69.1%
Dacia Sandero pass rate
Used Dacia Sandero buying guide
In 2025, Dacia Sandero cars passed 69.1% of 117,868 initial MOT tests, 3.2 points below the 72.3% UK average. Here is where it fails and what to check before you buy.
Looking at a specific Sandero? Check its finance, write-off, stolen, mileage and keeper history. £15, no account needed.
Dacia Sandero MOT record in brief
Initial MOT tests in 2025, retests excluded.
72.3%
UK average, all cars
−3.2
percentage points below average
Ranked on pass rate the Sandero sits 364th of 575 models in the data. Dacia as a brand averaged 70.1%, so this model runs 0.9 points behind its own brand. Dacia Sandero cars aged 3 to 5 years passed 81.2% of MOT tests in 2025; for examples aged 11 years and over that fell to 55.8%.
A pass rate is not a reliability score. The full Dacia Sandero MOT record has the pass rate by age, every common failure and how the Sandero compares with similar cars.
Sandero fuel types
Petrol was the most common fuel among Dacia Sandero cars tested in 2025. Diesel still made up 17.8% of tests.
Where the Sandero fails its MOT
Where Dacia Sandero 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 coil spring fractured or broken (8.3%), joints constant velocity boot split or insecure, no longer prevents the ingress of dirt (7.2%) and headlamp aim too low (6.3%). See every common Sandero MOT failure.
These are DVSA failure records across every Dacia Sandero that failed, not a claim that every Sandero has these problems.
What should you check when buying a used Sandero?
The areas above, most common first, and what an MOT tester looks at in each.
1
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% of Sandero failure items.
2
Suspension
Listen for knocks over bumps, check the car sits level, and look for leaking shock absorbers and split rubber gaiters. 19% of Sandero 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. 14.2% of Sandero failure items.
4
Visibility
Check the windscreen for chips or cracks in the driver's view, and that the wipers and washers clear it properly. 13.1% of Sandero failure items.
5
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 Sandero 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.
Sandero vs similar cars
Head-to-head comparisons on the same 2025 DVSA data.
What the MOT record doesn't tell you
Knowing Dacia Sandero failures cluster around lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment 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 Sandero you are looking at. One £15 report, instant results, backed by a £30,000 data guarantee. More on the Dacia history check.
- Outstanding finance
- Write-off records
- Stolen markers
- Mileage history
- Previous keepers
Other used Dacia models
The most-tested Dacia models in 2025, with how their MOT pass rate compares with the Sandero.
- Used Dacia Duster 71.1% MOT pass rate
- Used Dacia Logan 68.5% MOT pass rate
- Used Dacia Jogger 84.3% MOT pass rate
See all 4 Dacia models ranked by MOT pass rate.
Used Dacia Sandero FAQs
Is the Dacia Sandero 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 69.1% first-time pass rate for the Dacia Sandero across 117,868 tests in 2025, below the 72.3% average for all cars.
Do older Dacia Sandero cars fail their MOT more often?
Dacia Sandero cars aged 3 to 5 years passed 81.2% of MOT tests in 2025; for examples aged 11 years and over that fell to 55.8%. 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 Dacia Sandero?
On the car itself, start with the areas it most often fails on: lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment, suspension 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 Dacia Sandero'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.