Pass rate
72.2%
Below average — 0.4 pts behind the 72.6% that cars this age and mileage manage.
Across 3,481 recorded tests.
Typical repair bill £20–£73
2003 Smart Mcc City MOT pass rate
- 2003
- typical 68,479 mi
Check your postcode
Most common fault
Brakes
20.6% 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 83.5% pass
- Avoid 2003 72.2% pass · this year
Across the 13 years on record, a spread of 11.3 points. See every year →
- First-attempt pass
- 64.8%
- Typical mileage
- 68k mi
The 2003 Smart Mcc City MOT pass rate is 72.2% of its MOT tests — about what its age and mileage predict. Brakes is the biggest single reason it fails, at 20.6% of what testers record.
Expert verdict
Lamps & electrics: 1.6× the national share
Lamps & electrics make up 19.2% of everything recorded on the 2003 Smart Mcc City, against 12.2% nationally — 7.0 points above. Brakes are still the single largest share at 20.6%, but at 20.9% nationally that one is ordinary. Walk round the car with the lights on before the test: bulbs, indicators and number-plate lamps are the cheapest failures to prevent and among the most common.
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 Smart Mcc City? Get an email when these numbers change .
How does the 2003 Smart Mcc City compare?
Cars of this age and mileage average 72.6%, so this figure is 0.4 points behind what its age and mileage predict. On a first attempt, before any retests, the figure drops to 64.8%. The median 2003 Smart Mcc City in this dataset had covered 68,479 mi.
Pass rates also shift with the test month: tests recorded October–March passed 71.1% of the time, April–September 73.4%.
The single most recorded failure item is "Headlamp aim projected beam image is obviously incorrect", noted on 5.54% of tests.
- 3,481 recorded tests behind this page.
- 72.2% overall pass rate, 64.8% on a first attempt.
- Across every year of the Smart Mcc City, the average is 73.6% — best year 2012 (83.5%), worst 2003 (72.2%).
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
- 3,481
- Typical mileage (median)
- 68,479 mi
- Make and model
- Smart Mcc City
- 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 City MOT pass rate?
Pass rate by odometer reading. Bar lengths start at 58% so small gaps stay visible.
Where the Smart Mcc City is most common
Across all City model years on record (2000–2012): 6,843 Smart Mcc City cars tested in a recordable postcode area, across 16,054 tests. Birmingham (B) has the most, with 240 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) | 240 | 81.6% |
| 2 | Bristol (BS) | 180 | 68.0% |
| 3 | Portsmouth (PO) | 163 | 66.5% |
| 4 | Peterborough (PE) | 136 | 73.2% |
| 5 | Poole (BH) | 132 | 68.1% |
| 6 | Nottingham (NG) | 124 | 71.5% |
| 7 | Gloucester (GL) | 120 | 73.0% |
| 8 | London (SE) | 119 | 79.6% |
| 9 | Sheffield (S) | 118 | 75.6% |
| 10 | Hounslow (TW) | 113 | 78.8% |
| 11 | Brighton (BN) | 106 | 64.3% |
| 12 | Reading (RG) | 104 | 76.1% |
| 13 | Croydon (CR) | 104 | 81.4% |
| 14 | Ashford (TN) | 102 | 73.8% |
| 15 | Basildon (SS) | 99 | 81.2% |
| 16 | Maidstone (ME) | 98 | 72.6% |
| 17 | Kingston upon Thames (KT) | 98 | 81.1% |
| 18 | Guildford (GU) | 97 | 70.2% |
| 19 | London (N) | 97 | 83.4% |
| 20 | Southampton (SO) | 93 | 68.3% |
The twenty areas with the most Smart Mcc City 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 City
| Region | Tests | Pass rate |
|---|---|---|
| South East | 908 | 73.2% |
| South West | 608 | 66.9% |
| East of England | 430 | 71.9% |
| North West | 302 | 69.9% |
| West Midlands | 296 | 76.4% |
| East Midlands | 224 | 70.1% |
| London | 213 | 78.4% |
| Yorkshire | 209 | 75.1% |
| Wales | 112 | 72.3% |
| Scotland | 93 | 78.5% |
| North East | 86 | 69.8% |
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 City
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 City
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 5.5% 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 exhaust and emissions 4.3% of tests
“catalyst emissions Lambda reading after 2nd fast idle outside specified limits”
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 wipers and washers 3.6% of tests
“washers provides insufficient washer liquid”
Run the wipers with the screen wet: they should clear it in one sweep without smearing or juddering. Top the washer bottle up and check both jets hit the 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 2003 City through its MOT
Across the 10 items that are recorded most often on this model, the average repair comes to £20–£73 — and 54% of those repairs are parts that cost under £30.
- Average repair across the 10 common items
- £20–£73
- Cheapest common item: stop lamp not working
- £3–£12
- Dearest common item: catalyst emissions lambda reading after 2nd…
- £60–£250
- Common items a careful owner can do at home
- 70%
- Repairs that still cost under £30
- 54%
Estimates from typical UK parts prices, weighted by how often each item appears in 3,481 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 City, side by side
13 model years on record, from 2000 to 2012. Across them the pass rate runs from 72.2% to 83.5% — a spread of 11.3 points. The bar under each year is the item that failed it most often.
