64.3%
Subaru Legacy pass rate
Used Subaru Legacy buying guide
In 2025, Subaru Legacy cars passed 64.3% of 4,666 initial MOT tests, 8 points below the 72.3% UK average. Here is where it fails and what to check before you buy.
Looking at a specific Legacy? Check its finance, write-off, stolen, mileage and keeper history. £15, no account needed.
Subaru Legacy MOT record in brief
Initial MOT tests in 2025, retests excluded.
72.3%
UK average, all cars
−8
percentage points below average
Ranked on pass rate the Legacy sits 444th of 575 models in the data. Subaru as a brand averaged 74.5%, so this model runs 10.2 points behind its own brand. Subaru Legacy cars aged 6 to 10 years passed 80.4% of MOT tests in 2025; for examples aged 11 years and over that fell to 63.6%.
A pass rate is not a reliability score. The full Subaru Legacy MOT record has the pass rate by age, every common failure and how the Legacy compares with similar cars.
Legacy fuel types
Petrol was the most common fuel among Subaru Legacy cars tested in 2025. Diesel still made up 14.6% of tests.
Where the Legacy fails its MOT
Where Subaru Legacy 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 position lamp not working (7.4%), pins and bushes pin or bush excessively worn (5.8%) and stop lamp not working (4.2%). See every common Legacy MOT failure.
These are DVSA failure records across every Subaru Legacy that failed, not a claim that every Legacy has these problems.
What should you check when buying a used Legacy?
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. 28.4% of Legacy failure items.
2
Suspension
Listen for knocks over bumps, check the car sits level, and look for leaking shock absorbers and split rubber gaiters. 21.4% of Legacy 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. 11.7% of Legacy failure items.
4
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. 11.6% of Legacy failure items.
5
Body, chassis, structure
Look underneath and along the sills for corrosion, and check for damaged or poorly repaired panels. 8.5% of Legacy 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 Subaru Legacy failures cluster around lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment and suspension 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 Legacy you are looking at. One £15 report, instant results, backed by a £30,000 data guarantee. More on the Subaru history check.
- Outstanding finance
- Write-off records
- Stolen markers
- Mileage history
- Previous keepers
Other used Subaru models
The most-tested Subaru models in 2025, with how their MOT pass rate compares with the Legacy.
Used Subaru Legacy FAQs
Is the Subaru Legacy 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 64.3% first-time pass rate for the Subaru Legacy across 4,666 tests in 2025, below the 72.3% average for all cars.
Do older Subaru Legacy cars fail their MOT more often?
Subaru Legacy cars aged 6 to 10 years passed 80.4% of MOT tests in 2025; for examples aged 11 years and over that fell to 63.6%. 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 Subaru Legacy?
On the car itself, start with the areas it most often fails on: lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment, suspension 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 Subaru Legacy'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.