Pass rate
88.5%
Above average — 16.1 pts ahead of the 72.4% that cars this age and mileage manage.
Across 52 recorded tests.
Typical repair bill £23–£58
2005 Lincoln Town Car MOT pass rate
- 2005
- typical 147,934 mi
Only 52 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.
Check your postcode
Most common fault
Suspension
28.1% of faults · 21.0% nationally
mostly worn arm bushes, split ball-joint boots and broken coil springs.
Which year to buy
- Best 2005 88.5% pass · this year
- Avoid 2005 88.5% pass · this year
Across the 1 years on record, a spread of 0 points. See every year →
- First-attempt pass
- 87.5%
- Typical mileage
- 148k mi
The 2005 Lincoln Town Car MOT pass rate is 88.5% of its MOT tests — 16.1 points ahead of what its age and mileage predict. Suspension is the biggest single reason it fails, at 28.1% of what testers record.
Expert verdict
Body & chassis: 2.5× the national share
Body & chassis accounts for 14.1% of everything recorded on the 2005 Lincoln Town Car, against 5.6% nationally — 8.5 points above. Suspension is still the single largest share at 28.1%, 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.
- 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 72.4% and this one manages 88.5% — 16.1 points ahead of what its age and mileage predict.
- When it fails, it costs. Only 33% 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 Lincoln Town Car? Get an email when these numbers change .
How does the 2005 Lincoln Town Car compare?
Cars of this age and mileage average 72.4%, so this figure is 16.1 points ahead of what its age and mileage predict. On a first attempt, before any retests, the figure drops to 87.5%. The median 2005 Lincoln Town Car in this dataset had covered 147,934 mi.
The single most recorded failure item is "Rbt (sp) efficiency below requirements", noted on 5.77% of tests.
- 52 recorded tests behind this page.
- 88.5% overall pass rate, 87.5% on a first attempt.
- Across every year of the Lincoln Town Car, the average is 88.5% — best year 2005 (88.5%), worst 2005 (88.5%).
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
- 52
- Typical mileage (median)
- 147,934 mi
- Make and model
- Lincoln Town Car
- Updated
- 2026-11-07
Source: DVSA anonymised MOT test data (2023–2025), OGL v3.0.
Top part to budget for
Brake Discs and Pads Set
Usually a DIY or independent-garage job.
Does mileage affect the Town Car MOT pass rate?
Pass rate by odometer reading. Bar lengths start at 75% so small gaps stay visible.
What fails a 2005 Town Car
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 Town Car
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 suspension joints 3.9% of tests
“ball joint dust cover no longer prevents the ingress of dirt”
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 the wipers and washers 3.9% of tests
“washers not working”
Run the wipers with the screen wet: they should clear it in one sweep without smearing or juddering. Top the washer bottle up and check both jets hit the screen.
-
Check the lights 1.9% of tests
“all direction indicators flashing more than 120 times a minute”
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.
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 Town Car through its MOT
Across the 10 items that are recorded most often on this model, the average repair comes to £23–£58 — and 33% of those repairs are parts that cost under £30.
- Average repair across the 10 common items
- £23–£58
- Cheapest common item: all direction indicators flashing more than…
- £3–£12
- Dearest common item: battery(ies) insecure
- £60–£140
- Common items a careful owner can do at home
- 100%
- Repairs that still cost under £30
- 33%
Estimates from typical UK parts prices, weighted by how often each item appears in 52 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 →
Compare the 2005 Lincoln Town Car 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
- Porsche 911 88.6%
- BMW M3 88.1%
- Honda S2000 87.1%
- Bentley Continental 90.2%
- Mercedes-Benz Sl 86.1%
- Aston Martin DB9 91.3%
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 Lincoln Town Car 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 64 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 | 18 | 28.10% | 20.98% | +7.12 |
| Brakes | 11 | 17.20% | 20.89% | −3.69 |
| Body, chassis, structure | 9 | 14.10% | 5.57% | +8.53 |
| Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | 7 | 10.90% | 12.21% | −1.31 |
| Tyres | 6 | 9.40% | 19.76% | −10.36 |
| Non-component advisories | 5 | 7.80% | 4.18% | +3.62 |
| Visibility | 3 | 4.70% | 4.97% | −0.27 |
| Noise, emissions and leaks | 2 | 3.10% | 5.52% | −2.42 |
| Steering | 2 | 3.10% | 2.57% | +0.53 |
| Identification of the vehicle | 1 | 1.60% | 1.76% | −0.16 |
The exact failure items, in the tester's words
| Recorded item | Severity | Tests | Est. cost |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rbt (sp) efficiency below requirements Brakes | Major | 5.8% | £45–110 |
| Ball joint dust cover no longer prevents the ingress of dirt Suspension | Major | 3.9% | £18–45 |
| Linkage ball joints ball joint excessively worn Suspension | Major | 3.9% | £18–45 |
| Washers not working Visibility | Major | 3.9% | £5–15 |
| All direction indicators flashing more than 120 times a minute Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | Minor | 1.9% | £3–12 |
| Battery(ies) insecure and likely to fall from carrier Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | Major | 1.9% | £60–140 |
| Brake fluid contaminated Brakes | Major | 1.9% | £45–110 |
| Brake pads contaminated Brakes | Major | 1.9% | £18–45 |
| Individual direction indicators incorrect colour Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | Major | 1.9% | £3–12 |
| Individual direction indicators not working Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | Rectified | 1.9% | £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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Chassis condition corroded to the extent that the rigidity of the assembly is significantly reduced Body, chassis, structure | Advisory | 9.6% | £180–450 |
| Has a tear, caused by separation or partial failure of its structure Tyres | Advisory | 7.7% | £45–95 |
| Rigid brake pipes excessively corroded Brakes | Advisory | 7.7% | £80–180 |
| Non-component advisories Play in steering rack inner joint(s) Non-component advisories | Advisory | 5.8% | £120–300 |
| Other suspension component corroded and seriously weakened Suspension | Advisory | 5.8% | £180–450 |
| Ball joint excessively worn Suspension | Advisory | 3.9% | £18–45 |
Pass rate by mileage
| Mileage | Tests | Pass rate | Median odometer |
|---|---|---|---|
| 60-90k | 6 | 83.3% | 68,953 mi |
| 90-120k | 6 | 83.3% | 99,480 mi |
| 120k+ | 40 | 90.0% | 176,773 mi |
Source: 52 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 Town Car MOT questions
What is the MOT pass rate for a 2005 Lincoln Town Car?
88.5% of the 52 2005 Lincoln Town Car tests in this dataset passed, against a national average of 72.4% for cars first used in 2005. First-attempt pass rate: 87.5%.
What are the most common MOT failures on a 2005 Lincoln Town Car?
The three most recorded items are rbt (sp) efficiency below requirements (5.77%), ball joint dust cover no longer prevents the ingress of dirt (3.85%), linkage ball joints ball joint excessively worn (3.85%). Percentages are the share of tests on this vehicle that recorded the item.
Does mileage affect the 2005 Lincoln Town Car MOT pass rate?
Yes. Cars under 30,000 miles passed 83.3% of the time, falling to 90.0% for those over 120,000 miles. The median 2005 Lincoln Town Car in this dataset had covered 147,934 mi.