Pass rate
77.3%
Around average — 4.8 pts ahead of the 72.5% that cars this age and mileage manage.
Across 88 recorded tests.
Typical repair bill £45–£121
2006 Ford Dorchester MOT pass rate
- 2006
- typical 89,414 mi
Only 88 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
Brakes
29.6% of faults · 20.9% nationally
mostly worn pads and discs, corroded pipes and a handbrake that will not hold.
Which year to buy
- Best 2014 83.2% pass
- Avoid 2008 72.6% pass
Across the 8 years on record, a spread of 10.6 points. See every year →
- First-attempt pass
- 73.7%
- Typical mileage
- 89k mi
The 2006 Ford Dorchester MOT pass rate is 77.3% of its MOT tests — 4.8 points ahead of what its age and mileage predict. Brakes is the biggest single reason it fails, at 29.6% of what testers record.
Check your postcode
MOT pass rates are national — type your postcode to see how Ford Dorchester does in your corner of the country.
Expert verdict
Brakes: 1.4× the national share
Brakes make up 29.6% of everything recorded on the 2006 Ford Dorchester, against 20.9% nationally — 8.7 points above. Have the discs and pads measured rather than glanced at, and ask whether the handbrake holds on a slope.
- 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 72.5% and this one manages 77.3% — 4.8 points ahead of what its age and mileage predict.
- When it fails, it costs. Only 27% 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 Ford Dorchester? Get an email when these numbers change .
How does the 2006 Ford Dorchester compare?
Cars of this age and mileage average 72.5%, so this figure is 4.8 points ahead of what its age and mileage predict. On a first attempt, before any retests, the figure drops to 73.7%. The median 2006 Ford Dorchester in this dataset had covered 89,414 mi.
The single most recorded failure item is "Registration plate lamp(s) inoperative in the case of multiple lamps or light sources", noted on 5.68% of tests.
- 88 recorded tests behind this page.
- 77.3% overall pass rate, 73.7% on a first attempt.
- Across every year of the Ford Dorchester, the average is 77.0% — best year 2014 (83.2%), worst 2008 (72.6%).
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
- 88
- Typical mileage (median)
- 89,414 mi
- Make and model
- Ford Dorchester
- 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 Dorchester MOT pass rate?
Pass rate by odometer reading. Bar lengths start at 54% so small gaps stay visible.
What fails a 2006 Dorchester
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 2006 Dorchester
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 5.7% 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 suspension joints 3.4% 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.
-
Check corrosion 3.4% 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.
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 2006 Dorchester through its MOT
Across the 10 items that are recorded most often on this model, the average repair comes to £45–£121 — and 27% of those repairs are parts that cost under £30.
- Average repair across the 10 common items
- £45–£121
- 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
- 60%
- Repairs that still cost under £30
- 27%
Estimates from typical UK parts prices, weighted by how often each item appears in 88 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 Dorchester, side by side
8 model years on record, from 2005 to 2014. Across them the pass rate runs from 72.6% to 83.2% — a spread of 10.6 points. The bar under each year is the item that failed it most often.
- 2005 75.9% component mounting prescribed…
- 2006 77.3%registration plate lamp(s)…
- 2007 74.8% registration plate lamp(s)…
- 2008 72.6% component mounting prescribed…
- 2009 76.8% registration plate lamp(s)…
- 2010 77.5% rear fog lamp not working
- 2011 77.3% headlamp not working on dipped…
- 2014 83.2% shock absorbers has a serious…
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 2006 Ford Dorchester 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 2006 cars with a similar record
- BMW 1 Series 77.3%
- Mitsubishi Lancer 77.2%
- Toyota Hiace 77.2%
- Land Rover Range Rover 77.4%
- BMW 5 Series 77.0%
- BMW 120 76.9%
Closest pass rates among 2006 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 2006 Ford Dorchester 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 255 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Brakes | 76 | 29.60% | 20.89% | +8.71 |
| Suspension | 60 | 23.30% | 20.98% | +2.32 |
| Tyres | 38 | 14.80% | 19.76% | −4.96 |
| Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | 33 | 12.80% | 12.21% | +0.59 |
| Body, chassis, structure | 22 | 8.60% | 5.57% | +3.03 |
| Noise, emissions and leaks | 13 | 5.10% | 5.52% | −0.42 |
| Seat belts and supplementary restraint systems | 5 | 1.90% | 0.82% | +1.08 |
| Visibility | 4 | 1.60% | 4.97% | −3.37 |
| Non-component advisories | 3 | 1.20% | 4.18% | −2.98 |
| Steering | 1 | 0.40% | 2.57% | −2.17 |
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 | 5.7% | £5–20 |
| Ball joint dust cover severely deteriorated Suspension | Minor | 3.4% | £18–45 |
| Component mounting prescribed areas prescribed area excessively corroded significantly reducing structural strength Suspension | Major | 3.4% | £180–450 |
| Prop shaft bearing excessively worn Body, chassis, structure | Major | 3.4% | £80–250 |
| Ball joint excessively worn Suspension | Major | 2.3% | £18–45 |
| Coil spring fractured or broken Suspension | Major | 2.3% | £25–65 |
| Headlamp aim projected beam image is obviously incorrect Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | Major | 2.3% | £30–80 |
| Headlamp aim too high Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | Major | 2.3% | £30–80 |
| Headlamp not working on dipped beam Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | Rectified | 2.3% | £5–25 |
| Lever has excessive movement indicating incorrect adjustment Brakes | Major | 2.3% | £45–110 |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rigid brake pipes excessively corroded Brakes | Advisory | 29.6% | £80–180 |
| Brake discs in such a condition that it is seriously weakened Brakes | Advisory | 23.9% | £45–110 |
| Tread depth below requirements of 1.6mm Tyres | Advisory | 20.4% | £45–95 |
| Has a tear, caused by separation or partial failure of its structure Tyres | Advisory | 14.8% | £45–95 |
| Ball joint excessively worn Suspension | Advisory | 13.6% | £18–45 |
| Individual direction indicators incorrect colour Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | Advisory | 12.5% | £3–12 |
Pass rate by mileage
| Mileage | Tests | Pass rate | Median odometer |
|---|---|---|---|
| 30-60k | 16 | 81.3% | 52,505 mi |
| 60-90k | 28 | 78.6% | 76,513 mi |
| 90-120k | 36 | 77.8% | 100,484 mi |
| 120k+ | 8 | 62.5% | 133,323 mi |
Source: 88 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.
2006 Dorchester MOT questions
What is the MOT pass rate for a 2006 Ford Dorchester?
77.3% of the 88 2006 Ford Dorchester tests in this dataset passed, against a national average of 72.5% for cars first used in 2006. First-attempt pass rate: 73.7%.
What are the most common MOT failures on a 2006 Ford Dorchester?
The three most recorded items are registration plate lamp(s) inoperative in the case of multiple lamps or light sources (5.68%), ball joint dust cover severely deteriorated (3.41%), component mounting prescribed areas prescribed area excessively corroded significantly reducing structural strength (3.41%). Percentages are the share of tests on this vehicle that recorded the item.
Does mileage affect the 2006 Ford Dorchester MOT pass rate?
Yes. Cars under 30,000 miles passed 81.3% of the time, falling to 62.5% for those over 120,000 miles. The median 2006 Ford Dorchester in this dataset had covered 89,414 mi.