Pass rate
71.6%
Below average — 1.3 pts behind the 72.9% that cars this age and mileage manage.
Across 1,448 recorded tests.
Typical repair bill £44–£135
2002 SEAT Arosa MOT pass rate
- 2002
- typical 79,874 mi
Most common fault
Suspension
24.4% of faults · 21.0% nationally
mostly worn arm bushes, split ball-joint boots and broken coil springs.
Which year to buy
- Best 2001 74.9% pass
- Avoid 2002 71.6% pass · this year
Across the 6 years on record, a spread of 3.3 points. See every year →
- First-attempt pass
- 63.2%
- Typical mileage
- 80k mi
The 2002 SEAT Arosa MOT pass rate is 71.6% of its MOT tests — 1.3 points behind what its age and mileage predict. Suspension is the biggest single reason it fails, at 24.4% of what testers record.
Check your postcode
MOT pass rates are national — type your postcode to see how SEAT Arosa does in your corner of the country.
Expert verdict
Body & chassis: 2.2× the national share
Body & chassis accounts for 12.4% of everything recorded on the 2002 SEAT Arosa, against 5.6% nationally — 6.8 points above. Suspension is still the single largest share at 24.4%, but at 21.0% nationally that one is ordinary. Look underneath for corrosion near the jacking points and suspension mounts; surface rust is normal, flaking metal is not.
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 Arosa? Get an email when these numbers change .
How does the 2002 SEAT Arosa compare?
Cars of this age and mileage average 72.9%, so this figure is 1.3 points behind what its age and mileage predict. On a first attempt, before any retests, the figure drops to 63.2%. The median 2002 SEAT Arosa in this dataset had covered 79,874 mi.
88% of the tests on this vehicle ran on Petrol, which passed 71.7% of the time. Pass rates also shift with the test month: tests recorded October–March passed 71.2% of the time, April–September 72.2%.
The single most recorded failure item is "Joints constant velocity boot severely deteriorated", noted on 8.29% of tests.
- 1,448 recorded tests behind this page.
- 71.6% overall pass rate, 63.2% on a first attempt.
- Across every year of the SEAT Arosa, the average is 73.3% — best year 2001 (74.9%), worst 2002 (71.6%).
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
- 1,448
- Typical mileage (median)
- 79,874 mi
- Make and model
- SEAT Arosa
- 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 Arosa MOT pass rate?
Pass rate by odometer reading. Bar lengths start at 61% so small gaps stay visible.
Fuel type and reliability
Pass rate by fuel type. Petrol is the most common here (88% of tests).
Regional pass rates for the Arosa
| Region | Tests | Pass rate |
|---|---|---|
| South East | 377 | 75.3% |
| South West | 352 | 67.0% |
| West Midlands | 170 | 69.4% |
| East of England | 155 | 77.4% |
| Yorkshire | 109 | 71.6% |
| North West | 79 | 72.2% |
| Wales | 57 | 68.4% |
| North East | 41 | 70.7% |
| London | 41 | 80.5% |
| East Midlands | 36 | 66.7% |
| Scotland | 31 | 61.3% |
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 2002 Arosa
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 2002 Arosa
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 4.8% of tests
“headlamp lens slightly defective”
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 exhaust and emissions 3.7% of tests
“exhaust system has a major leak of exhaust gases”
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.
-
Check the windscreen 3.7% 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 2002 Arosa through its MOT
Across the 10 items that are recorded most often on this model, the average repair comes to £44–£135 — and 37% of those repairs are parts that cost under £30.
- Average repair across the 10 common items
- £44–£135
- Cheapest common item: stop lamp not working
- £3–£12
- Dearest common item: joints constant velocity boot severely…
- £80–£250
- Common items a careful owner can do at home
- 40%
- Repairs that still cost under £30
- 37%
Estimates from typical UK parts prices, weighted by how often each item appears in 1,448 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 Arosa, side by side
6 model years on record, from 2000 to 2005. Across them the pass rate runs from 71.6% to 74.9% — a spread of 3.3 points. The bar under each year is the item that failed it most often.
