55.2%
Volvo V50 pass rate
Used Volvo V50 buying guide
In 2025, Volvo V50 cars passed 55.2% of 26,141 initial MOT tests, 17.1 points below the 72.3% UK average. Here is where it fails and what to check before you buy.
Looking at a specific V50? Check its finance, write-off, stolen, mileage and keeper history. £15, no account needed.
Volvo V50 MOT record in brief
Initial MOT tests in 2025, retests excluded.
72.3%
UK average, all cars
−17.1
percentage points below average
Ranked on pass rate the V50 sits 537th of 575 models in the data. Volvo as a brand averaged 75.3%, so this model runs 20.1 points behind its own brand.
A pass rate is not a reliability score. The full Volvo V50 MOT record has the pass rate by age, every common failure and how the V50 compares with similar cars.
V50 fuel types
Diesel made up 79.6% of Volvo V50 MOT tests in 2025, against 39.3% across all models in this data. Most used examples you look at will be diesels.
Where the V50 fails its MOT
Where Volvo V50 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 (6.5%), position lamp not working (6.1%) and coil spring fractured or broken (6%). See every common V50 MOT failure.
These are DVSA failure records across every Volvo V50 that failed, not a claim that every V50 has these problems.
What should you check when buying a used V50?
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. 25.6% of V50 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. 22.3% of V50 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. 12.9% of V50 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. 12.1% of V50 failure items.
5
Body, chassis, structure
Look underneath and along the sills for corrosion, and check for damaged or poorly repaired panels. 10% of V50 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 Volvo V50 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 V50 you are looking at. One £15 report, instant results, backed by a £30,000 data guarantee. More on the Volvo history check.
- Outstanding finance
- Write-off records
- Stolen markers
- Mileage history
- Previous keepers
Other used Volvo models
The most-tested Volvo models in 2025, with how their MOT pass rate compares with the V50.
Used Volvo V50 FAQs
Is the Volvo V50 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 55.2% first-time pass rate for the Volvo V50 across 26,141 tests in 2025, below the 72.3% average for all cars.
What should I check before buying a used Volvo V50?
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 Volvo V50'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.