Pass rate
76.1%
Around average — 9.9 pts behind the 86.0% that cars this age and mileage manage.
Across 13,932 recorded tests.
Typical repair bill £31–£87
2017 Vauxhall Combo MOT pass rate
- 2017
- 2 trims combined
- typical 78,823 mi
Check your postcode
Most common fault
Tyres
22.3% of faults · 19.8% nationally
mostly tread below the limit, cuts and sidewall bulges.
Which year to buy
- Best 2023 88.1% pass
- Avoid 2001 65.7% pass
Across the 24 years on record, a spread of 22.4 points. See every year →
- First-attempt pass
- 69.3%
- Typical mileage
- 79k mi
The 2017 Vauxhall Combo MOT pass rate is 76.1% of its MOT tests — 9.9 points behind what its age and mileage predict. Tyres is the biggest single reason it fails, at 22.3% of what testers record.
Expert verdict
Fewer problems with brakes
Brakes are 14.0% of this car’s recorded faults, against 20.9% nationally — the mirror image of the usual story on a car of this age.
- Falls short of its own age and mileage. Like-for-like, cars this age and mileage expect about 86.0%; this one manages 76.1% — 9.9 points below. Age is a fair excuse; this is not age.
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 Combo? Get an email when these numbers change .
Every Vauxhall Combo first registered in 2017 is combined here — 2 trim and body variants in total — so the sample is as large as the DVSA data allows.
How does the 2017 Vauxhall Combo compare?
Cars of this age and mileage average 86.0%, so this figure is 9.9 points behind what its age and mileage predict. On a first attempt, before any retests, the figure drops to 69.3%. The median 2017 Vauxhall Combo in this dataset had covered 78,823 mi.
99% of the tests on this vehicle ran on Diesel, which passed 76.0% of the time. Pass rates also shift with the test month: tests recorded October–March passed 76.0% of the time, April–September 76.2%.
The single most recorded failure item is "Windscreen damaged but not adversely affecting driver's view", noted on 7.65% of tests.
- 13,932 recorded tests behind this page.
- 76.1% overall pass rate, 69.3% on a first attempt.
- Across every year of the Vauxhall Combo, the average is 75.7% — best year 2023 (88.1%), worst 2001 (65.7%).
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
- 13,932
- Typical mileage (median)
- 78,823 mi
- Make and model
- Vauxhall Combo
- Updated
- 2026-11-07
Source: DVSA anonymised MOT test data (2023–2025), OGL v3.0.
Top part to budget for
Windscreen
Typically a garage job — get quotes before committing.
Does mileage affect the Combo MOT pass rate?
Pass rate by odometer reading. Bar lengths start at 66% so small gaps stay visible.
Fuel type and reliability
Pass rate by fuel type. Diesel is the most common here (99% of tests).
Where the Vauxhall Combo is most common
Across all Combo model years on record (2000–2023): 181,484 Vauxhall Combo cars tested in a recordable postcode area, across 401,603 tests. Birmingham (B) has the most, with 4,780 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) | 4,780 | 79.3% |
| 2 | Sheffield (S) | 4,563 | 78.2% |
| 3 | Peterborough (PE) | 4,337 | 75.1% |
| 4 | Chester (CH) | 3,888 | 77.0% |
| 5 | Nottingham (NG) | 3,783 | 72.4% |
| 6 | Doncaster (DN) | 3,455 | 75.6% |
| 7 | Manchester (M) | 3,152 | 79.7% |
| 8 | Glasgow (G) | 3,120 | 77.2% |
| 9 | Cardiff (CF) | 2,919 | 73.5% |
| 10 | Derby (DE) | 2,873 | 76.9% |
| 11 | Bristol (BS) | 2,836 | 74.1% |
| 12 | Leicester (LE) | 2,688 | 77.9% |
| 13 | Newcastle upon Tyne (NE) | 2,668 | 77.4% |
| 14 | Norwich (NR) | 2,664 | 72.1% |
| 15 | Chelmsford (CM) | 2,562 | 79.5% |
| 16 | Stoke On Trent (ST) | 2,442 | 73.5% |
| 17 | Northampton (NN) | 2,442 | 74.1% |
| 18 | Ipswich (IP) | 2,419 | 74.3% |
| 19 | Swansea (SA) | 2,390 | 74.2% |
| 20 | Edinburgh (EH) | 2,290 | 73.6% |
The twenty areas with the most Vauxhall Combo 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 Combo
| Region | Tests | Pass rate |
|---|---|---|
| South East | 2,901 | 77.8% |
| Scotland | 1,669 | 72.2% |
| East of England | 1,589 | 77.8% |
| Yorkshire | 1,330 | 74.1% |
| North West | 1,294 | 75.9% |
| West Midlands | 1,175 | 76.4% |
| South West | 1,140 | 73.4% |
| London | 938 | 83.9% |
| East Midlands | 842 | 74.1% |
| Wales | 549 | 78.7% |
| North East | 505 | 70.5% |
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 2017 Combo
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 2017 Combo
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 7.7% 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.
