Pass rate
79.8%
Around average — 2.6 pts ahead of the 77.2% that cars this age and mileage manage.
Across 702 recorded tests.
Typical repair bill £28–£76
2012 MINI COOPER D London MOT pass rate
- 2012
- typical 86,546 mi
Check your postcode
Most common fault
Suspension
21.5% of faults · 21.0% nationally
mostly worn arm bushes, split ball-joint boots and broken coil springs.
Part only £40–£65 for Shock absorber leaking. What fitting it takes →
Which year to buy
- Best 2012 79.8% pass · this year
- Avoid 2012 79.8% pass · this year
Across the 1 years on record, a spread of 0 points. See every year →
- First-attempt pass
- 75.6%
- Typical mileage
- 87k mi
The 2012 MINI COOPER D London MOT pass rate is 79.8% of its MOT tests — 2.6 points ahead of what its age and mileage predict. Suspension is the biggest single reason it fails, at 21.5% of what testers record.
Expert verdict
Road wheels: 7.7× the national share
Road wheels make up 5.8% of everything recorded on the 2012 MINI Cooper D London, against 0.8% nationally — 5.0 points above. Suspension is still the single largest share at 21.5%, but at 21.0% nationally that one is ordinary. Check for buckled rims and missing wheel bolts; kerbing is the usual cause and it is visible.
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 MINI COOPER D London? Get an email when these numbers change .
How does the 2012 MINI COOPER D London compare?
Cars of this age and mileage average 77.2%, so this figure is 2.6 points ahead of what its age and mileage predict. On a first attempt, before any retests, the figure drops to 75.6%. The median 2012 MINI COOPER D London in this dataset had covered 86,546 mi.
The most common fuel recorded here is Diesel — 99% of tests, with a 79.8% pass rate. Pass rates also shift with the test month: tests recorded October–March passed 78.3% of the time, April–September 81.0%.
The single most recorded failure item is "Registration plate lamp(s) inoperative in the case of multiple lamps or light sources", noted on 6.55% of tests.
- 702 recorded tests behind this page.
- 79.8% overall pass rate, 75.6% on a first attempt.
- Across every year of the MINI COOPER D London, the average is 79.8% — best year 2012 (79.8%), worst 2012 (79.8%).
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
- 702
- Typical mileage (median)
- 86,546 mi
- Make and model
- MINI COOPER D London
- 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 COOPER D London MOT pass rate?
Pass rate by odometer reading. Bar lengths start at 66% so small gaps stay visible.
Fuel type and reliability
Pass rate by fuel type. Diesel is the most common here (99% of tests).
Regional pass rates for the COOPER D London
| Region | Tests | Pass rate |
|---|---|---|
| South East | 115 | 80.0% |
| South West | 92 | 76.1% |
| Yorkshire | 87 | 75.9% |
| East of England | 85 | 84.7% |
| East Midlands | 80 | 80.0% |
| West Midlands | 77 | 77.9% |
| North West | 53 | 84.9% |
| Scotland | 47 | 83.0% |
| Wales | 43 | 76.7% |
| North East | 23 | 82.6% |
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 2012 COOPER D London
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 2012 COOPER D London
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 6.5% 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 windscreen 4.7% of tests
“windscreen damaged”
Check the driver’s side of the screen within the swept area for chips and cracks; anything larger than 10mm in the driver’s central view is a fail. Most chips can be resin-repaired for far less than a new screen.
-
Check the shock absorbers 2.9% of tests
“shock absorbers has a serious fluid leak”
Press down hard on each corner of the car and let go. It should settle in one bounce; if it keeps rocking, or you can see oil weeping down a shock absorber, that is the fault a tester will find.
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 2012 COOPER D London through its MOT
Across the 10 items that are recorded most often on this model, the average repair comes to £28–£76 — and 54% of those repairs are parts that cost under £30.
