64.1%
Fiat Panda pass rate
Used Fiat Panda buying guide
In 2025, Fiat Panda cars passed 64.1% of 84,817 initial MOT tests, 8.2 points below the 72.3% UK average. Here is where it fails and what to check before you buy.
Looking at a specific Panda? Check its finance, write-off, stolen, mileage and keeper history. £15, no account needed.
Fiat Panda MOT record in brief
Initial MOT tests in 2025, retests excluded.
72.3%
UK average, all cars
−8.2
percentage points below average
Ranked on pass rate the Panda sits 445th of 575 models in the data. Fiat as a brand averaged 67.7%, so this model runs 3.6 points behind its own brand. Fiat Panda cars aged 3 to 5 years passed 83.6% of MOT tests in 2025; for examples aged 11 years and over that fell to 58.5%.
A pass rate is not a reliability score. The full Fiat Panda MOT record has the pass rate by age, every common failure and how the Panda compares with similar cars.
Panda fuel types
Petrol was the most common fuel among Fiat Panda cars tested in 2025. Diesel made up just 6.1% of tests.
Where the Panda fails its MOT
Where Fiat Panda 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 (6%), tread depth below requirements of 1.6mm (5%) and shock absorbers has an excessively worn bush (4.3%). See every common Panda MOT failure.
These are DVSA failure records across every Fiat Panda that failed, not a claim that every Panda has these problems.
What should you check when buying a used Panda?
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. 29.6% of Panda 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. 20.8% of Panda 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 Panda 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. 10% of Panda 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. 7.7% of Panda 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 Fiat Panda 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 Panda 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 Panda.
Used Fiat Panda FAQs
Is the Fiat Panda 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 64.1% first-time pass rate for the Fiat Panda across 84,817 tests in 2025, below the 72.3% average for all cars.
Do older Fiat Panda cars fail their MOT more often?
Fiat Panda cars aged 3 to 5 years passed 83.6% of MOT tests in 2025; for examples aged 11 years and over that fell to 58.5%. 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 Fiat Panda?
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 Panda'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.