Pass rate
75.8%
Around average — 2.5 pts ahead of the 73.3% that cars this age and mileage manage.
Across 2,805 recorded tests.
Typical repair bill £56–£145
2001 Saab 9-3 MOT pass rate
- 2001
- typical 104,361 mi
Check your postcode
Most common fault
Brakes
22.3% of faults · 20.9% nationally
mostly worn pads and discs, corroded pipes and a handbrake that will not hold.
Which year to buy
- Best 2012 82.1% pass
- Avoid 2006 73.3% pass
Across the 13 years on record, a spread of 8.8 points. See every year →
- First-attempt pass
- 70.6%
- Typical mileage
- 104k mi
The 2001 Saab 9-3 MOT pass rate is 75.8% of its MOT tests — 2.5 points ahead of what its age and mileage predict. Brakes is the biggest single reason it fails, at 22.3% of what testers record.
Expert verdict
Body & chassis: 2.2× the national share
Body & chassis accounts for 12.4% of everything recorded on the 2001 Saab 9-3, against 5.6% nationally — 6.8 points above. Brakes are still the single largest share at 22.3%, but at 20.9% nationally that one is ordinary. Look underneath for corrosion near the jacking points and suspension mounts; surface rust is normal, flaking metal is not.
- When it fails, it costs. Only 34% 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 Saab 9-3? Get an email when these numbers change .
How does the 2001 Saab 9-3 compare?
Cars of this age and mileage average 73.3%, so this figure is 2.5 points ahead of what its age and mileage predict. On a first attempt, before any retests, the figure drops to 70.6%. The median 2001 Saab 9-3 in this dataset had covered 104,361 mi.
94% of the tests on this vehicle ran on Petrol, which passed 76.2% of the time. Pass rates also shift with the test month: tests recorded October–March passed 75.1% of the time, April–September 76.3%.
The single most recorded failure item is "Windscreen damaged but not adversely affecting driver's view", noted on 4.60% of tests.
- 2,805 recorded tests behind this page.
- 75.8% overall pass rate, 70.6% on a first attempt.
- Across every year of the Saab 9-3, the average is 74.9% — best year 2012 (82.1%), worst 2006 (73.3%).
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
- 2,805
- Typical mileage (median)
- 104,361 mi
- Make and model
- Saab 9-3
- Updated
- 2026-11-07
Source: DVSA anonymised MOT test data (2023–2025), OGL v3.0.
Top part to budget for
Windscreen
Typically a garage job — get quotes before committing.
Does mileage affect the 9-3 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 (94% of tests).
Where the Saab 9-3 is most common
Across all 9-3 model years on record (2000–2012): 55,445 Saab 9-3 cars tested in a recordable postcode area, across 137,405 tests. Birmingham (B) has the most, with 1,618 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 | Birmingham (B) | 1,618 | 80.1% |
| 2 | Norwich (NR) | 1,318 | 75.3% |
| 3 | Sheffield (S) | 1,195 | 83.2% |
| 4 | Peterborough (PE) | 1,152 | 73.8% |
| 5 | Bristol (BS) | 1,082 | 70.4% |
| 6 | Ashford (TN) | 1,048 | 75.6% |
| 7 | Reading (RG) | 985 | 79.0% |
| 8 | Portsmouth (PO) | 945 | 73.6% |
| 9 | Leicester (LE) | 935 | 78.0% |
| 10 | Nottingham (NG) | 883 | 72.5% |
| 11 | Guildford (GU) | 835 | 74.5% |
| 12 | Northampton (NN) | 833 | 73.8% |
| 13 | Ipswich (IP) | 814 | 73.4% |
| 14 | Derby (DE) | 803 | 75.3% |
| 15 | Gloucester (GL) | 794 | 71.8% |
| 16 | Edinburgh (EH) | 791 | 69.6% |
| 17 | Glasgow (G) | 773 | 75.4% |
| 18 | Cardiff (CF) | 730 | 70.7% |
| 19 | Southampton (SO) | 726 | 73.5% |
| 20 | Brighton (BN) | 722 | 72.9% |
The twenty areas with the most Saab 9-3 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 →
Regional pass rates for the 9-3
| Region | Tests | Pass rate |
|---|---|---|
| South East | 745 | 76.8% |
| South West | 370 | 69.2% |
| East of England | 346 | 76.0% |
| London | 240 | 85.0% |
| West Midlands | 225 | 71.6% |
| Yorkshire | 198 | 82.8% |
| Scotland | 182 | 69.8% |
| North West | 175 | 76.6% |
| East Midlands | 172 | 75.6% |
| Wales | 96 | 70.8% |
| North East | 53 | 81.1% |
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 2001 9-3
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 2001 9-3
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 windscreen 4.6% of tests
“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.
-
Check corrosion 4.0% of tests
“component mounting prescribed areas prescribed area excessively corroded significantly reducing structural strength”
Look under the sills, around the jacking points and where the suspension mounts meet the body. Flaking, holed or crumbly metal fails; a brown stain on sound metal does not.
-
Check the lights 3.1% 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.
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 2001 9-3 through its MOT
Across the 10 items that are recorded most often on this model, the average repair comes to £56–£145 — and 34% of those repairs are parts that cost under £30.
- Average repair across the 10 common items
- £56–£145
- Cheapest common item: malfunction indicator lamp inoperative or…
- £3–£12
- Dearest common item: component mounting prescribed areas…
- £180–£450
- Common items a careful owner can do at home
- 60%
- Repairs that still cost under £30
- 34%
Estimates from typical UK parts prices, weighted by how often each item appears in 2,805 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 9-3, side by side
13 model years on record, from 2000 to 2012. Across them the pass rate runs from 73.3% to 82.1% — a spread of 8.8 points. The bar under each year is the item that failed it most often.
