70.5%
Peugeot 208 pass rate
Used Peugeot 208 buying guide
In 2025, Peugeot 208 cars passed 70.5% of 219,722 initial MOT tests, 1.8 points below the 72.3% UK average. Here is where it fails and what to check before you buy.
Looking at a specific 208? Check its finance, write-off, stolen, mileage and keeper history. £15, no account needed.
Peugeot 208 MOT record in brief
Initial MOT tests in 2025, retests excluded.
72.3%
UK average, all cars
−1.8
percentage points below average
Ranked on pass rate the 208 sits 344th of 575 models in the data. Peugeot as a brand averaged 66.8%, so this model runs 3.7 points ahead of its own brand. Peugeot 208 cars aged 3 to 5 years passed 81.3% of MOT tests in 2025; for examples aged 11 years and over that fell to 59.3%.
A pass rate is not a reliability score. The full Peugeot 208 MOT record has the pass rate by age, every common failure and how the 208 compares with similar cars.
208 fuel types
Petrol was the most common fuel among Peugeot 208 cars tested in 2025. Diesel still made up 16.7% of tests.
Where the 208 fails its MOT
Where Peugeot 208 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 joints constant velocity boot split or insecure, no longer prevents the ingress of dirt (7%), registration plate lamp(s) inoperative in the case of a single lamp or all lamps (5.2%) and headlamp not working on dipped beam (5.2%). See every common 208 MOT failure.
These are DVSA failure records across every Peugeot 208 that failed, not a claim that every 208 has these problems.
What should you check when buying a used 208?
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. 24.8% of 208 failure items.
2
Noise, emissions and leaks
Listen for a blowing exhaust, watch for smoke on start-up and look under the car for oil or fluid leaks. 14.4% of 208 failure items.
3
Body, chassis, structure
Look underneath and along the sills for corrosion, and check for damaged or poorly repaired panels. 13% of 208 failure items.
4
Suspension
Listen for knocks over bumps, check the car sits level, and look for leaking shock absorbers and split rubber gaiters. 12.8% of 208 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. 12.5% of 208 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.
208 vs similar cars
Head-to-head comparisons on the same 2025 DVSA data.
What the MOT record doesn't tell you
Knowing Peugeot 208 failures cluster around lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment and noise, emissions and leaks 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 208 you are looking at. One £15 report, instant results, backed by a £30,000 data guarantee. More on the Peugeot history check.
- Outstanding finance
- Write-off records
- Stolen markers
- Mileage history
- Previous keepers
Other used Peugeot models
The most-tested Peugeot models in 2025, with how their MOT pass rate compares with the 208.
Used Peugeot 208 FAQs
Is the Peugeot 208 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 70.5% first-time pass rate for the Peugeot 208 across 219,722 tests in 2025, below the 72.3% average for all cars.
Do older Peugeot 208 cars fail their MOT more often?
Peugeot 208 cars aged 3 to 5 years passed 81.3% of MOT tests in 2025; for examples aged 11 years and over that fell to 59.3%. 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 Peugeot 208?
On the car itself, start with the areas it most often fails on: lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment, noise, emissions and leaks and body, chassis, structure. 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 Peugeot 208'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.