Pass rate
82.1%
Around average — 4.9 pts ahead of the 77.2% that cars this age and mileage manage.
Across 614 recorded tests.
Typical repair bill £40–£100
2012 Saab 9-3 MOT pass rate
- 2012
- typical 75,328 mi
Check your postcode
Most common fault
Suspension
26.4% of faults · 21.0% nationally
mostly worn arm bushes, split ball-joint boots and broken coil springs.
Which year to buy
- Best 2012 82.1% pass · this year
- Avoid 2006 73.3% pass
Across the 13 years on record, a spread of 8.8 points. See every year →
- First-attempt pass
- 78.4%
- Typical mileage
- 75k mi
The 2012 Saab 9-3 MOT pass rate is 82.1% of its MOT tests — 4.9 points ahead of what its age and mileage predict. Suspension is the biggest single reason it fails, at 26.4% of what testers record.
Expert verdict
Suspension: 1.3× the national share
Suspension accounts for 26.4% of everything recorded on the 2012 Saab 9-3, against 21.0% nationally — 5.4 points above. Ask for the front and rear suspension to be checked on a ramp before you buy — worn bushes and broken springs are cheap to look at and expensive to discover at test time.
- 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 77.2% and this one manages 82.1% — 4.9 points ahead of what its age and mileage predict.
- When it fails, it costs. Only 11% 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 2012 Saab 9-3 compare?
Cars of this age and mileage average 77.2%, so this figure is 4.9 points ahead of what its age and mileage predict. On a first attempt, before any retests, the figure drops to 78.4%. The median 2012 Saab 9-3 in this dataset had covered 75,328 mi.
50% of the tests on this vehicle ran on Diesel, which passed 81.9% of the time. Pass rates also shift with the test month: tests recorded October–March passed 82.3% of the time, April–September 81.9%.
The single most recorded failure item is "Coil spring fractured or broken", noted on 6.19% of tests.
- 614 recorded tests behind this page.
- 82.1% overall pass rate, 78.4% 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
- 614
- Typical mileage (median)
- 75,328 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
Coil Spring
Usually a DIY or independent-garage job.
Does mileage affect the 9-3 MOT pass rate?
Pass rate by odometer reading. Bar lengths start at 69% so small gaps stay visible.
Fuel type and reliability
Pass rate by fuel type. Diesel is the most common here (50% 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 | 132 | 85.6% |
| Scotland | 100 | 80.0% |
| East of England | 72 | 86.1% |
| South West | 66 | 78.8% |
| North West | 56 | 80.4% |
| East Midlands | 54 | 77.8% |
| West Midlands | 49 | 79.6% |
| London | 22 | 86.4% |
| Wales | 22 | 77.3% |
| North East | 22 | 86.4% |
| Yorkshire | 19 | 84.2% |
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 2012 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 2012 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 coil springs 6.2% of tests
“coil spring fractured or broken”
Look up inside each wheel arch with a torch, all the way round the spring. A snapped spring usually breaks at the very bottom coil, where a quick glance will not reach.
-
Check the suspension joints 2.9% 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.
-
Check the windscreen 2.6% 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.
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 2012 9-3 through its MOT
Across the 10 items that are recorded most often on this model, the average repair comes to £40–£100 — and 11% of those repairs are parts that cost under £30.
