Pass rate
74.1%
Below average — 1.5 pts ahead of the 72.6% that cars this age and mileage manage.
Across 5,119 recorded tests.
Typical repair bill £54–£153
2003 Vauxhall Agila MOT pass rate
- 2003
- typical 75,742 mi
Most common fault
Brakes
23.4% of faults · 20.9% nationally
mostly worn pads and discs, corroded pipes and a handbrake that will not hold.
Part only £25–£55 for Rigid brake pipes excessively corroded. What fitting it takes →
12.2 pts down across model years — 17.1% in 2000, 4.9% in 2014.
Which year to buy
- Best 2015 85.9% pass
- Avoid 2008 70.2% pass
Across the 16 years on record, a spread of 15.7 points. See every year →
- First-attempt pass
- 66.1%
- Typical mileage
- 76k mi
The 2003 Vauxhall Agila MOT pass rate is 74.1% of its MOT tests — 1.5 points ahead of what its age and mileage predict. Brakes is the biggest single reason it fails, at 23.4% of what testers record.
Check your postcode
MOT pass rates are national — type your postcode to see how Vauxhall Agila does in your corner of the country.
Expert verdict
When it fails, it costs
Only 19% 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 Vauxhall Agila? Get an email when these numbers change .
How does the 2003 Vauxhall Agila compare?
Cars of this age and mileage average 72.6%, so this figure is 1.5 points ahead of what its age and mileage predict. On a first attempt, before any retests, the figure drops to 66.1%. The median 2003 Vauxhall Agila in this dataset had covered 75,742 mi.
Pass rates also shift with the test month: tests recorded October–March passed 74.4% of the time, April–September 73.7%.
The single most recorded failure item is "Joints constant velocity boot severely deteriorated", noted on 10.57% of tests.
- 5,119 recorded tests behind this page.
- 74.1% overall pass rate, 66.1% on a first attempt.
- Across every year of the Vauxhall Agila, the average is 75.2% — best year 2015 (85.9%), worst 2008 (70.2%).
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
- 5,119
- Typical mileage (median)
- 75,742 mi
- Make and model
- Vauxhall Agila
- 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 Agila MOT pass rate?
Pass rate by odometer reading. Bar lengths start at 59% so small gaps stay visible.
Regional pass rates for the Agila
| Region | Tests | Pass rate |
|---|---|---|
| South East | 1,118 | 76.9% |
| South West | 996 | 72.8% |
| West Midlands | 574 | 75.6% |
| East of England | 532 | 77.3% |
| North West | 469 | 72.3% |
| Yorkshire | 382 | 68.6% |
| East Midlands | 372 | 72.6% |
| Wales | 238 | 72.7% |
| Scotland | 198 | 63.1% |
| London | 135 | 80.0% |
| North East | 105 | 80.0% |
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 2003 Agila
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 Agila
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 windscreen 4.6% 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.
-
Check the suspension joints 3.7% 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 lights 3.5% of tests
“registration plate lamp(s) inoperative in the case of a single lamp or all lamps”
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 2003 Agila through its MOT
Across the 10 items that are recorded most often on this model, the average repair comes to £54–£153 — and 19% of those repairs are parts that cost under £30.
- Average repair across the 10 common items
- £54–£153
- Cheapest common item: registration plate lamp(s) inoperative in the…
- £5–£20
- Dearest common item: joints constant velocity boot severely…
- £80–£250
- Common items a careful owner can do at home
- 60%
- Repairs that still cost under £30
- 19%
Estimates from typical UK parts prices, weighted by how often each item appears in 5,119 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 Agila, side by side
16 model years on record, from 2000 to 2015. Across them the pass rate runs from 70.2% to 85.9% — a spread of 15.7 points. The bar under each year is the item that failed it most often.
