Pass rate
92.8%
Above average — 19.7 pts ahead of the 73.1% that cars this age and mileage manage.
Across 111 recorded tests.
Typical repair bill £29–£90
2008 Morgan Roadster MOT pass rate
- 2008
- typical 24,538 mi
Check your postcode
Most common fault
Lamps & electrics
19.2% of faults · 12.2% nationally
Which year to buy
- Best 2013 97.8% pass
- Avoid 2015 87.4% pass
Across the 16 years on record, a spread of 10.4 points. See every year →
- First-attempt pass
- 92.2%
- Typical mileage
- 25k mi
The 2008 Morgan Roadster MOT pass rate is 92.8% of its MOT tests — 19.7 points ahead of what its age and mileage predict. Lamps & electrics is the biggest single reason it fails, at 19.2% of what testers record.
Expert verdict
Steering: 4.5× the national share
Steering accounts for 11.5% of everything recorded on the 2008 Morgan Roadster, against 2.6% nationally — 8.9 points above. Lamps & electrics are still the single largest share at 19.2%, but at 12.2% nationally that one is ordinary. Ask for the steering to be checked for play with the wheels on the ground, not on a jack.
- 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 92.8% — 19.7 points ahead of what its age and mileage predict.
- When it fails, it costs. Only 35% 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 Morgan Roadster? Get an email when these numbers change .
How does the 2008 Morgan Roadster compare?
Cars of this age and mileage average 73.1%, so this figure is 19.7 points ahead of what its age and mileage predict. On a first attempt, before any retests, the figure drops to 92.2%. The median 2008 Morgan Roadster in this dataset had covered 24,538 mi.
Pass rates also shift with the test month: tests recorded October–March passed 94.4% of the time, April–September 92.0%.
The single most recorded failure item is "Headlamp aim too high", noted on 2.70% of tests.
- 111 recorded tests behind this page.
- 92.8% overall pass rate, 92.2% on a first attempt.
- Across every year of the Morgan Roadster, the average is 92.2% — best year 2013 (97.8%), worst 2015 (87.4%).
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
- 111
- Typical mileage (median)
- 24,538 mi
- Make and model
- Morgan Roadster
- Updated
- 2026-11-07
Source: DVSA anonymised MOT test data (2023–2025), OGL v3.0.
Top part to budget for
Headlight Alignment
Typically a garage job — get quotes before committing.
Does mileage affect the Roadster MOT pass rate?
Pass rate by odometer reading. Bar lengths start at 78% so small gaps stay visible.
Regional pass rates for the Roadster
| Region | Tests | Pass rate |
|---|---|---|
| South East | 34 | 88.2% |
| South West | 18 | 83.3% |
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 Roadster
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 Roadster
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 2.7% of tests
“headlamp aim too high”
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 1.8% 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 wipers and washers 1.8% 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.
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 Roadster through its MOT
Across the 10 items that are recorded most often on this model, the average repair comes to £29–£90 — and 35% of those repairs are parts that cost under £30.
- Average repair across the 10 common items
- £29–£90
- Cheapest common item: rear fog lamp not working
- £3–£15
- Dearest common item: catalyst emissions lambda reading after 2nd…
- £60–£250
- Common items a careful owner can do at home
- 60%
- Repairs that still cost under £30
- 35%
Estimates from typical UK parts prices, weighted by how often each item appears in 111 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 Roadster, side by side
16 model years on record, from 2004 to 2019. Across them the pass rate runs from 87.4% to 97.8% — a spread of 10.4 points. The bar under each year is the item that failed it most often.
