Pass rate
88.9%
Above average — 16.0 pts ahead of the 72.9% that cars this age and mileage manage.
Across 90 recorded tests.
Typical repair bill £54–£171
2002 TVR Cerbera MOT pass rate
- 2002
- typical 39,851 mi
Only 90 tests of this exact model and year are in the DVSA data, below the 100 we ask for before a page goes in the index. The figures are still shown, because they are the only ones there are.
Check your postcode
Most common fault
Emissions & leaks
20.3% of faults · 5.5% nationally
Which year to buy
- Best 2003 96.0% pass
- Avoid 2000 85.8% pass
Across the 4 years on record, a spread of 10.2 points. See every year →
- First-attempt pass
- 88.4%
- Typical mileage
- 40k mi
The 2002 TVR Cerbera MOT pass rate is 88.9% of its MOT tests — 16.0 points ahead of what its age and mileage predict. Emissions & leaks is the biggest single reason it fails, at 20.3% of what testers record.
Expert verdict
Emissions & leaks: 3.7× the national share
Emissions & leaks make up 20.3% of everything recorded on the 2002 TVR Cerbera, against 5.5% nationally — 14.8 points above. A smoky diesel or a leaking joint fails on emissions more often than on wear, so ask for a recent emissions printout.
- 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 72.9% and this one manages 88.9% — 16.0 points ahead of what its age and mileage predict.
- When it fails, it costs. Only 20% 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 TVR Cerbera? Get an email when these numbers change .
How does the 2002 TVR Cerbera compare?
Cars of this age and mileage average 72.9%, so this figure is 16.0 points ahead of what its age and mileage predict. On a first attempt, before any retests, the figure drops to 88.4%. The median 2002 TVR Cerbera in this dataset had covered 39,851 mi.
Pass rates also shift with the test month: tests recorded October–March passed 91.9% of the time, April–September 86.8%.
The single most recorded failure item is "Washers not working", noted on 4.44% of tests.
- 90 recorded tests behind this page.
- 88.9% overall pass rate, 88.4% on a first attempt.
- Across every year of the TVR Cerbera, the average is 88.1% — best year 2003 (96.0%), worst 2000 (85.8%).
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
- 90
- Typical mileage (median)
- 39,851 mi
- Make and model
- TVR Cerbera
- Updated
- 2026-11-07
Source: DVSA anonymised MOT test data (2023–2025), OGL v3.0.
Top part to budget for
Windscreen Washer
Usually a DIY or independent-garage job.
Does mileage affect the Cerbera MOT pass rate?
Pass rate by odometer reading. Bar lengths start at 79% so small gaps stay visible.
Regional pass rates for the Cerbera
| Region | Tests | Pass rate |
|---|---|---|
| East of England | 25 | 96.0% |
| South East | 20 | 85.0% |
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 Cerbera
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 Cerbera
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 wipers and washers 4.4% of tests
“washers not working”
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.
-
Check the exhaust and emissions 3.3% 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 windscreen 3.3% 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 Cerbera through its MOT
Across the 10 items that are recorded most often on this model, the average repair comes to £54–£171 — and 20% of those repairs are parts that cost under £30.
- Average repair across the 10 common items
- £54–£171
- Cheapest common item: washers not working
- £5–£15
- Dearest common item: steering rack gaiter damaged or deteriorated,
- £120–£300
- Common items a careful owner can do at home
- 30%
- Repairs that still cost under £30
- 20%
Estimates from typical UK parts prices, weighted by how often each item appears in 90 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 Cerbera, side by side
4 model years on record, from 2000 to 2003. Across them the pass rate runs from 85.8% to 96.0% — a spread of 10.2 points. The bar under each year is the item that failed it most often.
