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Alfa Romeo 159, Buying guide, MOT record and UK numbers

2,072 Alfa Romeo 159s are licensed in the UK. In 2025 they passed 57.5% of initial MOT tests, 14.8 points below the 72.3% UK average.

Looking at a specific 159? Check its finance, write-off, stolen, mileage and keeper history. £15, no account needed.

Alfa Romeo 159 at the MOT

57.5% of 2,812 initial tests passed in 2025, ranking the 159 516th of 575 models.

First-time pass rate, 2025

Share of initial tests passed, retests excluded.

  • Alfa Romeo 15957.5%
  • All Alfa Romeo modelsThe 159 is 10.4 pts behind67.9%
  • All cars72.3%

Where 159s fail

Share of all failure items recorded on Alfa Romeo 159 tests in 2025.

  • Suspension26.5%
  • Brakes18.9%
  • Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment18.2%
  • Tyres9.7%
  • Body, chassis, structure8.4%

The items testers recorded most often were rbt (sp) efficiency below requirements (6.9%), coil spring fractured or broken (5.9%) and component mounting prescribed area excessively corroded significantly reducing structural strength (5.8%).

The MOT page lists every common 159 MOT failure. For one car's own results and advisories, run a free MOT history check.

Full Alfa Romeo 159 MOT record

What to look at on a viewing

The 159's most common failure areas, and what a tester checks in each.

  1. Suspension

    Listen for knocks over bumps, check the car sits level, and look for leaking shock absorbers and split rubber gaiters.26.5% of 159 failure items

  2. 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.18.9% of 159 failure items

  3. 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.18.2% of 159 failure items

Alfa Romeo 159s in the UK

2,072 were licensed at the end of June 2026. The number licensed has fallen 77% since the end of 2014.

Change since 2014
−77%from 9,074 licensed
Typical year of first use
2009half of those licensed at the end of 2025 were first used in 2009 or earlier
Declared off the road
1,65344% of those registered, under SORN

Licensed Alfa Romeo 159s since 2014

Licensed at each year end and in the latest quarter.

Show the figures
DateLicensed
End of 20149,074
End of 20158,809
End of 20168,431
End of 20177,853
End of 20187,181
End of 20196,444
End of 20205,723
End of 20214,997
End of 20224,315
End of 20233,539
End of 20242,798
End of 20252,238
End of June 20262,072

How old they are

Licensed Alfa Romeo 159s by year of first use.

Show the figures
First usedLicensed, end 2025
201268
2011338
2010490
2009456
2008390
2007344
2006112

159 engines and fuel

1.9 litre engines made up 51% of Alfa Romeo 159 MOT tests in 2025, followed by 2.4 litre at 18%. Diesel accounts for 73% of licensed 159s and petrol for 27%.

Engine size at MOT, 2025

Share of 2,809 initial MOT tests in 2025.

  • 1.9 litre51.2%
  • 2.4 litre18%
  • 1.8 litre8.1%
  • 2.2 litre7%
  • 2.0 litre6.8%

Fuel type, licensed 159s

DfT licensing statistics, June 2026.

FuelLicensedShare
Petrol56527%
Diesel1,50773%

Other Alfa Romeo models

The most-tested Alfa Romeo models in 2025, against the 159's 57.5% MOT pass rate.

All 7 Alfa Romeo models

Alfa Romeo 159 FAQs

How many Alfa Romeo 159s are there in the UK?

2,072 Alfa Romeo 159s were licensed in the UK at the end of June 2026, with a further 1,653 declared off the road (SORN), according to DfT vehicle licensing statistics.

Is the Alfa Romeo 159 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 57.5% first-time pass rate for the Alfa Romeo 159 across 2,812 tests in 2025, below the 72.3% average for all cars.

What should I check before buying a used Alfa Romeo 159?

On the car itself, start with the areas it most often fails on: suspension, brakes and lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment. Then check the individual car's own records. Outstanding finance, insurance write-offs and police stolen markers are not part of the MOT record, so they take a history check.

How do I check an Alfa Romeo 159'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.

Already found a 159?

Check its finance, write-off, theft, mileage and keeper history with a £15 vehicle history report.

Across the 1,389 vehicles of every make Carpeep has checked since November 2025, 19% had outstanding finance recorded and 13% an insurance write-off. More on the Alfa Romeo history check. To confirm a car's identity, see the Alfa Romeo VIN check.

  • Outstanding finance
  • Write-off records
  • Stolen markers
  • Mileage history
  • Previous keepers

MOT figures are aggregated from the DVSA MOT Anonymised data set for 2025 (class 4 initial tests, retests excluded), which also gives the engine sizes. Licensed, SORN, fuel and registration figures are from the Department for Transport vehicle licensing statistics (VEH0120, VEH0124, VEH0160). Government data is used under the Open Government Licence v3.0. MOT results describe roadworthiness at test, not mechanical reliability. History-check findings are anonymous counts from reports bought on Carpeep, each vehicle counted once, and are published only where at least 100 vehicles returned an answer.