- Average repair across the 10 common items
- £40–£100
- Cheapest common item: registration plate lamp(s) inoperative in the…
- £5–£20
- Dearest common item: sub-frame corroded
- £180–£450
- Common items a careful owner can do at home
- 60%
- Repairs that still cost under £30
- 11%
Estimates from typical UK parts prices, weighted by how often each item appears in 614 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 2012 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 2012 cars with a similar record
- Toyota YARIS 82.0%
- Land Rover Range Rover Evoque 81.9%
- Smart Mcc Fortwo 81.9%
- Audi A5 81.8%
- BMW 5 Series 81.7%
- SEAT Mii 81.6%
Closest pass rates among 2012 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 2012 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 965 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 | 258 | 26.40% | 20.98% | +5.42 |
| Brakes | 225 | 23.00% | 20.89% | +2.11 |
| Tyres | 177 | 18.10% | 19.76% | −1.66 |
| Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | 76 | 7.80% | 12.21% | −4.41 |
| Body, chassis, structure | 58 | 5.90% | 5.57% | +0.33 |
| Noise, emissions and leaks | 51 | 5.20% | 5.52% | −0.32 |
| Steering | 35 | 3.60% | 2.57% | +1.03 |
| Visibility | 32 | 3.30% | 4.97% | −1.67 |
| Identification of the vehicle | 27 | 2.80% | 1.76% | +1.04 |
| Non-component advisories | 26 | 2.70% | 4.18% | −1.48 |
The exact failure items, in the tester's words
| Recorded item | Severity | Tests | Est. cost |
|---|---|---|---|
| Coil spring fractured or broken Suspension | Major | 6.2% | £25–65 |
| Ball joint dust cover severely deteriorated Suspension | Minor | 2.9% | £18–45 |
| Windscreen damaged but not adversely affecting driver's view Visibility | Minor | 2.6% | £80–200 |
| Registration plate lamp(s) inoperative in the case of multiple lamps or light sources Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | Minor | 2.3% | £5–20 |
| Linkage ball joint dust cover ball joint dust cover no longer prevents the ingress of dirt Suspension | Major | 1.5% | £18–45 |
| Has a cut in excess of the requirements deep enough to reach the ply or cords Tyres | Major | 1.3% | £45–95 |
| Linkage ball joints ball joint excessively worn Suspension | Major | 0.98% | £18–45 |
| Service brake performance excessively binding Brakes | Major | 0.98% | £60–150 |
| Sub-frame corroded and seriously weakened Suspension | Major | 0.98% | £180–450 |
| Parking brake performance inoperative on one side Brakes | Major | 0.81% | £60–150 |
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 | 14.3% | £45–95 |
| Brake discs in such a condition that it is seriously weakened Brakes | Advisory | 12.1% | £45–110 |
| Sub-frame corroded and seriously weakened Suspension | Advisory | 8.8% | £180–450 |
| Brake pads less than 1.5 mm thick Brakes | Advisory | 6.5% | £18–45 |
| Has a tear, caused by separation or partial failure of its structure Tyres | Advisory | 6.3% | £45–95 |
| Engine oil leaks leaking excessively from engine Noise, emissions and leaks | Advisory | 5.4% | £200–700 |
Pass rate by mileage
| Mileage | Tests | Pass rate | Median odometer |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0-30k | 30 | 90.0% | 20,455 mi |
| 30-60k | 150 | 88.0% | 49,126 mi |
| 60-90k | 208 | 77.4% | 73,478 mi |
| 90-120k | 129 | 82.9% | 102,403 mi |
| 120k+ | 97 | 79.4% | 141,634 mi |
Source: 614 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.
2012 9-3 MOT questions
What is the MOT pass rate for a 2012 Saab 9-3?
82.1% of the 614 2012 Saab 9-3 tests in this dataset passed, against a national average of 77.2% for cars first used in 2012. First-attempt pass rate: 78.4%.
What are the most common MOT failures on a 2012 Saab 9-3?
The three most recorded items are coil spring fractured or broken (6.19%), ball joint dust cover severely deteriorated (2.93%), windscreen damaged but not adversely affecting driver's view (2.61%). Percentages are the share of tests on this vehicle that recorded the item.
Does mileage affect the 2012 Saab 9-3 MOT pass rate?
Yes. Cars under 30,000 miles passed 90.0% of the time, falling to 79.4% for those over 120,000 miles. The median 2012 Saab 9-3 in this dataset had covered 75,328 mi.
Which fuel type is most reliable for a 2012 Saab 9-3?
Diesel: 81.9% pass rate across 310 tests. Petrol: 82.2% pass rate across 304 tests. Shares are of the tests on this vehicle that recorded each fuel type.
Does the season affect the 2012 Saab 9-3 MOT pass rate?
Tests recorded in the winter months (October–March) passed 82.3% of the time; summer months (April–September) passed 81.9%. Brakes, tyres and lights are tested harder in bad weather, but the difference is small on most models.