Pass rate
74.0%
Below average — 1.4 pts ahead of the 72.6% that cars this age and mileage manage.
Across 104 recorded tests.
Typical repair bill £28–£79
2003 Renault Vel Satis MOT pass rate
- 2003
- typical 101,551 mi
Check your postcode
Most common fault
Brakes
26.8% of faults · 20.9% nationally
mostly worn pads and discs, corroded pipes and a handbrake that will not hold.
Which year to buy
- Best 2004 77.1% pass
- Avoid 2003 74.0% pass · this year
Across the 3 years on record, a spread of 3.1 points. See every year →
- First-attempt pass
- 68.2%
- Typical mileage
- 102k mi
The 2003 Renault Vel Satis MOT pass rate is 74.0% of its MOT tests — 1.4 points ahead of what its age and mileage predict. Brakes is the biggest single reason it fails, at 26.8% of what testers record.
Expert verdict
Brakes: 1.3× the national share
Brakes make up 26.8% of everything recorded on the 2003 Renault Vel Satis, against 20.9% nationally — 5.9 points above. Have the discs and pads measured rather than glanced at, and ask whether the handbrake holds on a slope.
- When it fails, it costs. Only 29% 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.
- Based on a small sample. 104 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 Renault Vel Satis? Get an email when these numbers change .
How does the 2003 Renault Vel Satis compare?
Cars of this age and mileage average 72.6%, so this figure is 1.4 points ahead of what its age and mileage predict. On a first attempt, before any retests, the figure drops to 68.2%. The median 2003 Renault Vel Satis in this dataset had covered 101,551 mi.
The most common fuel recorded here is Petrol — 71% of tests, with a 71.6% pass rate. Pass rates also shift with the test month: tests recorded October–March passed 78.4% of the time, April–September 69.8%.
The single most recorded failure item is "Headlamp aim projected beam image is obviously incorrect", noted on 5.77% of tests.
- 104 recorded tests behind this page.
- 74.0% overall pass rate, 68.2% on a first attempt.
- Across every year of the Renault Vel Satis, the average is 75.6% — best year 2004 (77.1%), worst 2003 (74.0%).
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
- 104
- Typical mileage (median)
- 101,551 mi
- Make and model
- Renault Vel Satis
- 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 Vel Satis MOT pass rate?
Pass rate by odometer reading. Bar lengths start at 60% so small gaps stay visible.
Fuel type and reliability
Pass rate by fuel type. Petrol is the most common here (71% of tests).
Regional pass rates for the Vel Satis
| Region | Tests | Pass rate |
|---|---|---|
| South East | 33 | 66.7% |
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 2003 Vel Satis
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 2003 Vel Satis
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 5.8% of tests
“headlamp aim projected beam image is obviously incorrect”
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 battery 4.8% of tests
“battery(ies) insecure”
Check the battery is secure and its terminals are clean and tight — a loose battery is a fail on its own, and a weak one shows up as slow cranking on a cold morning.
-
Check the suspension joints 3.9% of tests
“ball joint excessively worn”
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 2003 Vel Satis through its MOT
Across the 10 items that are recorded most often on this model, the average repair comes to £28–£79 — and 29% of those repairs are parts that cost under £30.
- Average repair across the 10 common items
- £28–£79
- Cheapest common item: anti-lock braking system warning lamp…
- £3–£15
- 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
- 29%
Estimates from typical UK parts prices, weighted by how often each item appears in 104 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 Vel Satis, side by side
3 model years on record, from 2002 to 2004. Across them the pass rate runs from 74.0% to 77.1% — a spread of 3.1 points. The bar under each year is the item that failed it most often.
