint systems | 16 | 1.80% | 0.82% | +0.98 |
| Non-component advisories | 12 | 1.40% | 4.18% | −2.78 |
The exact failure items, in the tester's words
| Recorded item | Severity | Tests | Est. cost |
|---|---|---|---|
| Component mounting prescribed areas prescribed area excessively corroded significantly reducing structural strength Suspension | Major | 9.2% | £180–450 |
| Catalyst emissions Lambda reading after 2nd fast idle outside specified limits Noise, emissions and leaks | Major | 3.2% | £60–250 |
| Ball joint dust cover severely deteriorated Suspension | Minor | 3.0% | £18–45 |
| Coil spring fractured or broken Suspension | Major | 3.0% | £25–65 |
| Exhaust system has a major leak of exhaust gases Body, chassis, structure | Major | 2.8% | £45–120 |
| Integral vehicle structure condition corroded to the extent that the rigidity of the assembly is significantly reduced Body, chassis, structure | Major | 2.5% | £180–450 |
| Wipers does not clear the windscreen effectively Visibility | Major | 2.3% | £8–22 |
| Headlamp aim projected beam image is obviously incorrect Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | Major | 2.1% | £30–80 |
| Catalyst emissions carbon monoxide content after 2nd fast idle exceeds manufacturer's specified limits Noise, emissions and leaks | Major | 1.9% | £60–250 |
| Chassis condition or chassis has excessive corrosion, seriously affecting its strength within 30cm of a body mounting Body, chassis, structure | Major | 1.9% | £180–450 |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Has a tear, caused by separation or partial failure of its structure Tyres | Advisory | 14.8% | £45–95 |
| Rigid brake pipes excessively corroded Brakes | Advisory | 12.5% | £80–180 |
| Brake discs in such a condition that it is seriously weakened Brakes | Advisory | 10.8% | £45–110 |
| Tread depth below requirements of 1.6mm Tyres | Advisory | 6.2% | £45–95 |
| Engine oil leaks leaking excessively from engine Noise, emissions and leaks | Advisory | 6.0% | £200–700 |
| Component mounting prescribed areas prescribed area excessively corroded significantly reducing structural strength Suspension | Advisory | 5.8% | £180–450 |
Pass rate by mileage
| Mileage | Tests | Pass rate | Median odometer |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0-30k | 50 | 82.0% | 21,347 mi |
| 30-60k | 219 | 74.4% | 47,698 mi |
| 60-90k | 114 | 74.6% | 70,940 mi |
| 90-120k | 40 | 62.5% | 98,273 mi |
| 120k+ | 10 | 50.0% | 134,675 mi |
Source: 433 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.
2005 Copen MOT questions
What is the MOT pass rate for a 2005 Daihatsu Copen?
73.7% of the 433 2005 Daihatsu Copen tests in this dataset passed, against a national average of 72.4% for cars first used in 2005. First-attempt pass rate: 68.3%.
What are the most common MOT failures on a 2005 Daihatsu Copen?
The three most recorded items are component mounting prescribed areas prescribed area excessively corroded significantly reducing structural strength (9.24%), catalyst emissions lambda reading after 2nd fast idle outside specified limits (3.23%), ball joint dust cover severely deteriorated (3.00%). Percentages are the share of tests on this vehicle that recorded the item.
Does mileage affect the 2005 Daihatsu Copen MOT pass rate?
Yes. Cars under 30,000 miles passed 82.0% of the time, falling to 50.0% for those over 120,000 miles. The median 2005 Daihatsu Copen in this dataset had covered 54,949 mi.
Does the season affect the 2005 Daihatsu Copen MOT pass rate?
Tests recorded in the winter months (October–March) passed 73.6% of the time; summer months (April–September) passed 73.7%. Brakes, tyres and lights are tested harder in bad weather, but the difference is small on most models.