- 2000 74.7% windscreen damaged but not…
- 2001 74.9% joints constant velocity boot…
- 2002 71.6%joints constant velocity boot…
- 2003 74.1% registration plate lamp(s)…
- 2004 72.8% registration plate lamp(s)…
- 2005 72.8% ball joint dust cover severely…
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 2002 SEAT Arosa 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 2002 cars with a similar record
- Honda Jazz 71.6%
- Jaguar S-Type 71.6%
- Vauxhall Astra 71.5%
- Volvo V70 71.4%
- Rover 75 71.4%
- Suzuki Grand Vitara 71.4%
Closest pass rates among 2002 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 2002 SEAT Arosa 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 4,725 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 | 1,164 | 24.40% | 20.98% | +3.42 |
| Brakes | 787 | 16.50% | 20.89% | −4.39 |
| Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | 695 | 14.50% | 12.21% | +2.29 |
| Body, chassis, structure | 593 | 12.40% | 5.57% | +6.83 |
| Tyres | 507 | 10.60% | 19.76% | −9.16 |
| Noise, emissions and leaks | 449 | 9.40% | 5.52% | +3.88 |
| Visibility | 195 | 4.10% | 4.97% | −0.87 |
| Identification of the vehicle | 121 | 2.50% | 1.76% | +0.74 |
| Steering | 117 | 2.40% | 2.57% | −0.17 |
| Non-component advisories | 97 | 2.00% | 4.18% | −2.18 |
The exact failure items, in the tester's words
| Recorded item | Severity | Tests | Est. cost |
|---|---|---|---|
| Joints constant velocity boot severely deteriorated Body, chassis, structure | Minor | 8.3% | £80–250 |
| Headlamp lens slightly defective Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | Minor | 4.8% | £5–25 |
| Registration plate lamp(s) inoperative in the case of multiple lamps or light sources Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | Minor | 4.7% | £5–20 |
| Joints constant velocity boot split or insecure, no longer prevents the ingress of dirt Body, chassis, structure | Major | 4.4% | £80–250 |
| Exhaust system has a major leak of exhaust gases Body, chassis, structure | Major | 3.7% | £45–120 |
| Windscreen damaged but not adversely affecting driver's view Visibility | Minor | 3.7% | £80–200 |
| Headlamp aim projected beam image is obviously incorrect Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | Major | 3.2% | £30–80 |
| Position lamp not working Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | Major | 3.2% | £5–25 |
| Stop lamp not working Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | Major | 2.9% | £3–12 |
| Catalyst emissions Lambda reading after 2nd fast idle outside specified limits Noise, emissions and leaks | Major | 2.7% | £60–250 |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pins and bushes pin or bush excessively worn Suspension | Advisory | 18.7% | £40–150 |
| Engine oil leaks leaking excessively from engine Noise, emissions and leaks | Advisory | 16.2% | £200–700 |
| Tread depth below requirements of 1.6mm Tyres | Advisory | 14.6% | £45–95 |
| Coil spring corroded so that its cross sectional area is reduced and seriously weakened Suspension | Advisory | 14.1% | £25–65 |
| Exhaust system has a major leak of exhaust gases Body, chassis, structure | Advisory | 13.5% | £45–120 |
| Has a tear, caused by separation or partial failure of its structure Tyres | Advisory | 12.3% | £45–95 |
Pass rate by mileage
| Mileage | Tests | Pass rate | Median odometer |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0-30k | 71 | 88.7% | 21,958 mi |
| 30-60k | 386 | 73.8% | 45,827 mi |
| 60-90k | 424 | 69.8% | 75,410 mi |
| 90-120k | 365 | 69.0% | 103,016 mi |
| 120k+ | 197 | 70.6% | 145,390 mi |
Source: 1,448 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.
2002 Arosa MOT questions
What is the MOT pass rate for a 2002 SEAT Arosa?
71.6% of the 1,448 2002 SEAT Arosa tests in this dataset passed, against a national average of 72.9% for cars first used in 2002. First-attempt pass rate: 63.2%.
What are the most common MOT failures on a 2002 SEAT Arosa?
The three most recorded items are joints constant velocity boot severely deteriorated (8.29%), headlamp lens slightly defective (4.83%), registration plate lamp(s) inoperative in the case of multiple lamps or light sources (4.70%). Percentages are the share of tests on this vehicle that recorded the item.
Does mileage affect the 2002 SEAT Arosa MOT pass rate?
Yes. Cars under 30,000 miles passed 88.7% of the time, falling to 70.6% for those over 120,000 miles. The median 2002 SEAT Arosa in this dataset had covered 79,874 mi.
Which fuel type is most reliable for a 2002 SEAT Arosa?
Petrol: 71.7% pass rate across 1,271 tests. Diesel: 71.2% pass rate across 177 tests. Shares are of the tests on this vehicle that recorded each fuel type.
Does the season affect the 2002 SEAT Arosa MOT pass rate?
Tests recorded in the winter months (October–March) passed 71.2% of the time; summer months (April–September) passed 72.2%. Brakes, tyres and lights are tested harder in bad weather, but the difference is small on most models.