78.9%
Morris Minor pass rate
Used Morris Minor buying guide
In 2025, Morris Minor cars passed 78.9% of 1,929 initial MOT tests, 6.6 points above the 72.3% UK average. Here is where it fails and what to check before you buy.
Looking at a specific Minor? Check its finance, write-off, stolen, mileage and keeper history. £15, no account needed.
Morris Minor MOT record in brief
Initial MOT tests in 2025, retests excluded.
72.3%
UK average, all cars
+6.6
percentage points above average
Ranked on pass rate the Minor sits 213th of 575 models in the data. Morris as a brand averaged 80.6%, so this model runs 1.6 points behind its own brand.
A pass rate is not a reliability score. The full Morris Minor MOT record has the pass rate by age, every common failure and how the Minor compares with similar cars.
Minor fuel types
Petrol was the most common fuel among Morris Minor cars tested in 2025. Diesel made up just 0.2% of tests.
Where the Minor fails its MOT
Where Morris Minor 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 service brake imbalance across an axle (8.8%), service brake performance excessively binding (5.4%) and steering rack gaiter missing or no longer prevents the ingress of dirt (5.2%). See every common Minor MOT failure.
These are DVSA failure records across every Morris Minor that failed, not a claim that every Minor has these problems.
What should you check when buying a used Minor?
The areas above, most common first, and what an MOT tester looks at in each.
1
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. 37.6% of Minor 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. 25.7% of Minor failure items.
3
Suspension
Listen for knocks over bumps, check the car sits level, and look for leaking shock absorbers and split rubber gaiters. 11% of Minor 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. 8% of Minor failure items.
5
Steering
Feel for play, knocking or stiffness in the steering, and check there is no steering warning light. 7.7% of Minor 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 Morris Minor failures cluster around brakes 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 Minor you are looking at. One £15 report, instant results, backed by a £30,000 data guarantee.
- Outstanding finance
- Write-off records
- Stolen markers
- Mileage history
- Previous keepers
Used Morris Minor FAQs
Is the Morris Minor 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 78.9% first-time pass rate for the Morris Minor across 1,929 tests in 2025, above the 72.3% average for all cars.
What should I check before buying a used Morris Minor?
On the car itself, start with the areas it most often fails on: brakes, lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment and suspension. 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 Morris Minor'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.