- 2000 74.7% ball joint dust cover severely…
- 2001 73.4% ball joint dust cover severely…
- 2002 74.2% joints constant velocity boot…
- 2003 74.1%joints constant velocity boot…
- 2004 74.9% rigid brake pipes excessively…
- 2005 75.4% ball joint dust cover severely…
- 2006 75.5% joints constant velocity boot…
- 2007 76.8% track rod end ball joint dust…
- 2008 70.2% ball joint excessively worn
- 2009 71.4% coil spring fractured or broken
- 2010 73.5% coil spring fractured or broken
- 2011 74.5% coil spring fractured or broken
- 2012 77.7% ball joint excessively worn
- 2013 80.0% ball joint excessively worn
- 2014 82.3% ball joint excessively worn
- 2015 85.9% ball joint excessively worn
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 Vauxhall Agila 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
- Audi A4 74.1%
- Volkswagen Lupo 74.1%
- Volvo S60 74.1%
- Toyota Hiace 74.1%
- Volkswagen Bora 74.0%
- Toyota Corolla 73.9%
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 Vauxhall Agila 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 14,348 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 | 3,426 | 23.40% | 20.89% | +2.51 |
| Suspension | 2,911 | 19.90% | 20.98% | −1.08 |
| Tyres | 2,245 | 15.40% | 19.76% | −4.36 |
| Body, chassis, structure | 1,327 | 9.10% | 5.57% | +3.53 |
| Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | 1,171 | 8.00% | 12.21% | −4.21 |
| Noise, emissions and leaks | 1,023 | 7.00% | 5.52% | +1.48 |
| Visibility | 686 | 4.70% | 4.97% | −0.27 |
| Non-component advisories | 643 | 4.40% | 4.18% | +0.22 |
| Identification of the vehicle | 552 | 3.80% | 1.76% | +2.04 |
| Steering | 364 | 2.50% | 2.57% | −0.07 |
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 | 10.6% | £80–250 |
| Joints constant velocity boot split or insecure, no longer prevents the ingress of dirt Body, chassis, structure | Major | 5.0% | £80–250 |
| Windscreen damaged but not adversely affecting driver's view Visibility | Minor | 4.6% | £80–200 |
| Ball joint dust cover severely deteriorated Suspension | Minor | 3.7% | £18–45 |
| Registration plate lamp(s) inoperative in the case of a single lamp or all lamps Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | Major | 3.5% | £5–20 |
| Rigid brake pipes excessively corroded Brakes | Major | 3.5% | £80–180 |
| Ball joint excessively worn Suspension | Major | 3.0% | £18–45 |
| Position lamp not working Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | Major | 2.1% | £5–25 |
| Wipers does not clear the windscreen effectively Visibility | Major | 1.9% | £8–22 |
| Has ply or cords exposed Tyres | Major | 1.8% | £45–95 |
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 | 27.5% | £80–180 |
| Tread depth below requirements of 1.6mm Tyres | Advisory | 17.6% | £45–95 |
| Has a tear, caused by separation or partial failure of its structure Tyres | Advisory | 16.5% | £45–95 |
| Engine oil leaks leaking excessively from engine Noise, emissions and leaks | Advisory | 15.3% | £200–700 |
| Coil spring corroded so that its cross sectional area is reduced and seriously weakened Suspension | Advisory | 14.7% | £25–65 |
| Registration plates inscription illegible Identification of the vehicle | Advisory | 10.1% | £20–80 |
Pass rate by mileage
| Mileage | Tests | Pass rate | Median odometer |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0-30k | 122 | 84.4% | 24,248 mi |
| 30-60k | 1,359 | 78.2% | 47,223 mi |
| 60-90k | 2,018 | 74.0% | 74,965 mi |
| 90-120k | 1,164 | 70.9% | 101,878 mi |
| 120k+ | 446 | 67.3% | 141,637 mi |
Source: 5,119 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 Agila MOT questions
What is the MOT pass rate for a 2003 Vauxhall Agila?
74.1% of the 5,119 2003 Vauxhall Agila tests in this dataset passed, against a national average of 72.6% for cars first used in 2003. First-attempt pass rate: 66.1%.
What are the most common MOT failures on a 2003 Vauxhall Agila?
The three most recorded items are joints constant velocity boot severely deteriorated (10.57%), joints constant velocity boot split or insecure, no longer prevents the ingress of dirt (4.96%), windscreen damaged but not adversely affecting driver's view (4.59%). Percentages are the share of tests on this vehicle that recorded the item.
Does mileage affect the 2003 Vauxhall Agila MOT pass rate?
Yes. Cars under 30,000 miles passed 84.4% of the time, falling to 67.3% for those over 120,000 miles. The median 2003 Vauxhall Agila in this dataset had covered 75,742 mi.
Does the season affect the 2003 Vauxhall Agila MOT pass rate?
Tests recorded in the winter months (October–March) passed 74.4% of the time; summer months (April–September) passed 73.7%. Brakes, tyres and lights are tested harder in bad weather, but the difference is small on most models.