74.6%
Land Rover Discovery pass rate
Used Land Rover Discovery buying guide
In 2025, Land Rover Discovery cars passed 74.6% of 143,479 initial MOT tests, 2.3 points above the 72.3% UK average. Here is where it fails and what to check before you buy.
Looking at a specific Discovery? Check its finance, write-off, stolen, mileage and keeper history. £15, no account needed.
Land Rover Discovery MOT record in brief
Initial MOT tests in 2025, retests excluded.
72.3%
UK average, all cars
+2.3
percentage points above average
Ranked on pass rate the Discovery sits 272nd of 575 models in the data. Land Rover as a brand averaged 77.3%, so this model runs 2.8 points behind its own brand. Land Rover Discovery cars aged 3 to 5 years passed 87.2% of MOT tests in 2025; for examples aged 11 years and over that fell to 67.9%.
A pass rate is not a reliability score. The full Land Rover Discovery MOT record has the pass rate by age, every common failure and how the Discovery compares with similar cars.
Discovery fuel types
Diesel made up 97.6% of Land Rover Discovery 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 Discovery fails its MOT
Where Land Rover Discovery 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 (7.2%), position lamp not working (3.8%) and rigid brake pipes excessively corroded (3.1%). See every common Discovery MOT failure.
These are DVSA failure records across every Land Rover Discovery that failed, not a claim that every Discovery has these problems.
What should you check when buying a used Discovery?
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. 21.4% of Discovery 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. 20.9% of Discovery 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. 19.4% of Discovery failure items.
4
Body, chassis, structure
Look underneath and along the sills for corrosion, and check for damaged or poorly repaired panels. 12.2% of Discovery 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. 8.5% of Discovery 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 Land Rover Discovery 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 Discovery you are looking at. One £15 report, instant results, backed by a £30,000 data guarantee. More on the Land Rover history check.
- Outstanding finance
- Write-off records
- Stolen markers
- Mileage history
- Previous keepers
Other used Land Rover models
The most-tested Land Rover models in 2025, with how their MOT pass rate compares with the Discovery.
- Used Land Rover Range Rover Evoque 82.3% MOT pass rate
- Used Land Rover Range Rover Sport 80.8% MOT pass rate
- Used Land Rover Defender 73% MOT pass rate
- Used Land Rover Discovery Sport 81.2% MOT pass rate
- Used Land Rover Freelander 65% MOT pass rate
- Used Land Rover Range Rover 79.5% MOT pass rate
See all 8 Land Rover models ranked by MOT pass rate.
Used Land Rover Discovery FAQs
Is the Land Rover Discovery 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 74.6% first-time pass rate for the Land Rover Discovery across 143,479 tests in 2025, above the 72.3% average for all cars.
Do older Land Rover Discovery cars fail their MOT more often?
Land Rover Discovery cars aged 3 to 5 years passed 87.2% of MOT tests in 2025; for examples aged 11 years and over that fell to 67.9%. 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 Land Rover Discovery?
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 Land Rover Discovery'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.