Pass rate, every year
45,368 tests across 18 model years, 2005–2022.
+10.0 pts vs the national average
Pass rate, every year
45,368 tests across 18 model years, 2005–2022.
+10.0 pts vs the national average
Best year to buy
2021 96.8%
The strongest of the 18 years on record. See the 2021 page →
Worst year to buy
2005 83.5%
13.3 points below the 2021 peak. See the 2005 page →
The Porsche Cayman MOT pass rate is 91.0%, +10.0 percentage points above the UK average. That is 45,368 DVSA MOT tests recorded between 2005 and 2022. This page lists the most common Porsche Cayman MOT failures by category, names the best and worst model years, and finishes with a pre-MOT checklist you can run at home.
The Porsche Cayman passed on its first attempt in 90.4%, and its overall record sits +10.0 percentage points above the national average for all cars. These figures come from every recorded DVSA MOT test for the Porsche Cayman in the 2023–2025 data: 45,368 tests across 18 model years (2005–2022). A test still carries exactly one pass or fail verdict.
| Measure | This model |
|---|---|
| Tests analysed | 45,368 |
| Overall pass rate | 91.0% |
| Passed on first attempt | 90.4% |
| Average mileage at test | 47,216 mi |
| Model years covered | 2005–2022 (18 years) |
| Versus UK national average | +10.0 pts above |
Figures are computed from every recorded DVSA test for this model in the 2023–2025 data.
Every MOT failure a tester records belongs to one inspection section of the DVSA manual. For the Porsche Cayman, the Visibility section leads the record — the breakdown below shows where the recorded failures cluster, then the exact strings behind the three biggest sections.
| Inspection section | Share of failures |
|---|---|
| Visibility | 27% |
| Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | 23% |
| Tyres | 12% |
| Suspension | 11% |
| Noise, emissions and leaks | 10% |
| Brakes | 9% |
| Body, chassis, structure | 7% |
| Identification of the vehicle | 1% |
Shares are over the Porsche Cayman's recorded defect strings, merged across its year pages.
Around 27% of the recorded Porsche Cayman failures fall in the Visibility section of the MOT inspection manual. Testers recorded "Windscreen damaged but not adversely affecting driver's view" (1.9%), "Wipers blade defective" (0.3%), "Wipers does not clear the windscreen effectively" (0.2%) among the Porsche Cayman's visibility faults.
Around 23% of the recorded Porsche Cayman failures fall in the Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment section of the MOT inspection manual. Testers recorded "Position lamp not working" (1.2%), "Registration plate lamp(s) inoperative in the case of multiple lamps or light sources" (0.6%), "Headlamp lens slightly defective" (0.2%) among the Porsche Cayman's lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment faults.
Around 12% of the recorded Porsche Cayman failures fall in the Tyres section of the MOT inspection manual. Testers recorded "Tread depth below requirements of 1.6mm" (0.5%), "Has a cut in excess of the requirements deep enough to reach the ply or cords" (0.4%), "Has a bulge, caused by separation or partial failure of its structure" (0.1%) among the Porsche Cayman's tyres faults.
The descriptions below are the exact DVSA failure strings testers recorded most often for the Porsche Cayman, each with how many of the model's 45,368 tests it was noted on.
The strongest Porsche Cayman model year on record is 2021 (96.8% across 879 tests), and the weakest is 2005 (83.5%). The gap between them is 13.3 points. Years with fewer than 50 recorded tests are excluded, so these are the years with enough MOT history to mean something.
| Year | Tests | Pass rate |
|---|---|---|
| 2022 Cayman | 461 | 96.1% |
| 2021 Cayman | 879 | 96.8% |
| 2020 Cayman | 1,340 | 96.1% |
| 2019 Cayman | 3,063 | 95.1% |
| 2018 Cayman | 3,669 | 94.7% |
| 2017 Cayman | 2,732 | 94.6% |
| 2016 Cayman | 3,002 | 94.8% |
| 2015 Cayman | 3,358 | 94.7% |
| 2014 Cayman | 3,756 | 93.2% |
| 2013 Cayman | 3,289 | 92.7% |
| 2012 Cayman | 1,026 | 93.4% |
| 2011 Cayman | 1,687 | 91.0% |
| 2010 Cayman | 1,727 | 89.9% |
| 2009 Cayman | 2,134 | 90.3% |
| 2008 Cayman | 2,990 | 84.8% |
| 2007 Cayman | 4,737 | 85.3% |
| 2006 Cayman | 4,971 | 83.8% |
| 2005 Cayman | 547 | 83.5% |
Newest model year first. Only years with at least 50 recorded tests are listed.
These checks follow this Porsche Cayman's own most-recorded failure strings, starting with what a tester is most likely to flag on a Porsche Cayman.
the windscreen — “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.
the lights — “position lamp not working”
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.
the exhaust and emissions — “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.
Derived from the DVSA failure strings testers recorded for the Porsche Cayman. A check that finds nothing means the item is likely fine, not that the test is guaranteed.
Across every Cayman model year on record (2005–2022): 24,137 Porsche Cayman cars tested in a recordable postcode area, across 45,332 tests. Guildford (GU) has the most, with 672 cars tested there. Cars are counted by the postcode area of the MOT station, so this is where they were tested, not necessarily where their owners live.
| # | Postcode area | Cars | Pass rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Guildford (GU) | 672 | 93.5% |
| 2 | Birmingham (B) | 629 | 93.8% |
| 3 | Reading (RG) | 570 | 92.8% |
| 4 | Crawley (RH) | 513 | 89.3% |
| 5 | Ashford (TN) | 508 | 91.3% |
| 6 | Northampton (NN) | 497 | 90.6% |
| 7 | Nottingham (NG) | 489 | 90.3% |
| 8 | Leicester (LE) | 474 | 92.1% |
| 9 | Derby (DE) | 456 | 93.9% |
| 10 | Sheffield (S) | 433 | 92.8% |
| 11 | Portsmouth (PO) | 429 | 91.6% |
| 12 | Gloucester (GL) | 411 | 89.3% |
| 13 | Coventry (CV) | 397 | 93.4% |
| 14 | High Wycombe (HP) | 385 | 93.8% |
| 15 | Kingston upon Thames (KT) | 384 | 92.1% |
| 16 | Leeds (LS) | 383 | 91.0% |
| 17 | Chelmsford (CM) | 364 | 91.2% |
| 18 | Swindon (SN) | 362 | 91.0% |
| 19 | Slough (SL) | 353 | 90.8% |
| 20 | Bristol (BS) | 348 | 87.7% |
The twenty areas with the most Porsche Cayman cars in the record, sorted by car count — sort the columns for a different question. Cars tested at a station whose postcode area could not be resolved are counted in the model's total but in no area, so the shares add up to slightly under 100% even across every area, and an area's cars are a subset of the model's. Pass rate is blank below 30 tests in an area, where a percentage is noise rather than a finding. How this model's pass rate varies by postcode →
91.0% of the 45,368 recorded Porsche Cayman MOT tests ended in a pass, +10.0 percentage points above the national average. 90.4% of those passed on the first attempt.
2021 is the strongest Porsche Cayman year on record at 96.8%, while 2005 is the weakest at 83.5%. The year-by-year table below lists every model year with at least 50 recorded tests.
The most recorded Porsche Cayman failures are "Windscreen damaged but not adversely affecting driver's view" and "Position lamp not working" — together around 3% of tests, mostly in the Visibility section.