Pass rate
67.8%
Below average — 5.3 pts behind the 73.1% that cars this age and mileage manage.
Across 59 recorded tests.
Typical repair bill £37–£107
2008 Nissan NP300 MOT pass rate
- 2008
- typical 119,447 mi
Only 59 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
Suspension
25.3% of faults · 21.0% nationally
mostly worn arm bushes, split ball-joint boots and broken coil springs.
Which year to buy
- Best 2008 67.8% pass · this year
- Avoid 2009 67.0% pass
Across the 2 years on record, a spread of 0.8 points. See every year →
- First-attempt pass
- 56.8%
- Typical mileage
- 119k mi
The 2008 Nissan NP300 MOT pass rate is 67.8% of its MOT tests — 5.3 points behind what its age and mileage predict. Suspension is the biggest single reason it fails, at 25.3% of what testers record.
Check your postcode
MOT pass rates are national — type your postcode to see how Nissan NP300 does in your corner of the country.
Expert verdict
Body & chassis: 2.3× the national share
Body & chassis accounts for 12.7% of everything recorded on the 2008 Nissan Np300, against 5.6% nationally — 7.1 points above. Suspension is still the single largest share at 25.3%, 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.
- Falls short of its own age and mileage. Like-for-like, cars this age and mileage expect about 73.1%; this one manages 67.8% — 5.3 points below. Age is a fair excuse; this is not age.
- Based on a small sample. 59 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 Nissan NP300? Get an email when these numbers change .
How does the 2008 Nissan NP300 compare?
Cars of this age and mileage average 73.1%, so this figure is 5.3 points behind what its age and mileage predict. On a first attempt, before any retests, the figure drops to 56.8%. The median 2008 Nissan NP300 in this dataset had covered 119,447 mi.
The single most recorded failure item is "Registration plate lamp(s) inoperative in the case of multiple lamps or light sources", noted on 15.25% of tests.
- 59 recorded tests behind this page.
- 67.8% overall pass rate, 56.8% on a first attempt.
- Across every year of the Nissan NP300, the average is 67.3% — best year 2008 (67.8%), worst 2009 (67.0%).
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
- 59
- Typical mileage (median)
- 119,447 mi
- Make and model
- Nissan NP300
- Updated
- 2026-11-05
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 NP300 MOT pass rate?
Pass rate by odometer reading. Bar lengths start at 56% so small gaps stay visible.
Regional pass rates for the NP300
| Region | Tests | Pass rate |
|---|---|---|
| South East | 17 | 70.6% |
| South West | 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 2008 NP300
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 NP300
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 15.3% 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 wipers and washers 8.5% of tests
“washers provides insufficient washer liquid”
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 suspension joints 5.1% of tests
“ball joint dust cover severely deteriorated”
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.
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 NP300 through its MOT
Across the 10 items that are recorded most often on this model, the average repair comes to £37–£107 — and 43% of those repairs are parts that cost under £30.
- Average repair across the 10 common items
- £37–£107
- Cheapest common item: washers provides insufficient washer liquid
- £5–£15
- Dearest common item: chassis condition or chassis has excessive…
- £180–£450
- Common items a careful owner can do at home
- 40%
- Repairs that still cost under £30
- 43%
Estimates from typical UK parts prices, weighted by how often each item appears in 59 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 NP300, side by side
2 model years on record, from 2008 to 2009. Across them the pass rate runs from 67.0% to 67.8% — a spread of 0.8 points. The bar under each year is the item that failed it most often.
- 2008 67.8%registration plate lamp(s)…
- 2009 67.0% service brake performance…
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 Nissan NP300 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
- Volkswagen Beetle 68.1%
- Renault Clio 68.3%
- Vauxhall Combo 68.3%
- Fiat Bravo 67.3%
- Chevrolet Captiva 67.3%
- Volkswagen Sharan 68.4%
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 Nissan NP300 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 228 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 | 58 | 25.30% | 20.98% | +4.32 |
| Brakes | 57 | 24.90% | 20.89% | +4.01 |
| Body, chassis, structure | 29 | 12.70% | 5.57% | +7.13 |
| Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | 28 | 12.20% | 12.21% | −0.01 |
| Tyres | 18 | 7.90% | 19.76% | −11.86 |
| Visibility | 10 | 4.40% | 4.97% | −0.57 |
| Seat belts and supplementary restraint systems | 10 | 4.40% | 0.82% | +3.58 |
| Noise, emissions and leaks | 9 | 3.90% | 5.52% | −1.62 |
| Steering | 8 | 3.50% | 2.57% | +0.93 |
| Identification of the vehicle | 1 | 0.40% | 1.76% | −1.36 |
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 | 15.3% | £5–20 |
| Service brake performance excessively binding Brakes | Major | 11.9% | £60–150 |
| Washers provides insufficient washer liquid Visibility | Major | 8.5% | £5–15 |
| Ball joint dust cover severely deteriorated Suspension | Minor | 5.1% | £18–45 |
| Emissions not tested unable to be completed Noise, emissions and leaks | Major | 5.1% | £60–250 |
| Exhaust system has a major leak of exhaust gases Body, chassis, structure | Major | 5.1% | £45–120 |
| Malfunctioning Steering | Major | 5.1% | £60–200 |
| Position lamp not working Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | Major | 5.1% | £5–25 |
| Chassis condition or chassis has excessive corrosion, seriously affecting its strength within 30cm of a body mounting Body, chassis, structure | Major | 3.4% | £180–450 |
| Headlamp aim too low Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | Major | 3.4% | £30–80 |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rigid brake pipes excessively corroded Brakes | Advisory | 39.0% | £80–180 |
| Wheel bearings has excessive play Suspension | Advisory | 20.3% | £20–55 |
| Ball joint excessively worn Suspension | Advisory | 18.6% | £18–45 |
| Exhaust system has a major leak of exhaust gases Body, chassis, structure | Advisory | 16.9% | £45–120 |
| Tread depth below requirements of 1.6mm Tyres | Advisory | 15.3% | £45–95 |
| Flexible brake hoses ferrule excessively corroded Brakes | Advisory | 11.9% | £25–70 |
Pass rate by mileage
| Mileage | Tests | Pass rate | Median odometer |
|---|---|---|---|
| 60-90k | 14 | 64.3% | 74,385 mi |
| 90-120k | 17 | 70.6% | 108,035 mi |
| 120k+ | 28 | 67.9% | 137,657 mi |
Source: 59 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 NP300 MOT questions
What is the MOT pass rate for a 2008 Nissan NP300?
67.8% of the 59 2008 Nissan NP300 tests in this dataset passed, against a national average of 73.1% for cars first used in 2008. First-attempt pass rate: 56.8%.
What are the most common MOT failures on a 2008 Nissan NP300?
The three most recorded items are registration plate lamp(s) inoperative in the case of multiple lamps or light sources (15.25%), service brake performance excessively binding (11.86%), washers provides insufficient washer liquid (8.47%). Percentages are the share of tests on this vehicle that recorded the item.
Does mileage affect the 2008 Nissan NP300 MOT pass rate?
Yes. Cars under 30,000 miles passed 64.3% of the time, falling to 67.9% for those over 120,000 miles. The median 2008 Nissan NP300 in this dataset had covered 119,447 mi.