68.1%
Fiat 500 pass rate
Used Fiat 500 buying guide
In 2025, Fiat 500 cars passed 68.1% of 364,811 initial MOT tests, 4.2 points below the 72.3% UK average. Here is where it fails and what to check before you buy.
Looking at a specific 500? Check its finance, write-off, stolen, mileage and keeper history. £15, no account needed.
Fiat 500 MOT record in brief
Initial MOT tests in 2025, retests excluded.
72.3%
UK average, all cars
−4.2
percentage points below average
Ranked on pass rate the 500 sits 382nd of 575 models in the data. Fiat as a brand averaged 67.7%, so this model runs level with its own brand. Fiat 500 cars aged 3 to 5 years passed 84.7% of MOT tests in 2025; for examples aged 11 years and over that fell to 59.6%.
A pass rate is not a reliability score. The full Fiat 500 MOT record has the pass rate by age, every common failure and how the 500 compares with similar cars.
500 fuel types
Petrol was the most common fuel among Fiat 500 cars tested in 2025. Diesel made up just 1% of tests.
Where the 500 fails its MOT
Where Fiat 500 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 (9.4%), shock absorbers has an excessively worn bush (5.3%) and shock absorbers has a serious fluid leak (4.5%). See every common 500 MOT failure.
These are DVSA failure records across every Fiat 500 that failed, not a claim that every 500 has these problems.
What should you check when buying a used 500?
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. 31.2% of 500 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. 21.3% of 500 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. 14.5% of 500 failure items.
4
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. 12.4% of 500 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. 7.2% of 500 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.
500 vs similar cars
Head-to-head comparisons on the same 2025 DVSA data.
What the MOT record doesn't tell you
Knowing Fiat 500 failures cluster around suspension 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 500 you are looking at. One £15 report, instant results, backed by a £30,000 data guarantee. More on the Fiat history check.
- Outstanding finance
- Write-off records
- Stolen markers
- Mileage history
- Previous keepers
Other used Fiat models
The most-tested Fiat models in 2025, with how their MOT pass rate compares with the 500.
Used Fiat 500 FAQs
Is the Fiat 500 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 68.1% first-time pass rate for the Fiat 500 across 364,811 tests in 2025, below the 72.3% average for all cars.
Do older Fiat 500 cars fail their MOT more often?
Fiat 500 cars aged 3 to 5 years passed 84.7% of MOT tests in 2025; for examples aged 11 years and over that fell to 59.6%. 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 Fiat 500?
On the car itself, start with the areas it most often fails on: suspension, 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 Fiat 500'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.