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Porsche 944, Buying guide, MOT record and UK numbers

2,132 Porsche 944s are licensed in the UK. In 2025 they passed 78.3% of initial MOT tests, 6 points above the 72.3% UK average.

Looking at a specific 944? Check its finance, write-off, stolen, mileage and keeper history. £15, no account needed.

Porsche 944 at the MOT

78.3% of 2,120 initial tests passed in 2025, ranking the 944 223rd of 575 models.

First-time pass rate, 2025

Share of initial tests passed, retests excluded.

  • Porsche 94478.3%
  • All Porsche modelsThe 944 is 9.3 pts behind87.6%
  • All cars72.3%

Where 944s fail

Share of all failure items recorded on Porsche 944 tests in 2025.

  • Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment32.8%
  • Brakes18.8%
  • Suspension13.7%
  • Visibility12.5%
  • Body, chassis, structure7.3%

The items testers recorded most often were rear fog lamp not working (5.2%), washers not working (4.8%) and component mounting prescribed area excessively corroded significantly reducing structural strength (4.1%).

The MOT page lists every common 944 MOT failure. For one car's own results and advisories, run a free MOT history check.

Full Porsche 944 MOT record

What to look at on a viewing

The 944's most common failure areas, and what a tester checks 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.32.8% of 944 failure items

  2. 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.18.8% of 944 failure items

  3. Suspension

    Listen for knocks over bumps, check the car sits level, and look for leaking shock absorbers and split rubber gaiters.13.7% of 944 failure items

Porsche 944s in the UK

2,132 were licensed at the end of June 2026. The number licensed has fallen 20% since the end of 2014.

Change since 2014
−20%from 2,650 licensed
Typical year of first use
1988half of those licensed at the end of 2025 were first used in 1988 or earlier
Declared off the road
4,10466% of those registered, under SORN

Licensed Porsche 944s since 2014

Licensed at each year end and in the latest quarter.

Show the figures
DateLicensed
End of 20142,650
End of 20152,648
End of 20162,472
End of 20172,302
End of 20182,169
End of 20192,056
End of 20201,870
End of 20211,832
End of 20221,743
End of 20231,704
End of 20241,684
End of 20251,725
End of June 20262,132

How old they are

Licensed Porsche 944s by year of first use.

Show the figures
First usedLicensed, end 2025
19992
19980
19971
19960
19950
19941
19930
199293
1991166
1990188
1989255
1988157
1987126
1986180
1985111
1984140
1983120
198269

944 engine sizes

2.5 litre engines made up 51% of Porsche 944 MOT tests in 2025, followed by 3.0 litre at 39%. Petrol accounts for 100% of licensed 944s.

Engine size at MOT, 2025

Share of 2,120 initial MOT tests in 2025.

  • 2.5 litre51.5%
  • 3.0 litre38.6%
  • 2.6 litre8.2%
  • 2.7 litre1.5%

Other Porsche models

The most-tested Porsche models in 2025, against the 944's 78.3% MOT pass rate.

All 8 Porsche models

Porsche 944 FAQs

How many Porsche 944s are there in the UK?

2,132 Porsche 944s were licensed in the UK at the end of June 2026, with a further 4,104 declared off the road (SORN), according to DfT vehicle licensing statistics.

Is the Porsche 944 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 78.3% first-time pass rate for the Porsche 944 across 2,120 tests in 2025, above the 72.3% average for all cars.

What should I check before buying a used Porsche 944?

On the car itself, start with the areas it most often fails on: lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment, brakes and suspension. Then check the individual car's own records. Outstanding finance, insurance write-offs and police stolen markers are not part of the MOT record, so they take a history check.

How do I check a Porsche 944'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.

Already found a 944?

Check its finance, write-off, theft, mileage and keeper history with a £15 vehicle history report.

Across the 1,548 vehicles of every make Carpeep has checked since November 2025, 19% had outstanding finance recorded and 13% an insurance write-off. More on the Porsche history check. To confirm a car's identity, see the Porsche VIN check.

  • Outstanding finance
  • Write-off records
  • Stolen markers
  • Mileage history
  • Previous keepers

MOT figures are aggregated from the DVSA MOT Anonymised data set for 2025 (class 4 initial tests, retests excluded), which also gives the engine sizes. Licensed, SORN, fuel and registration figures are from the Department for Transport vehicle licensing statistics (VEH0120, VEH0124, VEH0160). Government data is used under the Open Government Licence v3.0. MOT results describe roadworthiness at test, not mechanical reliability. History-check findings are anonymous counts from reports bought on Carpeep, each vehicle counted once, and are published only where at least 100 vehicles returned an answer.