Pass rate
80.3%
Around average — 7.7 pts ahead of the 72.6% that cars this age and mileage manage.
Across 61 recorded tests.
Typical repair bill £51–£155
2003 MG Mgf MOT pass rate
- 2003
- typical 51,745 mi
Only 61 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
31.5% of faults · 20.9% nationally
mostly worn pads and discs, corroded pipes and a handbrake that will not hold.
Which year to buy
- Best 2003 80.3% pass · this year
- Avoid 2000 75.0% pass
Across the 4 years on record, a spread of 5.3 points. See every year →
- First-attempt pass
- 75.5%
- Typical mileage
- 52k mi
The 2003 MG Mgf MOT pass rate is 80.3% of its MOT tests — 7.7 points ahead of what its age and mileage predict. Brakes is the biggest single reason it fails, at 31.5% of what testers record.
Check your postcode
MOT pass rates are national — type your postcode to see how MG Mgf does in your corner of the country.
Expert verdict
Brakes: 1.5× the national share
Brakes make up 31.5% of everything recorded on the 2003 MG Mgf, against 20.9% nationally — 10.6 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 72.6% and this one manages 80.3% — 7.7 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 MG Mgf? Get an email when these numbers change .
How does the 2003 MG Mgf compare?
Cars of this age and mileage average 72.6%, so this figure is 7.7 points ahead of what its age and mileage predict. On a first attempt, before any retests, the figure drops to 75.5%. The median 2003 MG Mgf in this dataset had covered 51,745 mi.
The single most recorded failure item is "Catalyst emissions Lambda reading after 2nd fast idle outside specified limits", noted on 3.28% of tests.
- 61 recorded tests behind this page.
- 80.3% overall pass rate, 75.5% on a first attempt.
- Across every year of the MG Mgf, the average is 76.1% — best year 2003 (80.3%), worst 2000 (75.0%).
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
- 61
- Typical mileage (median)
- 51,745 mi
- Make and model
- MG Mgf
- Updated
- 2026-11-05
Source: DVSA anonymised MOT test data (2023–2025), OGL v3.0.
Top part to budget for
Emissions Repair
Typically a garage job — get quotes before committing.
Does mileage affect the Mgf MOT pass rate?
Pass rate by odometer reading. Bar lengths start at 62% so small gaps stay visible.
Regional pass rates for the Mgf
| Region | Tests | Pass rate |
|---|---|---|
| South East | 17 | 70.6% |
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 Mgf
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 Mgf
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 exhaust and emissions 3.3% 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 corrosion 3.3% 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 lights 3.3% of tests
“headlamp not working on dipped beam”
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 2003 Mgf through its MOT
Across the 10 items that are recorded most often on this model, the average repair comes to £51–£155 — and 27% of those repairs are parts that cost under £30.
- Average repair across the 10 common items
- £51–£155
- Cheapest common item: srs malfunction indicator lamp warning lamp…
- £3–£12
- Dearest common item: component mounting prescribed areas…
- £180–£450
- Common items a careful owner can do at home
- 50%
- Repairs that still cost under £30
- 27%
Estimates from typical UK parts prices, weighted by how often each item appears in 61 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 Mgf, side by side
4 model years on record, from 2000 to 2003. Across them the pass rate runs from 75.0% to 80.3% — a spread of 5.3 points. The bar under each year is the item that failed it most often.
- 2000 75.0% rbt (sp) efficiency below…
- 2001 76.8% rbt (sp) efficiency below…
- 2002 75.3% rbt (sp) efficiency below…
- 2003 80.3%catalyst emissions lambda reading…
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 MG Mgf 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
- Porsche Boxster 80.4%
- Subaru Impreza 80.0%
- Mercedes-Benz S-Class 81.7%
- Jaguar Xj 78.8%
- Mercedes-Benz Slk 78.3%
- Lexus IS200 78.0%
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 MG Mgf 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 111 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 | 35 | 31.50% | 20.89% | +10.61 |
| Suspension | 21 | 18.90% | 20.98% | −2.08 |
| Noise, emissions and leaks | 14 | 12.60% | 5.52% | +7.08 |
| Tyres | 12 | 10.80% | 19.76% | −8.96 |
| Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | 11 | 9.90% | 12.21% | −2.31 |
| Steering | 7 | 6.30% | 2.57% | +3.73 |
| Body, chassis, structure | 5 | 4.50% | 5.57% | −1.07 |
| Seat belts and supplementary restraint systems | 3 | 2.70% | 0.82% | +1.88 |
| Non-component advisories | 2 | 1.80% | 4.18% | −2.38 |
| Visibility | 1 | 0.90% | 4.97% | −4.07 |
The exact failure items, in the tester's words
| Recorded item | Severity | Tests | Est. cost |
|---|---|---|---|
| Catalyst emissions Lambda reading after 2nd fast idle outside specified limits Noise, emissions and leaks | Major | 3.3% | £60–250 |
| Component mounting prescribed areas prescribed area excessively corroded significantly reducing structural strength Suspension | Major | 3.3% | £180–450 |
| Headlamp not working on dipped beam Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | Major | 3.3% | £5–25 |
| Srs malfunction indicator lamp warning lamp indicates a fault Seat belts and supplementary restraint systems | Major | 3.3% | £3–12 |
| Track rod end ball joint dust cover excessively damaged or deteriorated so that it no longer prevents the ingress of… Steering | Major | 3.3% | £18–45 |
| Ball joint excessively worn Suspension | Major | 1.6% | £18–45 |
| Catalyst emissions carbon monoxide content after 2nd fast idle exceeds default limits Noise, emissions and leaks | Major | 1.6% | £60–250 |
| Catalyst emissions hydrocarbon content after 2nd fast idle exceeds default limits Noise, emissions and leaks | Major | 1.6% | £60–250 |
| Exhaust system has a major leak of exhaust gases Body, chassis, structure | Major | 1.6% | £45–120 |
| Has ply or cords exposed Tyres | Major | 1.6% | £45–95 |
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 | 13.1% | £80–180 |
| Flexible brake hoses ferrule excessively corroded Brakes | Advisory | 9.8% | £25–70 |
| Sub-frame corroded and seriously weakened Suspension | Advisory | 9.8% | £180–450 |
| Brake discs in such a condition that it is seriously weakened Brakes | Advisory | 8.2% | £45–110 |
| Engine oil leaks leaking excessively from engine Noise, emissions and leaks | Advisory | 8.2% | £200–700 |
Pass rate by mileage
| Mileage | Tests | Pass rate | Median odometer |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0-30k | 10 | 100.0% | 21,204 mi |
| 30-60k | 35 | 77.1% | 47,923 mi |
| 60-90k | 10 | 70.0% | 69,634 mi |
| 90-120k | 6 | 83.3% | 101,998 mi |
Source: 61 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 Mgf MOT questions
What is the MOT pass rate for a 2003 MG Mgf?
80.3% of the 61 2003 MG Mgf tests in this dataset passed, against a national average of 72.6% for cars first used in 2003. First-attempt pass rate: 75.5%.
What are the most common MOT failures on a 2003 MG Mgf?
The three most recorded items are catalyst emissions lambda reading after 2nd fast idle outside specified limits (3.28%), component mounting prescribed areas prescribed area excessively corroded significantly reducing structural strength (3.28%), headlamp not working on dipped beam (3.28%). Percentages are the share of tests on this vehicle that recorded the item.
Does mileage affect the 2003 MG Mgf MOT pass rate?
Yes. Cars under 30,000 miles passed 100.0% of the time, falling to 83.3% for those over 120,000 miles. The median 2003 MG Mgf in this dataset had covered 51,745 mi.