84.5%
Audi A7 pass rate
Used Audi A7 buying guide
In 2025, Audi A7 cars passed 84.5% of 16,921 initial MOT tests, 12.2 points above the 72.3% UK average. Here is where it fails and what to check before you buy.
Looking at a specific A7? Check its finance, write-off, stolen, mileage and keeper history. £15, no account needed.
Audi A7 MOT record in brief
Initial MOT tests in 2025, retests excluded.
72.3%
UK average, all cars
+12.2
percentage points above average
Ranked on pass rate the A7 sits 126th of 575 models in the data. Audi as a brand averaged 78.5%, so this model runs 6 points ahead of its own brand. Audi A7 cars aged 3 to 5 years passed 88.8% of MOT tests in 2025; for examples aged 11 years and over that fell to 80.8%.
A pass rate is not a reliability score. The full Audi A7 MOT record has the pass rate by age, every common failure and how the A7 compares with similar cars.
A7 fuel types
Diesel made up 87.2% of Audi A7 MOT tests in 2025, against 39.3% across all models in this data. Almost every used example you look at will be a diesel.
Where the A7 fails its MOT
Where Audi A7 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 tread depth below requirements of 1.6mm (12.3%), pins and bushes pin or bush excessively worn (7.8%) and condition has ply or cords exposed (7.7%). See every common A7 MOT failure.
These are DVSA failure records across every Audi A7 that failed, not a claim that every A7 has these problems.
What should you check when buying a used A7?
The areas above, most common first, and what an MOT tester looks at in each.
1
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. 37.3% of A7 failure items.
2
Suspension
Listen for knocks over bumps, check the car sits level, and look for leaking shock absorbers and split rubber gaiters. 18.4% of A7 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. 12.2% of A7 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. 8% of A7 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. 6.8% of A7 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 A7 failures cluster around tyres and suspension 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 A7 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 A7.
Used Audi A7 FAQs
Is the Audi A7 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 an 84.5% first-time pass rate for the Audi A7 across 16,921 tests in 2025, above the 72.3% average for all cars.
Do older Audi A7 cars fail their MOT more often?
Audi A7 cars aged 3 to 5 years passed 88.8% of MOT tests in 2025; for examples aged 11 years and over that fell to 80.8%. 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 A7?
On the car itself, start with the areas it most often fails on: tyres, suspension 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 A7'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.