- 2000 85.8% catalyst emissions carbon…
- 2001 86.9% catalyst emissions lambda reading…
- 2002 88.9%washers not working
- 2003 96.0% steering rack gaiter damaged or…
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 TVR Cerbera 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
- BMW M3 86.7%
- Porsche 911 85.5%
- Mercedes-Benz Sl 85.2%
- Honda S2000 84.6%
- Mercedes-Benz Slk 81.2%
- BMW Z3 80.7%
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 TVR Cerbera 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 59 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Noise, emissions and leaks | 12 | 20.30% | 5.52% | +14.78 |
| Brakes | 10 | 16.90% | 20.89% | −3.99 |
| Tyres | 9 | 15.30% | 19.76% | −4.46 |
| Visibility | 8 | 13.60% | 4.97% | +8.63 |
| Suspension | 7 | 11.90% | 20.98% | −9.08 |
| Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | 4 | 6.80% | 12.21% | −5.41 |
| Steering | 4 | 6.80% | 2.57% | +4.23 |
| Body, chassis, structure | 3 | 5.10% | 5.57% | −0.47 |
| Non-component advisories | 1 | 1.70% | 4.18% | −2.48 |
| Road Wheels | 1 | 1.70% | 0.75% | +0.95 |
The exact failure items, in the tester's words
| Recorded item | Severity | Tests | Est. cost |
|---|---|---|---|
| Washers not working Visibility | Major | 4.4% | £5–15 |
| Catalyst emissions Lambda reading after 2nd fast idle outside specified limits Noise, emissions and leaks | Major | 3.3% | £60–250 |
| Windscreen damaged but not adversely affecting driver's view Visibility | Minor | 3.3% | £80–200 |
| Catalyst emissions hydrocarbon content after 2nd fast idle exceeds default limits Noise, emissions and leaks | Major | 2.2% | £60–250 |
| Rbt (sp) efficiency below requirements Brakes | Major | 2.2% | £45–110 |
| Steering rack gaiter damaged or deteriorated, but preventing the ingress of dirt Steering | Minor | 2.2% | £120–300 |
| Ball joint dust cover severely deteriorated Suspension | Minor | 1.1% | £18–45 |
| Brake performance not tested unable to be tested Brakes | Major | 1.1% | £60–150 |
| Catalyst emissions carbon monoxide content at idle exceeds default limits Noise, emissions and leaks | Major | 1.1% | £60–250 |
| Catalyst emissions carbon monoxide content at idle exceeds manufacturer's specified limits Noise, emissions and leaks | Major | 1.1% | £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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tread depth below requirements of 1.6mm Tyres | Advisory | 6.7% | £45–95 |
| Has a tear, caused by separation or partial failure of its structure Tyres | Advisory | 3.3% | £45–95 |
| Linkage ball joints ball joint excessively worn Suspension | Advisory | 3.3% | £18–45 |
| Brake discs in such a condition that it is seriously weakened Brakes | Advisory | 2.2% | £45–110 |
| Engine oil leaks leaking excessively from engine Noise, emissions and leaks | Advisory | 2.2% | £200–700 |
| Flexible brake hoses excessively deteriorated Brakes | Advisory | 2.2% | £25–70 |
Pass rate by mileage
| Mileage | Tests | Pass rate | Median odometer |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0-30k | 16 | 93.8% | 23,309 mi |
| 30-60k | 62 | 87.1% | 42,073 mi |
| 60-90k | 11 | 90.9% | 76,269 mi |
| 90-120k | 1 | 100.0% | 90,095 mi |
Source: 90 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 Cerbera MOT questions
What is the MOT pass rate for a 2002 TVR Cerbera?
88.9% of the 90 2002 TVR Cerbera tests in this dataset passed, against a national average of 72.9% for cars first used in 2002. First-attempt pass rate: 88.4%.
What are the most common MOT failures on a 2002 TVR Cerbera?
The three most recorded items are washers not working (4.44%), catalyst emissions lambda reading after 2nd fast idle outside specified limits (3.33%), windscreen damaged but not adversely affecting driver's view (3.33%). Percentages are the share of tests on this vehicle that recorded the item.
Does mileage affect the 2002 TVR Cerbera MOT pass rate?
Yes. Cars under 30,000 miles passed 93.8% of the time, falling to 100.0% for those over 120,000 miles. The median 2002 TVR Cerbera in this dataset had covered 39,851 mi.
Does the season affect the 2002 TVR Cerbera MOT pass rate?
Tests recorded in the winter months (October–March) passed 91.9% of the time; summer months (April–September) passed 86.8%. Brakes, tyres and lights are tested harder in bad weather, but the difference is small on most models.