Pass rate
82.9%
Around average — 9.8 pts ahead of the 73.1% that cars this age and mileage manage.
Across 76 recorded tests.
Typical repair bill £34–£110
2008 MINI John COOPER Works MOT pass rate
- 2008
- typical 92,741 mi
Only 76 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
Lamps & electrics
22.6% of faults · 12.2% nationally
Part only £6–£18 for Registration plate lamp inoperative (multiple lamps). What fitting it takes →
Which year to buy
- Best 2023 97.1% pass
- Avoid 2009 81.3% pass
Across the 16 years on record, a spread of 15.8 points. See every year →
- First-attempt pass
- 79.4%
- Typical mileage
- 93k mi
The 2008 MINI John COOPER Works MOT pass rate is 82.9% of its MOT tests — 9.8 points ahead of what its age and mileage predict. Lamps & electrics is the biggest single reason it fails, at 22.6% of what testers record.
Check your postcode
MOT pass rates are national — type your postcode to see how MINI John COOPER Works does in your corner of the country.
Expert verdict
Emissions & leaks: 3.0× the national share
Emissions & leaks make up 16.8% of everything recorded on the 2008 MINI John Cooper Works, against 5.5% nationally — 11.3 points above. Lamps & electrics are still the single largest share at 22.6%, but at 12.2% nationally that one is ordinary. A smoky diesel or a leaking joint fails on emissions more often than on wear, so ask for a recent emissions printout.
- 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 73.1% and this one manages 82.9% — 9.8 points ahead of what its age and mileage predict.
- Based on a small sample. 76 tests back this page. That is enough to publish and to index, not enough to treat the decimal places as precise — read the pattern, not the second digit.
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 John COOPER Works? Get an email when these numbers change .
How does the 2008 MINI John COOPER Works compare?
Cars of this age and mileage average 73.1%, so this figure is 9.8 points ahead of what its age and mileage predict. On a first attempt, before any retests, the figure drops to 79.4%. The median 2008 MINI John COOPER Works in this dataset had covered 92,741 mi.
Pass rates also shift with the test month: tests recorded October–March passed 83.8% of the time, April–September 82.1%.
The single most recorded failure item is "Joints constant velocity boot severely deteriorated", noted on 7.89% of tests.
- 76 recorded tests behind this page.
- 82.9% overall pass rate, 79.4% on a first attempt.
- Across every year of the MINI John COOPER Works, the average is 89.5% — best year 2023 (97.1%), worst 2009 (81.3%).
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
- 76
- Typical mileage (median)
- 92,741 mi
- Make and model
- MINI John COOPER Works
- Updated
- 2026-11-05
Source: DVSA anonymised MOT test data (2023–2025), OGL v3.0.
Top part to budget for
Body Panel Repair
Typically a garage job — get quotes before committing.
Does mileage affect the John COOPER Works MOT pass rate?
Pass rate by odometer reading. Bar lengths start at 67% so small gaps stay visible.
Regional pass rates for the John COOPER Works
| Region | Tests | Pass rate |
|---|---|---|
| South East | 23 | 78.3% |
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 2008 John COOPER Works
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 2008 John COOPER Works
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 6.6% of tests
“position lamp with a multiple light source up to 1/2 not functioning”
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 exhaust and emissions 2.6% 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 brakes 1.3% of tests
“brake discs significantly and obviously worn”
Look through the spokes of each wheel at the pad — less than 3mm of friction material, or a lip on the disc edge, is the usual failure. Check the handbrake holds on a slope with a few clicks, not at the top of its travel.
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 2008 John COOPER Works through its MOT
Across the 10 items that are recorded most often on this model, the average repair comes to £34–£110 — and 50% of those repairs are parts that cost under £30.
- Average repair across the 10 common items
- £34–£110
- Cheapest common item: stop lamp with a multiple light source up to…
- £3–£12
- Dearest common item: joints constant velocity boot severely…
- £80–£250
- Common items a careful owner can do at home
- 70%
- Repairs that still cost under £30
- 50%
Estimates from typical UK parts prices, weighted by how often each item appears in 76 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 John COOPER Works, side by side
16 model years on record, from 2008 to 2023. Across them the pass rate runs from 81.3% to 97.1% — a spread of 15.8 points. The bar under each year is the item that failed it most often.