- 2000 74.8% registration plate lamp(s)…
- 2001 74.3% headlamp aim projected beam image…
- 2002 73.2% headlamp aim projected beam image…
- 2003 72.2%headlamp aim projected beam image…
- 2004 74.7% headlamp aim projected beam image…
- 2005 72.7% headlamp aim projected beam image…
- 2006 72.8% headlamp aim projected beam image…
- 2007 72.6% coil spring fractured or broken
- 2008 77.4% registration plate lamp(s)…
- 2009 77.2% coil spring fractured or broken
- 2010 78.3% coil spring fractured or broken
- 2011 81.7% coil spring fractured or broken
- 2012 83.5% service brake performance…
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 Smart Mcc City 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
- Mercedes-Benz A-Class 72.2%
- Audi A3 72.3%
- Mercedes-Benz Ml 72.3%
- Honda Accord 72.1%
- Ford Fiesta 72.4%
- Audi Tt 72.4%
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 Smart Mcc City 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 9,220 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 | 1,929 | 20.60% | 20.89% | −0.29 |
| Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | 1,795 | 19.20% | 12.21% | +6.99 |
| Suspension | 1,756 | 18.80% | 20.98% | −2.18 |
| Tyres | 1,004 | 10.70% | 19.76% | −9.06 |
| Noise, emissions and leaks | 988 | 10.60% | 5.52% | +5.08 |
| Visibility | 512 | 5.50% | 4.97% | +0.53 |
| Body, chassis, structure | 510 | 5.40% | 5.57% | −0.17 |
| Steering | 275 | 2.90% | 2.57% | +0.33 |
| Identification of the vehicle | 268 | 2.90% | 1.76% | +1.14 |
| Non-component advisories | 183 | 2.00% | 4.18% | −2.18 |
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 | 5.5% | £30–80 |
| Catalyst emissions Lambda reading after 2nd fast idle outside specified limits Noise, emissions and leaks | Major | 4.3% | £60–250 |
| Washers provides insufficient washer liquid Visibility | Major | 3.6% | £5–15 |
| Headlamp lens slightly defective Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | Minor | 3.5% | £5–25 |
| Coil spring fractured or broken Suspension | Major | 3.0% | £25–65 |
| Registration plate lamp(s) inoperative in the case of multiple lamps or light sources Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | Minor | 2.9% | £5–20 |
| Stop lamp not working Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | Major | 2.9% | £3–12 |
| Position lamp not working Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | Major | 2.4% | £5–25 |
| Washers not working Visibility | Major | 2.4% | £5–15 |
| Pins and bushes pin or bush excessively worn Suspension | Major | 2.3% | £40–150 |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rigid brake pipes excessively corroded Brakes | Advisory | 16.8% | £80–180 |
| Engine oil leaks leaking excessively from engine Noise, emissions and leaks | Advisory | 13.0% | £200–700 |
| Has a tear, caused by separation or partial failure of its structure Tyres | Advisory | 12.8% | £45–95 |
| Brake discs in such a condition that it is seriously weakened Brakes | Advisory | 12.3% | £45–110 |
| Tread depth below requirements of 1.6mm Tyres | Advisory | 10.3% | £45–95 |
| Registration plates inscription illegible Identification of the vehicle | Advisory | 7.2% | £20–80 |
Pass rate by mileage
| Mileage | Tests | Pass rate | Median odometer |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0-30k | 186 | 79.6% | 22,767 mi |
| 30-60k | 1,132 | 73.2% | 47,217 mi |
| 60-90k | 1,411 | 72.2% | 74,482 mi |
| 90-120k | 579 | 70.5% | 102,034 mi |
| 120k+ | 142 | 66.2% | 141,631 mi |
Source: 3,481 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 City MOT questions
What is the MOT pass rate for a 2003 Smart Mcc City?
72.2% of the 3,481 2003 Smart Mcc City tests in this dataset passed, against a national average of 72.6% for cars first used in 2003. First-attempt pass rate: 64.8%.
What are the most common MOT failures on a 2003 Smart Mcc City?
The three most recorded items are headlamp aim projected beam image is obviously incorrect (5.54%), catalyst emissions lambda reading after 2nd fast idle outside specified limits (4.34%), washers provides insufficient washer liquid (3.65%). Percentages are the share of tests on this vehicle that recorded the item.
Does mileage affect the 2003 Smart Mcc City MOT pass rate?
Yes. Cars under 30,000 miles passed 79.6% of the time, falling to 66.2% for those over 120,000 miles. The median 2003 Smart Mcc City in this dataset had covered 68,479 mi.
Does the season affect the 2003 Smart Mcc City MOT pass rate?
Tests recorded in the winter months (October–March) passed 71.1% of the time; summer months (April–September) passed 73.4%. Brakes, tyres and lights are tested harder in bad weather, but the difference is small on most models.