-
Check the coil springs 6.5% of tests
“coil spring fractured or broken”
Look up inside each wheel arch with a torch, all the way round the spring. A snapped spring usually breaks at the very bottom coil, where a quick glance will not reach.
-
Check the lights 4.1% of tests
“malfunction indicator lamp inoperative or indicates a malfunction”
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 2017 Combo through its MOT
Across the 10 items that are recorded most often on this model, the average repair comes to £31–£87 — and 41% of those repairs are parts that cost under £30.
- Average repair across the 10 common items
- £31–£87
- Cheapest common item: malfunction indicator lamp inoperative or…
- £3–£12
- Dearest common item: windscreen damaged
- £80–£200
- Common items a careful owner can do at home
- 80%
- Repairs that still cost under £30
- 41%
Estimates from typical UK parts prices, weighted by how often each item appears in 13,932 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 Combo, side by side
24 model years on record, from 2000 to 2023. Across them the pass rate runs from 65.7% to 88.1% — a spread of 22.4 points. The bar under each year is the item that failed it most often.
- 2000 67.9% registration plate lamp(s)…
- 2001 65.7% registration plate lamp(s)…
- 2002 66.5% windscreen damaged but not…
- 2003 65.8% windscreen damaged but not…
- 2004 66.3% windscreen damaged but not…
- 2005 67.8% windscreen damaged but not…
- 2006 66.7% windscreen damaged but not…
- 2007 67.5% windscreen damaged but not…
- 2008 68.3% registration plate lamp(s)…
- 2009 68.9% windscreen damaged but not…
- 2010 72.2% registration plate lamp(s)…
- 2011 74.1% registration plate lamp(s)…
- 2012 70.0% coil spring fractured or broken
- 2013 71.8% windscreen damaged but not…
- 2014 73.2% windscreen damaged but not…
- 2015 74.0% windscreen damaged but not…
- 2016 75.2% windscreen damaged but not…
- 2017 76.1%windscreen damaged but not…
- 2018 79.4% windscreen damaged but not…
- 2019 83.4% registration plate lamp(s)…
- 2020 83.1% wipers does not clear the…
- 2021 84.0% wipers does not clear the…
- 2022 84.7% windscreen damaged but not…
- 2023 88.1% wipers does not clear 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 2017 Vauxhall Combo 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 2017 cars with a similar record
- SsangYong Rodius 76.3%
- Fiat Talento 75.7%
- Renault Zoe 75.4%
- Peugeot Bipper 76.8%
- Renault Clio 78.0%
- Mercedes-Benz Citan 78.3%
Closest pass rates among 2017 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 2017 Vauxhall Combo 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 22,448 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tyres | 5,070 | 22.30% | 19.76% | +2.54 |
| Suspension | 4,859 | 21.30% | 20.98% | +0.32 |
| Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | 3,715 | 16.30% | 12.21% | +4.09 |
| Brakes | 3,186 | 14.00% | 20.89% | −6.89 |
| Visibility | 1,914 | 8.40% | 4.97% | +3.43 |
| Noise, emissions and leaks | 1,619 | 7.10% | 5.52% | +1.58 |
| Body, chassis, structure | 722 | 3.20% | 5.57% | −2.37 |
| Non-component advisories | 651 | 2.90% | 4.18% | −1.28 |
| Identification of the vehicle | 358 | 1.60% | 1.76% | −0.16 |
| Road Wheels | 354 | 1.60% | 0.75% | +0.85 |
The exact failure items, in the tester's words
| Recorded item | Severity | Tests | Est. cost |
|---|---|---|---|
