61.5%
Vauxhall Zafira pass rate
Used Vauxhall Zafira buying guide
In 2025, Vauxhall Zafira cars passed 61.5% of 174,465 initial MOT tests, 10.8 points below the 72.3% UK average. Here is where it fails and what to check before you buy.
Looking at a specific Zafira? Check its finance, write-off, stolen, mileage and keeper history. £15, no account needed.
Vauxhall Zafira MOT record in brief
Initial MOT tests in 2025, retests excluded.
72.3%
UK average, all cars
−10.8
percentage points below average
Ranked on pass rate the Zafira sits 474th of 575 models in the data. Vauxhall as a brand averaged 65.8%, so this model runs 4.3 points behind its own brand. Vauxhall Zafira cars aged 6 to 10 years passed 70.5% of MOT tests in 2025; for examples aged 11 years and over that fell to 57.2%.
A pass rate is not a reliability score. The full Vauxhall Zafira MOT record has the pass rate by age, every common failure and how the Zafira compares with similar cars.
Zafira fuel types
Petrol was the most common fuel among Vauxhall Zafira cars tested in 2025. Diesel still made up 33.9% of tests.
Where the Zafira fails its MOT
Where Vauxhall Zafira 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 coil spring fractured or broken (6.4%), malfunction indicator lamp inoperative or indicates a malfunction (4.7%) and pins and bushes pin or bush excessively worn (4.3%). See every common Zafira MOT failure.
These are DVSA failure records across every Vauxhall Zafira that failed, not a claim that every Zafira has these problems.
What should you check when buying a used Zafira?
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. 24.6% of Zafira failure items.
2
Suspension
Listen for knocks over bumps, check the car sits level, and look for leaking shock absorbers and split rubber gaiters. 20.8% of Zafira 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. 15.2% of Zafira failure items.
4
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. 11.8% of Zafira failure items.
5
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. 11.1% of Zafira 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.
Zafira vs similar cars
Head-to-head comparisons on the same 2025 DVSA data.
What the MOT record doesn't tell you
Knowing Vauxhall Zafira 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 Zafira you are looking at. One £15 report, instant results, backed by a £30,000 data guarantee. More on the Vauxhall history check.
- Outstanding finance
- Write-off records
- Stolen markers
- Mileage history
- Previous keepers
Other used Vauxhall models
The most-tested Vauxhall models in 2025, with how their MOT pass rate compares with the Zafira.
Used Vauxhall Zafira FAQs
Is the Vauxhall Zafira 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 61.5% first-time pass rate for the Vauxhall Zafira across 174,465 tests in 2025, below the 72.3% average for all cars.
Do older Vauxhall Zafira cars fail their MOT more often?
Vauxhall Zafira cars aged 6 to 10 years passed 70.5% of MOT tests in 2025; for examples aged 11 years and over that fell to 57.2%. 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 Vauxhall Zafira?
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 Vauxhall Zafira'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.