- 2008 82.9%joints constant velocity boot…
- 2009 81.3% registration plate lamp(s)…
- 2010 82.6% windscreen damaged but not…
- 2011 85.3% position lamp not working
- 2012 85.6% windscreen damaged but not…
- 2013 85.1% registration plate lamp(s)…
- 2014 85.9% windscreen damaged but not…
- 2015 87.1% windscreen damaged but not…
- 2016 87.5% windscreen damaged but not…
- 2017 88.1% windscreen damaged but not…
- 2018 88.9% windscreen damaged but not…
- 2019 91.7% windscreen damaged but not…
- 2020 92.1% windscreen damaged but not…
- 2021 92.7% windscreen damaged but not…
- 2022 92.9% has a bulge, caused by separation…
- 2023 97.1% has a bulge, caused by separation…
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 2008 MINI John COOPER Works 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 2008 cars with a similar record
- Lexus IS250 83.3%
- Lexus RX400H 82.4%
- BMW 530 82.4%
- Porsche Cayenne 83.4%
- Toyota Alphard 83.8%
- Jaguar Xk 82.0%
Closest pass rates among 2008 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 2008 MINI John COOPER Works 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 154 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | 35 | 22.60% | 12.21% | +10.39 |
| Suspension | 32 | 20.60% | 20.98% | −0.38 |
| Brakes | 29 | 18.70% | 20.89% | −2.19 |
| Noise, emissions and leaks | 26 | 16.80% | 5.52% | +11.28 |
| Tyres | 11 | 7.10% | 19.76% | −12.66 |
| Body, chassis, structure | 9 | 5.80% | 5.57% | +0.23 |
| Visibility | 5 | 3.20% | 4.97% | −1.77 |
| Non-component advisories | 4 | 2.60% | 4.18% | −1.58 |
| Road Wheels | 2 | 1.30% | 0.75% | +0.55 |
| Steering | 1 | 0.60% | 2.57% | −1.97 |
The exact failure items, in the tester's words
| Recorded item | Severity | Tests | Est. cost |
|---|---|---|---|
| Joints constant velocity boot severely deteriorated Body, chassis, structure | Minor | 7.9% | £80–250 |
| Position lamp with a multiple light source up to 1/2 not functioning Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | Minor | 6.6% | £5–25 |
| Position lamp not working Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | Major | 4.0% | £5–25 |
| Stop lamp with a multiple light source up to 1/2 not functioning Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | Minor | 4.0% | £3–12 |
| Catalyst emissions Lambda reading after 2nd fast idle outside specified limits Noise, emissions and leaks | Major | 2.6% | £60–250 |
| Has a cut in excess of the requirements deep enough to reach the ply or cords Tyres | Major | 2.6% | £45–95 |
| Registration plate lamp(s) inoperative in the case of multiple lamps or light sources Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | Minor | 2.6% | £5–20 |
| Brake discs significantly and obviously worn Brakes | Major | 1.3% | £45–110 |
| Brake pads less than 1.5 mm thick Brakes | Major | 1.3% | £18–45 |
| Catalyst emissions carbon monoxide content after 2nd fast idle exceeds default limits Noise, emissions and leaks | Major | 1.3% | £60–250 |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Engine oil leaks leaking excessively from engine Noise, emissions and leaks | Advisory | 26.3% | £200–700 |
| Sub-frame corroded and seriously weakened Suspension | Advisory | 15.8% | £180–450 |
| Brake discs in such a condition that it is seriously weakened Brakes | Advisory | 13.2% | £45–110 |
| Coil spring corroded so that its cross sectional area is reduced and seriously weakened Suspension | Advisory | 7.9% | £25–65 |
| Headlamp has a product on the lens so that the light output is severely reduced Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | Advisory | 7.9% | £5–25 |
| Pins and bushes pin or bush excessively worn Suspension | Advisory | 6.6% | £40–150 |
Pass rate by mileage
| Mileage | Tests | Pass rate | Median odometer |
|---|---|---|---|
| 30-60k | 14 | 85.7% | 47,100 mi |
| 60-90k | 19 | 94.7% | 71,704 mi |
| 90-120k | 35 | 77.1% | 102,029 mi |
| 120k+ | 8 | 75.0% | 143,777 mi |
Source: 76 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.
2008 John COOPER Works MOT questions
What is the MOT pass rate for a 2008 MINI John COOPER Works?
82.9% of the 76 2008 MINI John COOPER Works tests in this dataset passed, against a national average of 73.1% for cars first used in 2008. First-attempt pass rate: 79.4%.
What are the most common MOT failures on a 2008 MINI John COOPER Works?
The three most recorded items are joints constant velocity boot severely deteriorated (7.89%), position lamp with a multiple light source up to 1/2 not functioning (6.58%), position lamp not working (3.95%). Percentages are the share of tests on this vehicle that recorded the item.
Does mileage affect the 2008 MINI John COOPER Works MOT pass rate?
Yes. Cars under 30,000 miles passed 85.7% of the time, falling to 75.0% for those over 120,000 miles. The median 2008 MINI John COOPER Works in this dataset had covered 92,741 mi.
Does the season affect the 2008 MINI John COOPER Works MOT pass rate?
Tests recorded in the winter months (October–March) passed 83.8% of the time; summer months (April–September) passed 82.1%. Brakes, tyres and lights are tested harder in bad weather, but the difference is small on most models.