Pass rate
68.4%
Below average — 4.2 pts behind the 72.6% that cars this age and mileage manage.
Across 29,889 recorded tests.
Typical repair bill £46–£133
2003 Vauxhall Corsa MOT pass rate
- 2003
- typical 79,147 mi
Check your postcode
Most common fault
Suspension
20.4% of faults · 21.0% nationally
mostly worn arm bushes, split ball-joint boots and broken coil springs.
Which year to buy
- Best 2023 95.6% pass
- Avoid 2003 68.4% pass · this year
Across the 24 years on record, a spread of 27.2 points. See every year →
- First-attempt pass
- 56.9%
- Typical mileage
- 79k mi
The 2003 Vauxhall Corsa MOT pass rate is 68.4% of its MOT tests — 4.2 points behind what its age and mileage predict. Suspension is the biggest single reason it fails, at 20.4% of what testers record.
Expert verdict
Body & chassis: 2.0× the national share
Body & chassis accounts for 10.9% of everything recorded on the 2003 Vauxhall Corsa, against 5.6% nationally — 5.3 points above. Suspension is still the single largest share at 20.4%, 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.
- Falls short of its own age and mileage. Like-for-like, cars this age and mileage expect about 72.6%; this one manages 68.4% — 4.2 points below. Age is a fair excuse; this is not age.
- When it fails, it costs. Only 22% 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 Corsa? Get an email when these numbers change .
How does the 2003 Vauxhall Corsa compare?
Cars of this age and mileage average 72.6%, so this figure is 4.2 points behind what its age and mileage predict. On a first attempt, before any retests, the figure drops to 56.9%. The median 2003 Vauxhall Corsa in this dataset had covered 79,147 mi.
The most common fuel recorded here is Petrol — 96% of tests, with a 68.5% pass rate. Pass rates also shift with the test month: tests recorded October–March passed 68.5% of the time, April–September 68.4%.
The single most recorded failure item is "Joints constant velocity boot severely deteriorated", noted on 8.00% of tests.
- 29,889 recorded tests behind this page.
- 68.4% overall pass rate, 56.9% on a first attempt.
- Across every year of the Vauxhall Corsa, the average is 77.3% — best year 2023 (95.6%), worst 2003 (68.4%).
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
- 29,889
- Typical mileage (median)
- 79,147 mi
- Make and model
- Vauxhall Corsa
- Updated
- 2026-11-07
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 Corsa MOT pass rate?
Pass rate by odometer reading. Bar lengths start at 57% so small gaps stay visible.
Fuel type and reliability
Pass rate by fuel type. Petrol is the most common here (96% of tests).
Where the Vauxhall Corsa is most common
Across all Corsa model years on record (2000–2023): 1,332,137 Vauxhall Corsa cars tested in a recordable postcode area, across 3,313,164 tests. Birmingham (B) has the most, with 42,629 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) | 42,629 | 81.3% |
| 2 | Glasgow (G) | 32,647 | 75.7% |
| 3 | Sheffield (S) | 29,153 | 79.4% |
| 4 | Nottingham (NG) | 25,923 | 75.7% |
| 5 | Newcastle upon Tyne (NE) | 25,282 | 77.0% |
| 6 | Manchester (M) | 24,201 | 78.2% |
| 7 | Bristol (BS) | 22,528 | 74.2% |
| 8 | Peterborough (PE) | 22,422 | 78.2% |
| 9 | Leicester (LE) | 22,377 | 79.6% |
| 10 | Edinburgh (EH) | 21,008 | 72.9% |
| 11 | Derby (DE) | 20,518 | 79.0% |
| 12 | Chester (CH) | 20,516 | 76.9% |
| 13 | Northampton (NN) | 20,122 | 76.0% |
| 14 | Reading (RG) | 20,026 | 79.4% |
| 15 | Cardiff (CF) | 19,421 | 75.2% |
| 16 | Luton (LU) | 18,054 | 82.3% |
| 17 | Doncaster (DN) | 17,814 | 77.2% |
| 18 | Leeds (LS) | 17,736 | 74.7% |
| 19 | Coventry (CV) | 17,259 | 79.1% |
| 20 | Milton Keynes (MK) | 16,722 | 78.5% |
The twenty areas with the most Vauxhall Corsa 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 Corsa
| Region | Tests | Pass rate |
|---|---|---|
| South East | 6,676 | 71.0% |
| South West | 4,025 | 63.8% |
| East of England | 3,963 | 69.6% |
| West Midlands | 3,302 | 70.7% |
| North West | 2,753 | 67.5% |
| East Midlands | 2,544 | 67.8% |
| Yorkshire | 2,423 | 66.8% |
| Wales | 1,296 | 65.9% |
| London | 1,108 | 76.0% |
| Scotland | 1,002 | 62.6% |
| North East | 794 | 66.4% |
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 Corsa
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 Corsa
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 5.4% of tests
“registration plate lamp(s) inoperative in the case of multiple lamps or light sources”
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 coil springs 5.1% 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 windscreen 3.4% 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 2003 Corsa through its MOT
Across the 10 items that are recorded most often on this model, the average repair comes to £46–£133 — and 22% of those repairs are parts that cost under £30.
- Average repair across the 10 common items
- £46–£133
- 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
- 22%
Estimates from typical UK parts prices, weighted by how often each item appears in 29,889 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 Corsa, side by side
24 model years on record, from 2000 to 2023. Across them the pass rate runs from 68.4% to 95.6% — a spread of 27.2 points. The bar under each year is the item that failed it most often.