- Average repair across the 10 common items
- £28–£76
- Cheapest common item: registration plate lamp(s) inoperative in the…
- £5–£20
- Dearest common item: windscreen damaged
- £80–£200
- Common items a careful owner can do at home
- 80%
- Repairs that still cost under £30
- 54%
Estimates from typical UK parts prices, weighted by how often each item appears in 702 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 2012 MINI COOPER D London 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 2012 cars with a similar record
- Volkswagen Cc 79.8%
- Nissan Pixo 79.8%
- Audi Q3 79.9%
- Volvo XC90 79.9%
- Skoda Fabia 79.6%
- Peugeot 107 80.1%
Closest pass rates among 2012 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 2012 MINI COOPER D London 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 1,185 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 | 257 | 21.50% | 20.98% | +0.52 |
| Tyres | 252 | 21.10% | 19.76% | +1.34 |
| Brakes | 241 | 20.10% | 20.89% | −0.79 |
| Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | 198 | 16.50% | 12.21% | +4.29 |
| Visibility | 83 | 6.90% | 4.97% | +1.93 |
| Road Wheels | 70 | 5.80% | 0.75% | +5.05 |
| Noise, emissions and leaks | 31 | 2.60% | 5.52% | −2.92 |
| Non-component advisories | 24 | 2.00% | 4.18% | −2.18 |
| Identification of the vehicle | 17 | 1.40% | 1.76% | −0.36 |
| Steering | 12 | 1.00% | 2.57% | −1.57 |
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 | 6.5% | £5–20 |
| Windscreen damaged but not adversely affecting driver's view Visibility | Minor | 4.7% | £80–200 |
| Position lamp not working Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | Major | 3.4% | £5–25 |
| Shock absorbers has a serious fluid leak Suspension | Major | 2.9% | £30–75 |
| Pins and bushes pin or bush excessively worn Suspension | Major | 2.7% | £40–150 |
| Position lamp not working Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | Rectified | 2.4% | £5–25 |
| Wipers does not clear the windscreen effectively Visibility | Major | 1.7% | £8–22 |
| Has ply or cords exposed Tyres | Major | 1.6% | £45–95 |
| Has a cut in excess of the requirements deep enough to reach the ply or cords Tyres | Major | 1.4% | £45–95 |
| Wipers blade defective Visibility | Minor | 1.4% | £8–22 |
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 | 16.8% | £45–95 |
| Brake discs in such a condition that it is seriously weakened Brakes | Advisory | 11.5% | £45–110 |
| Pins and bushes pin or bush excessively worn Suspension | Advisory | 9.7% | £40–150 |
| Badly distorted Road Wheels | Advisory | 9.0% | £20–55 |
| Brake pads less than 1.5 mm thick Brakes | Advisory | 7.4% | £18–45 |
| Has a tear, caused by separation or partial failure of its structure Tyres | Advisory | 7.3% | £45–95 |
Pass rate by mileage
| Mileage | Tests | Pass rate | Median odometer |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0-30k | 14 | 85.7% | 24,816 mi |
| 30-60k | 89 | 78.7% | 48,843 mi |
| 60-90k | 279 | 82.8% | 75,968 mi |
| 90-120k | 212 | 78.3% | 102,828 mi |
| 120k+ | 106 | 74.5% | 145,205 mi |
Source: 702 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.
2012 COOPER D London MOT questions
What is the MOT pass rate for a 2012 MINI COOPER D London?
79.8% of the 702 2012 MINI COOPER D London tests in this dataset passed, against a national average of 77.2% for cars first used in 2012. First-attempt pass rate: 75.6%.
What are the most common MOT failures on a 2012 MINI COOPER D London?
The three most recorded items are registration plate lamp(s) inoperative in the case of multiple lamps or light sources (6.55%), windscreen damaged but not adversely affecting driver's view (4.70%), position lamp not working (3.42%). Percentages are the share of tests on this vehicle that recorded the item.
Does mileage affect the 2012 MINI COOPER D London MOT pass rate?
Yes. Cars under 30,000 miles passed 85.7% of the time, falling to 74.5% for those over 120,000 miles. The median 2012 MINI COOPER D London in this dataset had covered 86,546 mi.
Which fuel type is most reliable for a 2012 MINI COOPER D London?
Diesel: 79.8% pass rate across 692 tests. Petrol: 80.0% pass rate across 10 tests. Shares are of the tests on this vehicle that recorded each fuel type.
Does the season affect the 2012 MINI COOPER D London MOT pass rate?
Tests recorded in the winter months (October–March) passed 78.3% of the time; summer months (April–September) passed 81.0%. Brakes, tyres and lights are tested harder in bad weather, but the difference is small on most models.