- 2000 76.6% component mounting prescribed…
- 2001 75.8%windscreen damaged but not…
- 2002 76.5% windscreen damaged but not…
- 2003 74.6% registration plate lamp(s)…
- 2004 73.5% headlamp lens slightly defective
- 2005 73.6% headlamp lens slightly defective
- 2006 73.3% coil spring fractured or broken
- 2007 74.5% coil spring fractured or broken
- 2008 75.3% coil spring fractured or broken
- 2009 76.1% coil spring fractured or broken
- 2010 76.3% coil spring fractured or broken
- 2011 76.3% coil spring fractured or broken
- 2012 82.1% coil spring fractured or broken
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 2001 Saab 9-3 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 2001 cars with a similar record
- Toyota RAV4 75.6%
- Mazda Mx-5 75.5%
- Toyota Avensis 75.4%
- Vauxhall Vectra 75.3%
- Toyota Rav-4 75.1%
- Land Rover Defender 75.0%
Closest pass rates among 2001 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 2001 Saab 9-3 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 7,128 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 | 1,624 | 22.30% | 20.89% | +1.41 |
| Suspension | 1,404 | 19.30% | 20.98% | −1.68 |
| Body, chassis, structure | 903 | 12.40% | 5.57% | +6.83 |
| Noise, emissions and leaks | 886 | 12.20% | 5.52% | +6.68 |
| Tyres | 819 | 11.20% | 19.76% | −8.56 |
| Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | 664 | 9.10% | 12.21% | −3.11 |
| Visibility | 299 | 4.10% | 4.97% | −0.87 |
| Identification of the vehicle | 218 | 3.00% | 1.76% | +1.24 |
| Steering | 164 | 2.30% | 2.57% | −0.27 |
| Seat belts and supplementary restraint systems | 147 | 2.00% | 0.82% | +1.18 |
The exact failure items, in the tester's words
| Recorded item | Severity | Tests | Est. cost |
|---|---|---|---|
| Windscreen damaged but not adversely affecting driver's view Visibility | Minor | 4.6% | £80–200 |
| Component mounting prescribed areas prescribed area excessively corroded significantly reducing structural strength Suspension | Major | 4.0% | £180–450 |
| Registration plate lamp(s) inoperative in the case of multiple lamps or light sources Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | Minor | 3.1% | £5–20 |
| Rbt (sp) efficiency below requirements Brakes | Major | 3.1% | £45–110 |
| Exhaust system has a major leak of exhaust gases Body, chassis, structure | Major | 2.5% | £45–120 |
| Malfunction indicator lamp inoperative or indicates a malfunction Noise, emissions and leaks | Major | 2.4% | £3–12 |
| Prescribed areas prescribed area strength or continuity significantly reduced Seat belts and supplementary restraint systems | Major | 2.3% | £40–120 |
| Position lamp not working Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | Major | 2.1% | £5–25 |
| Wipers does not clear the windscreen effectively Visibility | Major | 1.7% | £8–22 |
| Service brake imbalance across an axle Brakes | Major | 1.7% | £45–110 |
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 | 21.9% | £200–700 |
| Brake discs in such a condition that it is seriously weakened Brakes | Advisory | 12.2% | £45–110 |
| Exhaust system has a major leak of exhaust gases Body, chassis, structure | Advisory | 12.1% | £45–120 |
| Has a tear, caused by separation or partial failure of its structure Tyres | Advisory | 11.2% | £45–95 |
| Tread depth below requirements of 1.6mm Tyres | Advisory | 11.1% | £45–95 |
| Rigid brake pipes excessively corroded Brakes | Advisory | 9.5% | £80–180 |
Pass rate by mileage
| Mileage | Tests | Pass rate | Median odometer |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0-30k | 28 | 96.4% | 23,633 mi |
| 30-60k | 174 | 87.9% | 48,037 mi |
| 60-90k | 772 | 80.7% | 75,729 mi |
| 90-120k | 855 | 76.8% | 104,721 mi |
| 120k+ | 976 | 68.1% | 150,013 mi |
Source: 2,805 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.
2001 9-3 MOT questions
What is the MOT pass rate for a 2001 Saab 9-3?
75.8% of the 2,805 2001 Saab 9-3 tests in this dataset passed, against a national average of 73.3% for cars first used in 2001. First-attempt pass rate: 70.6%.
What are the most common MOT failures on a 2001 Saab 9-3?
The three most recorded items are windscreen damaged but not adversely affecting driver's view (4.60%), component mounting prescribed areas prescribed area excessively corroded significantly reducing structural strength (3.96%), registration plate lamp(s) inoperative in the case of multiple lamps or light sources (3.14%). Percentages are the share of tests on this vehicle that recorded the item.
Does mileage affect the 2001 Saab 9-3 MOT pass rate?
Yes. Cars under 30,000 miles passed 96.4% of the time, falling to 68.1% for those over 120,000 miles. The median 2001 Saab 9-3 in this dataset had covered 104,361 mi.
Which fuel type is most reliable for a 2001 Saab 9-3?
Petrol: 76.2% pass rate across 2,650 tests. Diesel: 69.5% pass rate across 151 tests. Shares are of the tests on this vehicle that recorded each fuel type.
Does the season affect the 2001 Saab 9-3 MOT pass rate?
Tests recorded in the winter months (October–March) passed 75.1% of the time; summer months (April–September) passed 76.3%. Brakes, tyres and lights are tested harder in bad weather, but the difference is small on most models.