- 2004 93.9% service brake imbalance across an…
- 2005 94.1% ball joint dust cover severely…
- 2006 94.9% headlamp lens slightly defective
- 2007 89.3% catalyst emissions carbon…
- 2008 92.8%headlamp aim too high
- 2009 94.7% catalyst emissions lambda reading…
- 2010 90.9% headlamp lens slightly defective
- 2011 94.6% catalyst emissions lambda reading…
- 2012 94.2% reversing lamps inoperative
- 2013 97.8% windscreen damaged but not…
- 2014 87.4% catalyst emissions carbon…
- 2015 87.4% headlamp aim too high
- 2016 92.6% registration plate lamp(s)…
- 2017 94.1% steering rack gaiter damaged or…
- 2018 89.9% steering rack gaiter missing or…
- 2019 89.6% steering rack gaiter missing or…
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 Morgan Roadster 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
- Bentley Continental 91.4%
- Porsche 911 91.0%
- BMW M3 90.0%
- Porsche Boxster 89.4%
- Audi A8 87.0%
- Mercedes-Benz Sl 86.7%
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 Morgan Roadster 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 52 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 | 10 | 19.20% | 12.21% | +6.99 |
| Suspension | 8 | 15.40% | 20.98% | −5.58 |
| Brakes | 7 | 13.50% | 20.89% | −7.39 |
| Tyres | 7 | 13.50% | 19.76% | −6.26 |
| Steering | 6 | 11.50% | 2.57% | +8.93 |
| Visibility | 5 | 9.60% | 4.97% | +4.63 |
| Noise, emissions and leaks | 4 | 7.70% | 5.52% | +2.18 |
| Body, chassis, structure | 2 | 3.80% | 5.57% | −1.77 |
| Seat belts and supplementary restraint systems | 2 | 3.80% | 0.82% | +2.98 |
| Identification of the vehicle | 1 | 1.90% | 1.76% | +0.14 |
The exact failure items, in the tester's words
| Recorded item | Severity | Tests | Est. cost |
|---|---|---|---|
| Headlamp aim too high Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | Rectified | 2.7% | £30–80 |
| Catalyst emissions Lambda reading after 2nd fast idle outside specified limits Noise, emissions and leaks | Major | 1.8% | £60–250 |
| Pedal anti-slip provision missing Brakes | Major | 1.8% | £45–110 |
| Rear fog lamp not working Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | Rectified | 1.8% | £3–15 |
| Washers not working Visibility | Major | 1.8% | £5–15 |
| Washers provides insufficient washer liquid Visibility | Major | 1.8% | £5–15 |
| Battery(ies) insecure but not likely to fall from carrier Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | Minor | 0.90% | £60–140 |
| Headlamp aim too low Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | Major | 0.90% | £30–80 |
| Pedal anti-slip provision missing Brakes | Rectified | 0.90% | £45–110 |
| Pins and bushes pin or bush excessively worn Suspension | Major | 0.90% | £40–150 |
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 | 4.5% | £45–95 |
| Wheel bearings has excessive play Suspension | Advisory | 3.6% | £20–55 |
| Pins and bushes pin or bush excessively worn Suspension | Advisory | 2.7% | £40–150 |
| Exhaust system system insecure Body, chassis, structure | Advisory | 1.8% | £45–120 |
| Pump leaking Steering | Advisory | 1.8% | £60–200 |
| Webbing significantly weakened Seat belts and supplementary restraint systems | Advisory | 1.8% | £40–120 |
Pass rate by mileage
| Mileage | Tests | Pass rate | Median odometer |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0-30k | 66 | 97.0% | 14,569 mi |
| 30-60k | 44 | 86.4% | 40,328 mi |
Source: 111 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 Roadster MOT questions
What is the MOT pass rate for a 2008 Morgan Roadster?
92.8% of the 111 2008 Morgan Roadster tests in this dataset passed, against a national average of 73.1% for cars first used in 2008. First-attempt pass rate: 92.2%.
What are the most common MOT failures on a 2008 Morgan Roadster?
The three most recorded items are headlamp aim too high (2.70%), catalyst emissions lambda reading after 2nd fast idle outside specified limits (1.80%), pedal anti-slip provision missing (1.80%). Percentages are the share of tests on this vehicle that recorded the item.
Does mileage affect the 2008 Morgan Roadster MOT pass rate?
Yes. Cars under 30,000 miles passed 97.0% of the time, falling to 86.4% for those over 120,000 miles. The median 2008 Morgan Roadster in this dataset had covered 24,538 mi.
Does the season affect the 2008 Morgan Roadster MOT pass rate?
Tests recorded in the winter months (October–March) passed 94.4% of the time; summer months (April–September) passed 92.0%. Brakes, tyres and lights are tested harder in bad weather, but the difference is small on most models.