66.9%
Abarth 500 pass rate
Used Abarth 500 buying guide
In 2025, Abarth 500 cars passed 66.9% of 5,242 initial MOT tests, 5.4 points below the 72.3% UK average. Here is where it fails and what to check before you buy.
Looking at a specific 500? Check its finance, write-off, stolen, mileage and keeper history. £15, no account needed.
Abarth 500 MOT record in brief
Initial MOT tests in 2025, retests excluded.
72.3%
UK average, all cars
−5.4
percentage points below average
Ranked on pass rate the 500 sits 404th of 575 models in the data. Abarth as a brand averaged 78%, so this model runs 11 points behind its own brand. Abarth 500 cars aged 6 to 10 years passed 69.2% of MOT tests in 2025; for examples aged 11 years and over that fell to 66.2%.
A pass rate is not a reliability score. The full Abarth 500 MOT record has the pass rate by age, every common failure and how the 500 compares with similar cars.
500 fuel types
Petrol was the most common fuel among Abarth 500 cars tested in 2025. Diesel made up just 0% of tests.
Where the 500 fails its MOT
Where Abarth 500 cars that failed their 2025 MOT were marked down, as a share of all recorded failure items.
The specific items testers recorded most often were pins and bushes pin or bush excessively worn (5.2%), shock absorbers has an excessively worn bush (5%) and ball joint excessively worn (4.8%). See every common 500 MOT failure.
These are DVSA failure records across every Abarth 500 that failed, not a claim that every 500 has these problems.
What should you check when buying a used 500?
The areas above, most common first, and what an MOT tester looks at in each.
1
Suspension
Listen for knocks over bumps, check the car sits level, and look for leaking shock absorbers and split rubber gaiters. 27.1% of 500 failure items.
2
Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment
Walk round with every light on: headlights, brake lights, indicators, fog lights and the number plate lamp. Check no warning lights stay on after starting. 26.4% of 500 failure items.
3
Brakes
Make sure the pedal feels firm, the car stops in a straight line, the handbrake holds on a slope and no brake warning light is showing. 10.6% of 500 failure items.
4
Tyres
Check tread depth across the full width of every tyre (the legal minimum is 1.6mm), and look for cuts, bulges and uneven wear. 10.5% of 500 failure items.
5
Noise, emissions and leaks
Listen for a blowing exhaust, watch for smoke on start-up and look under the car for oil or fluid leaks. 9% of 500 failure items.
None of this replaces the car's own record. Run a free MOT history check on the registration to see every test, advisory and recorded mileage for that car.
What the MOT record doesn't tell you
Knowing Abarth 500 failures cluster around suspension and lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment tells you what to inspect. It tells you nothing about whether the car is safe to buy. An MOT does not show money still owed on the car, a write-off, a theft record or a clocked odometer.
Check the exact 500 you are looking at. One £15 report, instant results, backed by a £30,000 data guarantee. More on the Abarth history check.
- Outstanding finance
- Write-off records
- Stolen markers
- Mileage history
- Previous keepers
Other used Abarth models
The most-tested Abarth models in 2025, with how their MOT pass rate compares with the 500.
See all 3 Abarth models ranked by MOT pass rate.
Used Abarth 500 FAQs
Is the Abarth 500 reliable?
MOT data does not measure reliability. It records whether a car met the roadworthiness standard on the day of its test. What it does show is a 66.9% first-time pass rate for the Abarth 500 across 5,242 tests in 2025, below the 72.3% average for all cars.
Do older Abarth 500 cars fail their MOT more often?
Abarth 500 cars aged 6 to 10 years passed 69.2% of MOT tests in 2025; for examples aged 11 years and over that fell to 66.2%. On an older example, the car's own MOT history tells you more than the model average.
What should I check before buying a used Abarth 500?
On the car itself, start with the areas it most often fails on: suspension, lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment and brakes. Then check the individual car's history: outstanding finance, insurance write-off records, stolen markers, mileage and previous keepers. None of these appear in the MOT record or on the V5C.
How do I check an Abarth 500's history?
Enter the registration of the specific car. A Carpeep car history check reports outstanding finance, write-off category, stolen markers, mileage history, previous keepers, MOT and tax status, import and export markers and scrapped status in one £15 report.
MOT figures are aggregated from the DVSA MOT Anonymised data set for 2025 (class 4 initial tests, retests excluded), licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. MOT results describe roadworthiness at test, not mechanical reliability.