- 2000 71.9% component mounting prescribed…
- 2001 69.1% joints constant velocity boot…
- 2002 68.8% joints constant velocity boot…
- 2003 68.4%joints constant velocity boot…
- 2004 68.6% joints constant velocity boot…
- 2005 68.7% joints constant velocity boot…
- 2006 69.1% joints constant velocity boot…
- 2007 71.9% registration plate lamp(s)…
- 2008 72.6% registration plate lamp(s)…
- 2009 73.2% registration plate lamp(s)…
- 2010 73.7% registration plate lamp(s)…
- 2011 74.9% registration plate lamp(s)…
- 2012 74.9% coil spring fractured or broken
- 2013 75.5% coil spring fractured or broken
- 2014 74.8% track rod end ball joint dust…
- 2015 77.7% track rod end ball joint dust…
- 2016 80.0% track rod end ball joint dust…
- 2017 81.8% track rod end ball joint dust…
- 2018 84.5% track rod end ball joint dust…
- 2019 87.2% wipers does not clear the…
- 2020 89.9% wipers does not clear the…
- 2021 90.1% wipers does not clear the…
- 2022 91.5% wipers does not clear the…
- 2023 95.6% headlamp aim too low
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 Corsa 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
- Citroen Xsara 68.4%
- Volkswagen Polo 68.3%
- Citroen C3 68.2%
- Renault Clio 68.7%
- Peugeot 307 68.7%
- Fiat Punto 68.7%
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 Corsa 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 104,269 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 | 21,455 | 20.40% | 20.98% | −0.58 |
| Brakes | 19,105 | 18.10% | 20.89% | −2.79 |
| Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | 13,555 | 12.90% | 12.21% | +0.69 |
| Tyres | 12,099 | 11.50% | 19.76% | −8.26 |
| Body, chassis, structure | 11,450 | 10.90% | 5.57% | +5.33 |
| Noise, emissions and leaks | 9,327 | 8.90% | 5.52% | +3.38 |
| Non-component advisories | 5,347 | 5.10% | 4.18% | +0.92 |
| Visibility | 4,664 | 4.40% | 4.97% | −0.57 |
| Steering | 4,161 | 4.00% | 2.57% | +1.43 |
| Identification of the vehicle | 3,106 | 2.90% | 1.76% | +1.14 |
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 | 8.0% | £80–250 |
| Joints constant velocity boot split or insecure, no longer prevents the ingress of dirt Body, chassis, structure | Major | 6.7% | £80–250 |
| Registration plate lamp(s) inoperative in the case of multiple lamps or light sources Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | Minor | 5.4% | £5–20 |
| Headlamp lens slightly defective Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | Minor | 5.2% | £5–25 |
| Coil spring fractured or broken Suspension | Major | 5.1% | £25–65 |
| Rbt (sp) efficiency below requirements Brakes | Major | 4.8% | £45–110 |
| Windscreen damaged but not adversely affecting driver's view Visibility | Minor | 3.4% | £80–200 |
| Ball joint excessively worn Suspension | Major | 3.4% | £18–45 |
| Exhaust system has a major leak of exhaust gases Body, chassis, structure | Major | 3.4% | £45–120 |
| Battery(ies) insecure but not likely to fall from carrier Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | Minor | 3.2% | £60–140 |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Engine oil leaks leaking excessively from engine Noise, emissions and leaks | Advisory | 22.4% | £200–700 |
| Tread depth below requirements of 1.6mm Tyres | Advisory | 16.5% | £45–95 |
| Has a tear, caused by separation or partial failure of its structure Tyres | Advisory | 16.0% | £45–95 |
| Rigid brake pipes excessively corroded Brakes | Advisory | 15.4% | £80–180 |
| Non-component advisories Play in steering rack inner joint(s) Non-component advisories | Advisory | 13.0% | £120–300 |
| Exhaust system has a major leak of exhaust gases Body, chassis, structure | Advisory | 11.9% | £45–120 |
Pass rate by mileage
| Mileage | Tests | Pass rate | Median odometer |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0-30k | 793 | 79.4% | 23,085 mi |
| 30-60k | 6,833 | 71.7% | 47,899 mi |
| 60-90k | 10,756 | 68.3% | 74,988 mi |
| 90-120k | 7,292 | 66.6% | 103,375 mi |
| 120k+ | 3,560 | 65.8% | 142,104 mi |
Source: 29,889 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 Corsa MOT questions
What is the MOT pass rate for a 2003 Vauxhall Corsa?
68.4% of the 29,889 2003 Vauxhall Corsa tests in this dataset passed, against a national average of 72.6% for cars first used in 2003. First-attempt pass rate: 56.9%.
What are the most common MOT failures on a 2003 Vauxhall Corsa?
The three most recorded items are joints constant velocity boot severely deteriorated (8.00%), joints constant velocity boot split or insecure, no longer prevents the ingress of dirt (6.68%), registration plate lamp(s) inoperative in the case of multiple lamps or light sources (5.39%). Percentages are the share of tests on this vehicle that recorded the item.
Does mileage affect the 2003 Vauxhall Corsa MOT pass rate?
Yes. Cars under 30,000 miles passed 79.4% of the time, falling to 65.8% for those over 120,000 miles. The median 2003 Vauxhall Corsa in this dataset had covered 79,147 mi.
Which fuel type is most reliable for a 2003 Vauxhall Corsa?
Petrol: 68.5% pass rate across 28,786 tests. Diesel: 66.7% pass rate across 1,101 tests. Shares are of the tests on this vehicle that recorded each fuel type.
Does the season affect the 2003 Vauxhall Corsa MOT pass rate?
Tests recorded in the winter months (October–March) passed 68.5% of the time; summer months (April–September) passed 68.4%. Brakes, tyres and lights are tested harder in bad weather, but the difference is small on most models.