| Windscreen damaged but not adversely affecting driver's view Visibility | Minor | 7.7% | £80–200 |
| Coil spring fractured or broken Suspension | Major | 6.5% | £25–65 |
| Malfunction indicator lamp inoperative or indicates a malfunction Noise, emissions and leaks | Major | 4.1% | £3–12 |
| Pins and bushes pin or bush excessively worn Suspension | Major | 3.7% | £40–150 |
| Registration plate lamp(s) inoperative in the case of multiple lamps or light sources Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | Minor | 2.9% | £5–20 |
| Side repeaters lens defective which has no effect on emitted light Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | Minor | 2.1% | £3–15 |
| Stop lamp not working Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | Major | 1.8% | £3–12 |
| Has ply or cords exposed Tyres | Major | 1.6% | £45–95 |
| Position lamp not working Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | Major | 1.5% | £5–25 |
| Headlamp not working on dipped beam Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | Major | 1.5% | £5–25 |
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 | 19.2% | £45–95 |
| Brake discs in such a condition that it is seriously weakened Brakes | Advisory | 7.7% | £45–110 |
| Pins and bushes pin or bush excessively worn Suspension | Advisory | 7.5% | £40–150 |
| Has a tear, caused by separation or partial failure of its structure Tyres | Advisory | 6.4% | £45–95 |
| Coil spring corroded so that its cross sectional area is reduced and seriously weakened Suspension | Advisory | 5.7% | £25–65 |
| Engine oil leaks leaking excessively from engine Noise, emissions and leaks | Advisory | 4.4% | £200–700 |
Pass rate by mileage
| Mileage | Tests | Pass rate | Median odometer |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0-30k | 757 | 80.1% | 21,690 mi |
| 30-60k | 3,196 | 78.1% | 47,257 mi |
| 60-90k | 4,748 | 75.5% | 75,126 mi |
| 90-120k | 3,322 | 75.2% | 103,207 mi |
| 120k+ | 1,897 | 74.2% | 143,015 mi |
Source: 13,932 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.
2017 Combo MOT questions
What is the MOT pass rate for a 2017 Vauxhall Combo?
76.1% of the 13,932 2017 Vauxhall Combo tests in this dataset passed, against a national average of 86.0% for cars first used in 2017. First-attempt pass rate: 69.3%.
What are the most common MOT failures on a 2017 Vauxhall Combo?
The three most recorded items are windscreen damaged but not adversely affecting driver's view (7.65%), coil spring fractured or broken (6.55%), malfunction indicator lamp inoperative or indicates a malfunction (4.08%). Percentages are the share of tests on this vehicle that recorded the item.
Does mileage affect the 2017 Vauxhall Combo MOT pass rate?
Yes. Cars under 30,000 miles passed 80.1% of the time, falling to 74.2% for those over 120,000 miles. The median 2017 Vauxhall Combo in this dataset had covered 78,823 mi.
Which fuel type is most reliable for a 2017 Vauxhall Combo?
Diesel: 76.0% pass rate across 13,737 tests. Petrol: 80.0% pass rate across 195 tests. Shares are of the tests on this vehicle that recorded each fuel type.
Does the season affect the 2017 Vauxhall Combo MOT pass rate?
Tests recorded in the winter months (October–March) passed 76.0% of the time; summer months (April–September) passed 76.2%. Brakes, tyres and lights are tested harder in bad weather, but the difference is small on most models.