Pass rate
74.4%
Below average — 2.0 pts ahead of the 72.4% that cars this age and mileage manage.
Across 1,505 recorded tests.
Typical repair bill £27–£69
2005 Volvo C70 MOT pass rate
- 2005
- typical 89,931 mi
Check your postcode
Most common fault
Brakes
20.1% of faults · 20.9% nationally
mostly worn pads and discs, corroded pipes and a handbrake that will not hold.
Which year to buy
- Best 2000 79.1% pass
- Avoid 2006 70.9% pass
Across the 14 years on record, a spread of 8.2 points. See every year →
- First-attempt pass
- 67.5%
- Typical mileage
- 90k mi
The 2005 Volvo C70 MOT pass rate is 74.4% of its MOT tests — 2.0 points ahead of what its age and mileage predict. Brakes is the biggest single reason it fails, at 20.1% of what testers record.
Expert verdict
When it fails, it costs
Only 32% 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 Volvo C70? Get an email when these numbers change .
How does the 2005 Volvo C70 compare?
Cars of this age and mileage average 72.4%, so this figure is 2.0 points ahead of what its age and mileage predict. On a first attempt, before any retests, the figure drops to 67.5%. The median 2005 Volvo C70 in this dataset had covered 89,931 mi.
Pass rates also shift with the test month: tests recorded October–March passed 74.4% of the time, April–September 74.4%.
The single most recorded failure item is "Ball joint dust cover severely deteriorated", noted on 6.11% of tests.
- 1,505 recorded tests behind this page.
- 74.4% overall pass rate, 67.5% on a first attempt.
- Across every year of the Volvo C70, the average is 73.2% — best year 2000 (79.1%), worst 2006 (70.9%).
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
- 1,505
- Typical mileage (median)
- 89,931 mi
- Make and model
- Volvo C70
- Updated
- 2026-11-07
Source: DVSA anonymised MOT test data (2023–2025), OGL v3.0.
Top part to budget for
Ball Joint
Usually a DIY or independent-garage job.
Does mileage affect the C70 MOT pass rate?
Pass rate by odometer reading. Bar lengths start at 61% so small gaps stay visible.
Where the Volvo C70 is most common
Across all C70 model years on record (2000–2013): 11,622 Volvo C70 cars tested in a recordable postcode area, across 29,331 tests. Birmingham (B) has the most, with 324 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) | 324 | 78.9% |
| 2 | Peterborough (PE) | 276 | 75.2% |
| 3 | Nottingham (NG) | 252 | 72.6% |
| 4 | Sheffield (S) | 238 | 79.2% |
| 5 | Coventry (CV) | 214 | 77.2% |
| 6 | Ashford (TN) | 210 | 71.7% |
| 7 | Leicester (LE) | 204 | 72.4% |
| 8 | Reading (RG) | 203 | 72.4% |
| 9 | Portsmouth (PO) | 200 | 71.7% |
| 10 | Norwich (NR) | 194 | 71.5% |
| 11 | Bristol (BS) | 184 | 69.3% |
| 12 | Doncaster (DN) | 182 | 73.8% |
| 13 | Brighton (BN) | 174 | 68.1% |
| 14 | Ipswich (IP) | 173 | 74.5% |
| 15 | Exeter (EX) | 172 | 67.2% |
| 16 | Guildford (GU) | 171 | 74.5% |
| 17 | Oxford (OX) | 169 | 71.1% |
| 18 | Cardiff (CF) | 168 | 69.0% |
| 19 | Poole (BH) | 161 | 68.0% |
| 20 | Swansea (SA) | 159 | 71.3% |
The twenty areas with the most Volvo C70 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 C70
| Region | Tests | Pass rate |
|---|---|---|
| South East | 291 | 77.3% |
| East of England | 213 | 70.0% |
| South West | 208 | 73.6% |
| West Midlands | 179 | 74.3% |
| North West | 140 | 75.7% |
| Yorkshire | 133 | 74.4% |
| East Midlands | 83 | 80.7% |
| Scotland | 82 | 75.6% |
| Wales | 81 | 65.4% |
| North East | 57 | 75.4% |
| London | 38 | 78.9% |
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 2005 C70
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 2005 C70
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 suspension joints 6.1% 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 battery 4.4% of tests
“battery(ies) insecure”
Check the battery is secure and its terminals are clean and tight — a loose battery is a fail on its own, and a weak one shows up as slow cranking on a cold morning.
-
Check the coil springs 3.3% 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.
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 2005 C70 through its MOT
Across the 10 items that are recorded most often on this model, the average repair comes to £27–£69 — and 32% of those repairs are parts that cost under £30.
- Average repair across the 10 common items
- £27–£69
- Cheapest common item: registration plate lamp(s) inoperative in the…
- £5–£20
- Dearest common item: windscreen damaged
- £80–£200
- Common items a careful owner can do at home
- 90%
- Repairs that still cost under £30
- 32%
Estimates from typical UK parts prices, weighted by how often each item appears in 1,505 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 C70, side by side
14 model years on record, from 2000 to 2013. Across them the pass rate runs from 70.9% to 79.1% — a spread of 8.2 points. The bar under each year is the item that failed it most often.
