76.3%
Audi A1 pass rate
Used Audi A1 buying guide
In 2025, Audi A1 cars passed 76.3% of 235,805 initial MOT tests, 4 points above the 72.3% UK average. Here is where it fails and what to check before you buy.
Looking at a specific A1? Check its finance, write-off, stolen, mileage and keeper history. £15, no account needed.
Audi A1 MOT record in brief
Initial MOT tests in 2025, retests excluded.
72.3%
UK average, all cars
+4
percentage points above average
Ranked on pass rate the A1 sits 245th of 575 models in the data. Audi as a brand averaged 78.5%, so this model runs 2.2 points behind its own brand. Audi A1 cars aged 3 to 5 years passed 88% of MOT tests in 2025; for examples aged 11 years and over that fell to 66.7%.
A pass rate is not a reliability score. The full Audi A1 MOT record has the pass rate by age, every common failure and how the A1 compares with similar cars.
A1 fuel types
Petrol was the most common fuel among Audi A1 cars tested in 2025. Diesel still made up 20.3% of tests.
Where the A1 fails its MOT
Where Audi A1 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 (9.9%), coil spring fractured or broken (7.7%) and tread depth below requirements of 1.6mm (7.2%). See every common A1 MOT failure.
These are DVSA failure records across every Audi A1 that failed, not a claim that every A1 has these problems.
What should you check when buying a used A1?
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. 26.5% of A1 failure items.
2
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. 20.6% of A1 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. 16.5% of A1 failure items.
4
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. 14.5% of A1 failure items.
5
Visibility
Check the windscreen for chips or cracks in the driver's view, and that the wipers and washers clear it properly. 6.5% of A1 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 Audi A1 failures cluster around suspension and tyres 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 A1 you are looking at. One £15 report, instant results, backed by a £30,000 data guarantee. More on the Audi history check.
- Outstanding finance
- Write-off records
- Stolen markers
- Mileage history
- Previous keepers
Other used Audi models
The most-tested Audi models in 2025, with how their MOT pass rate compares with the A1.
Used Audi A1 FAQs
Is the Audi A1 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 76.3% first-time pass rate for the Audi A1 across 235,805 tests in 2025, above the 72.3% average for all cars.
Do older Audi A1 cars fail their MOT more often?
Audi A1 cars aged 3 to 5 years passed 88% of MOT tests in 2025; for examples aged 11 years and over that fell to 66.7%. 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 Audi A1?
On the car itself, start with the areas it most often fails on: suspension, tyres and lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment. 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 Audi A1'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.