2007 SEAT Alhambra MOT pass rate

Pass rate

66.3%

Below average — 6.7 pts behind the 73.0% that cars this age and mileage manage.

Across 1,689 recorded tests.

Typical repair bill £63–£176

Most common fault

Suspension

31.0% of faults · 21.0% nationally

mostly worn arm bushes, split ball-joint boots and broken coil springs.

Part only £35–£75 for Suspension pin or bush excessively worn. What fitting it takes →

12.7 pts down across model years — 15.8% in 2004, 3.1% in 2020.

Every failure, with what it costs →

Which year to buy

  • Best 2020 89.4% pass
  • Avoid 2003 65.8% pass

Across the 21 years on record, a spread of 23.6 points. See every year →

First-attempt pass
54.9%
Typical mileage
137k mi

The 2007 SEAT Alhambra MOT pass rate is 66.3% of its MOT tests — 6.7 points behind what its age and mileage predict. Suspension is the biggest single reason it fails, at 31.0% of what testers record.

MOT PASS RATES

The 2007 SEAT Alhambra on the real record

66.3% of 2007 SEAT Alhambra MOTs passed — 1,689 tests, 2023–2025

Pass rate

The answer from the DVSA's class-4 MOT records.

Check your postcode

MOT pass rates are national — type your postcode to see how SEAT Alhambra does in your corner of the country.

How one model's pass rate varies by postcode →

Expert verdict

Suspension: 1.5× the national share

Suspension accounts for 31.0% of everything recorded on the 2007 SEAT Alhambra, against 21.0% nationally — 10.0 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.

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 SEAT Alhambra? Get an email when these numbers change .

How does the 2007 SEAT Alhambra compare?

Cars of this age and mileage average 73.0%, so this figure is 6.7 points behind what its age and mileage predict. On a first attempt, before any retests, the figure drops to 54.9%. The median 2007 SEAT Alhambra in this dataset had covered 136,831 mi.

The most common fuel recorded here is Diesel — 93% of tests, with a 66.2% pass rate. Pass rates also shift with the test month: tests recorded October–March passed 67.6% of the time, April–September 64.6%.

The single most recorded failure item is "Joints constant velocity boot severely deteriorated", noted on 9.71% of tests.

  • 1,689 recorded tests behind this page.
  • 66.3% overall pass rate, 54.9% on a first attempt.
  • Across every year of the SEAT Alhambra, the average is 82.0% — best year 2020 (89.4%), worst 2003 (65.8%).

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
1,689
Typical mileage (median)
136,831 mi
Make and model
SEAT Alhambra
Updated
2026-11-05

Source: DVSA anonymised MOT test data (2023–2025), OGL v3.0.

Top part to budget for

Body Panel Repair

Typically a garage job — get quotes before committing.

Does mileage affect the Alhambra MOT pass rate?

0-30k 100.0%
30-60k 67.9%
60-90k 69.4%
90-120k 65.0%
120k+ 66.1%

Pass rate by odometer reading. Bar lengths start at 57% so small gaps stay visible.

Fuel type and reliability

Diesel 66.2%
Petrol 66.7%

Pass rate by fuel type. Diesel is the most common here (93% of tests).

Regional pass rates for the Alhambra

Region Tests Pass rate
South East 339 66.4%
North West 212 67.5%
South West 209 57.9%
West Midlands 208 72.6%
East of England 196 64.8%
East Midlands 132 68.9%
Yorkshire 117 70.9%
Scotland 83 59.0%
Wales 79 67.1%
North East 65 63.1%
London 49 71.4%

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 2007 Alhambra

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.

Suspension 31.0%
+10.0 pts vs national national 21.0% Price suspension parts
Brakes 15.8%
−5.1 pts vs national national 20.9% Price brakes parts
Body & chassis 13.5%
+7.9 pts vs national national 5.6% Find body panels
Tyres 9.8%
−10.0 pts vs national national 19.8% Compare tyre prices
Show the other 6 fault categories
  • Lamps & electrics 9.1%
  • Emissions & leaks 4.9%
  • Visibility 3.6%
  • Steering 3.5%
  • Advisories 3.5%
  • Seat belts 2.8%

Shares are of every item recorded on 2007 SEAT Alhambra tests — a composition, so they add to 100% across all sections, not per test.

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 2007 Alhambra

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.

  1. Check the suspension joints 8.1% 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.

  2. Check corrosion 7.3% 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.

  3. Check the lights 6.1% of tests

    “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.

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 2007 Alhambra through its MOT

Across the 10 items that are recorded most often on this model, the average repair comes to £63–£176 — and 10% of those repairs are parts that cost under £30.

Average repair across the 10 common items
£63–£176
Cheapest common item: position lamp not working
£5–£25
Dearest common item: component mounting prescribed areas…
£180–£450
Common items a careful owner can do at home
40%
Repairs that still cost under £30
10%

Estimates from typical UK parts prices, weighted by how often each item appears in 1,689 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 Alhambra, side by side

21 model years on record, from 2000 to 2020. Across them the pass rate runs from 65.8% to 89.4% — a spread of 23.6 points. The bar under each year is the item that failed it most often.