- 2000 79.1% windscreen damaged but not…
- 2001 76.0% battery(ies) insecure but not…
- 2002 74.9% ball joint dust cover severely…
- 2003 77.4% ball joint dust cover severely…
- 2004 74.3% ball joint dust cover severely…
- 2005 74.4%ball joint dust cover severely…
- 2006 70.9% joints constant velocity boot…
- 2007 71.5% joints constant velocity boot…
- 2008 72.1% joints constant velocity boot…
- 2009 71.8% registration plate lamp(s)…
- 2010 72.3% coil spring fractured or broken
- 2011 74.3% joints constant velocity boot…
- 2012 78.0% joints constant velocity boot…
- 2013 78.0% coil spring fractured or broken
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 2005 Volvo C70 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 2005 cars with a similar record
- Subaru Forester 74.3%
- Toyota Previa 74.3%
- Mercedes-Benz Clk 74.2%
- Mercedes-Benz A-Class 74.2%
- Mazda Mx-5 74.7%
- BMW X5 74.1%
Closest pass rates among 2005 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 2005 Volvo C70 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 3,895 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 | 804 | 20.10% | 20.89% | −0.79 |
| Suspension | 791 | 19.80% | 20.98% | −1.18 |
| Tyres | 596 | 14.90% | 19.76% | −4.86 |
| Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | 578 | 14.50% | 12.21% | +2.29 |
| Non-component advisories | 286 | 7.20% | 4.18% | +3.02 |
| Steering | 230 | 5.80% | 2.57% | +3.23 |
| Body, chassis, structure | 217 | 5.40% | 5.57% | −0.17 |
| Noise, emissions and leaks | 179 | 4.50% | 5.52% | −1.02 |
| Visibility | 145 | 3.60% | 4.97% | −1.37 |
| Road Wheels | 69 | 1.70% | 0.75% | +0.95 |
The exact failure items, in the tester's words
| Recorded item | Severity | Tests | Est. cost |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ball joint dust cover severely deteriorated Suspension | Minor | 6.1% | £18–45 |
| Battery(ies) insecure but not likely to fall from carrier Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | Minor | 4.4% | £60–140 |
| Ball joint dust cover no longer prevents the ingress of dirt Suspension | Major | 3.3% | £18–45 |
| Coil spring fractured or broken Suspension | Major | 3.3% | £25–65 |
| Registration plate lamp(s) inoperative in the case of multiple lamps or light sources Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | Minor | 3.3% | £5–20 |
| Rbt (sp) efficiency below requirements Brakes | Major | 2.9% | £45–110 |
| Wipers does not clear the windscreen effectively Visibility | Major | 2.9% | £8–22 |
| Position lamp not working Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | Major | 2.4% | £5–25 |
| Windscreen damaged but not adversely affecting driver's view Visibility | Minor | 2.2% | £80–200 |
| Position lamp with a multiple light source up to 1/2 not functioning Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | Minor | 2.1% | £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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Brake discs in such a condition that it is seriously weakened Brakes | Advisory | 14.9% | £45–110 |
| Tread depth below requirements of 1.6mm Tyres | Advisory | 14.9% | £45–95 |
| Non-component advisories Play in steering rack inner joint(s) Non-component advisories | Advisory | 14.4% | £120–300 |
| Has a tear, caused by separation or partial failure of its structure Tyres | Advisory | 14.2% | £45–95 |
| Pins and bushes pin or bush excessively worn Suspension | Advisory | 10.2% | £40–150 |
| Coil spring corroded so that its cross sectional area is reduced and seriously weakened Suspension | Advisory | 10.2% | £25–65 |
Pass rate by mileage
| Mileage | Tests | Pass rate | Median odometer |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0-30k | 55 | 83.6% | 20,868 mi |
| 30-60k | 209 | 78.0% | 48,069 mi |
| 60-90k | 495 | 74.3% | 76,144 mi |
| 90-120k | 508 | 74.4% | 102,473 mi |
| 120k+ | 238 | 69.3% | 140,586 mi |
Source: 1,505 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.
2005 C70 MOT questions
What is the MOT pass rate for a 2005 Volvo C70?
74.4% of the 1,505 2005 Volvo C70 tests in this dataset passed, against a national average of 72.4% for cars first used in 2005. First-attempt pass rate: 67.5%.
What are the most common MOT failures on a 2005 Volvo C70?
The three most recorded items are ball joint dust cover severely deteriorated (6.11%), battery(ies) insecure but not likely to fall from carrier (4.39%), ball joint dust cover no longer prevents the ingress of dirt (3.32%). Percentages are the share of tests on this vehicle that recorded the item.
Does mileage affect the 2005 Volvo C70 MOT pass rate?
Yes. Cars under 30,000 miles passed 83.6% of the time, falling to 69.3% for those over 120,000 miles. The median 2005 Volvo C70 in this dataset had covered 89,931 mi.
Does the season affect the 2005 Volvo C70 MOT pass rate?
Tests recorded in the winter months (October–March) passed 74.4% of the time; summer months (April–September) passed 74.4%. Brakes, tyres and lights are tested harder in bad weather, but the difference is small on most models.