Used Rover 75 buying guide

In 2025, Rover 75 cars passed 59.9% of 6,210 initial MOT tests, 12.4 points below the 72.3% UK average. Here is where it fails and what to check before you buy.

Looking at a specific 75? Check its finance, write-off, stolen, mileage and keeper history. £15, no account needed.

Rover 75 MOT record in brief

Initial MOT tests in 2025, retests excluded.

59.9%

Rover 75 pass rate

72.3%

UK average, all cars

−12.4

percentage points below average

Ranked on pass rate the 75 sits 494th of 575 models in the data. Rover as a brand averaged 67.1%, so this model runs 7.3 points behind its own brand.

A pass rate is not a reliability score. The full Rover 75 MOT record has the pass rate by age, every common failure and how the 75 compares with similar cars.

75 fuel types

Diesel made up 58.4% of Rover 75 MOT tests in 2025, against 39.3% across all models in this data. The rest ran on other fuels, so tested examples were a genuine mix.

Where the 75 fails its MOT

Where Rover 75 cars that failed their 2025 MOT were marked down, as a share of all recorded failure items.

  • Suspension31.1%
  • Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment21.6%
  • Brakes15.7%
  • Body, chassis, structure8.1%
  • Visibility5.5%
  • Tyres5%

The specific items testers recorded most often were component mounting prescribed areas prescribed area excessively corroded significantly reducing structural strength (7.5%), headlamp aim projected beam image is obviously incorrect (4.9%) and pins and bushes pin or bush excessively worn (4.4%). See every common 75 MOT failure.

These are DVSA failure records across every Rover 75 that failed, not a claim that every 75 has these problems.

What should you check when buying a used 75?

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. 31.1% of 75 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. 21.6% of 75 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. 15.7% of 75 failure items.

4

Body, chassis, structure

Look underneath and along the sills for corrosion, and check for damaged or poorly repaired panels. 8.1% of 75 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. 5.5% of 75 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 Rover 75 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 75 you are looking at. One £15 report, instant results, backed by a £30,000 data guarantee. More on the Rover history check.

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

Used Rover 75 FAQs

Is the Rover 75 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 59.9% first-time pass rate for the Rover 75 across 6,210 tests in 2025, below the 72.3% average for all cars.

What should I check before buying a used Rover 75?

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 Rover 75'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.