- 2002 76.3% headlamp lens slightly defective
- 2003 74.0%headlamp aim projected beam image…
- 2004 77.1% headlamp lens slightly defective
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 2003 Renault Vel Satis 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 2003 cars with a similar record
- Volkswagen Bora 74.0%
- Toyota Corolla 73.9%
- Audi A4 74.1%
- Nissan Almera 73.9%
- Vauxhall Agila 74.1%
- Volkswagen Lupo 74.1%
Closest pass rates among 2003 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 2003 Renault Vel Satis 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 309 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Brakes | 84 | 26.80% | 20.89% | +5.91 |
| Suspension | 58 | 18.50% | 20.98% | −2.48 |
| Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | 48 | 15.30% | 12.21% | +3.09 |
| Tyres | 43 | 13.70% | 19.76% | −6.06 |
| Non-component advisories | 26 | 8.30% | 4.18% | +4.12 |
| Noise, emissions and leaks | 15 | 4.80% | 5.52% | −0.72 |
| Steering | 14 | 4.50% | 2.57% | +1.93 |
| Body, chassis, structure | 8 | 2.60% | 5.57% | −2.97 |
| Identification of the vehicle | 7 | 2.20% | 1.76% | +0.44 |
| Visibility | 6 | 1.90% | 4.97% | −3.07 |
The exact failure items, in the tester's words
| Recorded item | Severity | Tests | Est. cost |
|---|---|---|---|
| Headlamp aim projected beam image is obviously incorrect Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | Major | 5.8% | £30–80 |
| Battery(ies) insecure but not likely to fall from carrier Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | Minor | 4.8% | £60–140 |
| Switch inoperative Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | Major | 4.8% | £5–25 |
| Ball joint excessively worn Suspension | Major | 3.9% | £18–45 |
| Headlamp aim too low Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | Major | 3.9% | £30–80 |
| Headlamp lens slightly defective Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | Minor | 3.9% | £5–25 |
| Joints constant velocity boot severely deteriorated Body, chassis, structure | Minor | 3.9% | £80–250 |
| Anti-lock braking system warning lamp indicates an ABS fault Brakes | Major | 2.9% | £3–15 |
| Linkage ball joint dust cover ball joint dust cover severely deteriorated Suspension | Minor | 2.9% | £18–45 |
| Track rod end ball joint has excessive play Steering | Major | 2.9% | £18–45 |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Brake discs in such a condition that it is seriously weakened Brakes | Advisory | 27.9% | £45–110 |
| Tread depth below requirements of 1.6mm Tyres | Advisory | 21.1% | £45–95 |
| Non-component advisories Play in steering rack inner joint(s) Non-component advisories | Advisory | 20.2% | £120–300 |
| Rigid brake pipes excessively corroded Brakes | Advisory | 19.2% | £80–180 |
| Has a tear, caused by separation or partial failure of its structure Tyres | Advisory | 13.5% | £45–95 |
| Engine oil leaks leaking excessively from engine Noise, emissions and leaks | Advisory | 11.5% | £200–700 |
Pass rate by mileage
| Mileage | Tests | Pass rate | Median odometer |
|---|---|---|---|
| 30-60k | 8 | 75.0% | 52,941 mi |
| 60-90k | 36 | 80.6% | 77,086 mi |
| 90-120k | 38 | 68.4% | 107,717 mi |
| 120k+ | 22 | 72.7% | 151,344 mi |
Source: 104 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.
2003 Vel Satis MOT questions
What is the MOT pass rate for a 2003 Renault Vel Satis?
74.0% of the 104 2003 Renault Vel Satis tests in this dataset passed, against a national average of 72.6% for cars first used in 2003. First-attempt pass rate: 68.2%.
What are the most common MOT failures on a 2003 Renault Vel Satis?
The three most recorded items are headlamp aim projected beam image is obviously incorrect (5.77%), battery(ies) insecure but not likely to fall from carrier (4.81%), switch inoperative (4.81%). Percentages are the share of tests on this vehicle that recorded the item.
Does mileage affect the 2003 Renault Vel Satis MOT pass rate?
Yes. Cars under 30,000 miles passed 75.0% of the time, falling to 72.7% for those over 120,000 miles. The median 2003 Renault Vel Satis in this dataset had covered 101,551 mi.
Which fuel type is most reliable for a 2003 Renault Vel Satis?
Petrol: 71.6% pass rate across 74 tests. Diesel: 80.0% pass rate across 30 tests. Shares are of the tests on this vehicle that recorded each fuel type.
Does the season affect the 2003 Renault Vel Satis MOT pass rate?
Tests recorded in the winter months (October–March) passed 78.4% of the time; summer months (April–September) passed 69.8%. Brakes, tyres and lights are tested harder in bad weather, but the difference is small on most models.