91.7%
Bentley Continental pass rate
Used Bentley Continental buying guide
In 2025, Bentley Continental cars passed 91.7% of 14,754 initial MOT tests, 19.4 points above the 72.3% UK average. Here is where it fails and what to check before you buy.
Looking at a specific Continental? Check its finance, write-off, stolen, mileage and keeper history. £15, no account needed.
Bentley Continental MOT record in brief
Initial MOT tests in 2025, retests excluded.
72.3%
UK average, all cars
+19.4
percentage points above average
Ranked on pass rate the Continental sits 17th of 575 models in the data. Bentley as a brand averaged 91.4%, so this model runs level with its own brand. Bentley Continental cars aged 3 to 5 years passed 96.6% of MOT tests in 2025; for examples aged 11 years and over that fell to 89.5%.
A pass rate is not a reliability score. The full Bentley Continental MOT record has the pass rate by age, every common failure and how the Continental compares with similar cars.
Continental fuel types
Petrol was the most common fuel among Bentley Continental cars tested in 2025. Diesel made up just 0% of tests.
Where the Continental fails its MOT
Where Bentley Continental 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 malfunction indicator lamp inoperative or indicates a malfunction (9.1%), pins and bushes pin or bush excessively worn (5.2%) and condition has a cut in excess of the requirements deep enough to reach the ply or cords (5.1%). See every common Continental MOT failure.
These are DVSA failure records across every Bentley Continental that failed, not a claim that every Continental has these problems.
What should you check when buying a used Continental?
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. 19.5% of Continental 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. 19.4% of Continental 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. 15.7% of Continental failure items.
4
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. 15.4% of Continental failure items.
5
Suspension
Listen for knocks over bumps, check the car sits level, and look for leaking shock absorbers and split rubber gaiters. 9.3% of Continental 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 Bentley Continental failures cluster around tyres 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 Continental you are looking at. One £15 report, instant results, backed by a £30,000 data guarantee. More on the Bentley history check.
- Outstanding finance
- Write-off records
- Stolen markers
- Mileage history
- Previous keepers
Other used Bentley models
The most-tested Bentley models in 2025, with how their MOT pass rate compares with the Continental.
See all 2 Bentley models ranked by MOT pass rate.
Used Bentley Continental FAQs
Is the Bentley Continental 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 91.7% first-time pass rate for the Bentley Continental across 14,754 tests in 2025, above the 72.3% average for all cars.
Do older Bentley Continental cars fail their MOT more often?
Bentley Continental cars aged 3 to 5 years passed 96.6% of MOT tests in 2025; for examples aged 11 years and over that fell to 89.5%. 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 Bentley Continental?
On the car itself, start with the areas it most often fails on: tyres, 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 a Bentley Continental'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.