  1. 2000 73.8% component mounting prescribed…
  2. 2001 69.5% component mounting prescribed…
  3. 2002 66.5% component mounting prescribed…
  4. 2003 65.8% joints constant velocity boot…
  5. 2004 66.6% joints constant velocity boot…
  6. 2005 68.2% ball joint dust cover severely…
  7. 2006 67.7% joints constant velocity boot…
  8. 2007 66.3%
    joints constant velocity boot…
  9. 2008 67.7% ball joint dust cover severely…
  10. 2009 66.9% ball joint dust cover severely…
  11. 2010 72.5% pins and bushes pin or bush…
  12. 2011 76.6% pins and bushes pin or bush…
  13. 2012 76.9% pins and bushes pin or bush…
  14. 2013 78.2% pins and bushes pin or bush…
  15. 2014 80.3% pins and bushes pin or bush…
  16. 2015 82.2% pins and bushes pin or bush…
  17. 2016 84.7% pins and bushes pin or bush…
  18. 2017 86.3% pins and bushes pin or bush…
  19. 2018 87.8% windscreen damaged but not…
  20. 2019 88.4% has a cut in excess of the…
  21. 2020 89.4% has a cut in excess of the…

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 2007 SEAT Alhambra 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.

Compare 2007 with another year →

Compare two different cars instead →

Other 2007 cars with a similar record

Closest pass rates among 2007 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 2007 SEAT Alhambra 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 6,416 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 2,037 31.00% 20.98% +10.02
Brakes 1,042 15.80% 20.89% −5.09
Body, chassis, structure 890 13.50% 5.57% +7.93
Tyres 642 9.80% 19.76% −9.96
Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment 601 9.10% 12.21% −3.11
Noise, emissions and leaks 325 4.90% 5.52% −0.62
Visibility 236 3.60% 4.97% −1.37
Steering 231 3.50% 2.57% +0.93
Non-component advisories 229 3.50% 4.18% −0.68
Seat belts and supplementary restraint systems 183 2.80% 0.82% +1.98

The exact failure items, in the tester's words

Share of the 1,689 tests on this vehicle that recorded each item
Recorded item Severity Tests Est. cost Part
Joints constant velocity boot severely deteriorated Body, chassis, structure Minor 9.7% £80–250 Body Panel Repair →
Ball joint dust cover severely deteriorated Suspension Minor 8.1% £18–45 Ball Joint →
Component mounting prescribed areas prescribed area excessively corroded significantly reducing structural strength Suspension Major 7.3% £180–450 Corrosion Welding Repair →
Position lamp not working Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment Major 6.1% £5–25 Headlight Bulb →
Joints constant velocity boot split or insecure, no longer prevents the ingress of dirt Body, chassis, structure Major 6.0% £80–250 Body Panel Repair →
Ball joint dust cover no longer prevents the ingress of dirt Suspension Major 4.6% £18–45 Ball Joint →
Pins and bushes pin or bush excessively worn Suspension Major 4.6% £40–150 Suspension Component →
Rbt (sp) efficiency below requirements Brakes Major 4.6% £45–110 Brake Discs and Pads Set →
Windscreen damaged but not adversely affecting driver's view Visibility Minor 4.0% £80–200 Windscreen →
Exhaust system has a major leak of exhaust gases Body, chassis, structure Major 3.9% £45–120 Exhaust →

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.

Items recorded as advisory on this vehicle
Recorded item Severity Tests Est. cost
Pins and bushes pin or bush excessively worn Suspension Advisory 23.1% £40–150
Tread depth below requirements of 1.6mm Tyres Advisory 19.0% £45–95
Brake discs in such a condition that it is seriously weakened Brakes Advisory 15.3% £45–110
Engine oil leaks leaking excessively from engine Noise, emissions and leaks Advisory 13.2% £200–700
Has a tear, caused by separation or partial failure of its structure Tyres Advisory 9.2% £45–95
Integral vehicle structure condition corroded to the extent that the rigidity of the assembly is significantly reduced Body, chassis, structure Advisory 8.4% £180–450

Pass rate by mileage

Mileage Tests Pass rate Median odometer
0-30k 6 100.0% 23,004 mi
30-60k 28 67.9% 50,144 mi
60-90k 121 69.4% 79,757 mi
90-120k 374 65.0% 106,941 mi
120k+ 1,158 66.1% 156,425 mi

Source: 1,689 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.

2007 Alhambra MOT questions

What is the MOT pass rate for a 2007 SEAT Alhambra?

66.3% of the 1,689 2007 SEAT Alhambra tests in this dataset passed, against a national average of 73.0% for cars first used in 2007. First-attempt pass rate: 54.9%.

What are the most common MOT failures on a 2007 SEAT Alhambra?

The three most recorded items are joints constant velocity boot severely deteriorated (9.71%), ball joint dust cover severely deteriorated (8.11%), component mounting prescribed areas prescribed area excessively corroded significantly reducing structural strength (7.28%). Percentages are the share of tests on this vehicle that recorded the item.

Does mileage affect the 2007 SEAT Alhambra MOT pass rate?

Yes. Cars under 30,000 miles passed 100.0% of the time, falling to 66.1% for those over 120,000 miles. The median 2007 SEAT Alhambra in this dataset had covered 136,831 mi.

Which fuel type is most reliable for a 2007 SEAT Alhambra?

Diesel: 66.2% pass rate across 1,578 tests. Petrol: 66.7% pass rate across 111 tests. Shares are of the tests on this vehicle that recorded each fuel type.

Does the season affect the 2007 SEAT Alhambra MOT pass rate?

Tests recorded in the winter months (October–March) passed 67.6% of the time; summer months (April–September) passed 64.6%. Brakes, tyres and lights are tested harder in bad weather, but the difference is small on most models.