Tyre worn close to the legal limit or worn on the edge
A tyre is worn, cut, damaged or otherwise not fit for the road. Tyres are the only thing connecting the car to the road, so this is always worth taking seriously.
MINIUsed-car reliability
At 7 years old, the average MINI fails its MOT less often than the average UK car.
MOT fail rate · 7-year-old cars
Fails less often than the average 7-year-old car (about 1 in 6 MOTs, 16.6%)
Where to start
The MINI models whose MOT tests at 7 years old most and least often ended in a fail.
Lowest fail rates
What actually goes wrong
The most common MOT faults across the MINI range, in plain English. Models with more MOT tests count for more. The percentage is the share of MOT tests on MINI cars that recorded that defect.
A tyre is worn, cut, damaged or otherwise not fit for the road. Tyres are the only thing connecting the car to the road, so this is always worth taking seriously.
A tyre is worn, cut, damaged or otherwise not fit for the road. Tyres are the only thing connecting the car to the road, so this is always worth taking seriously.
Brake pads or linings are worn, contaminated, or missing. These are the friction materials that press against the disc or drum to slow the car. When too thin, stopping distances increase.
MOT wording: Brake pads wearing thin
A brake disc or drum is excessively worn, scored, cracked, warped, or corroded. These are the rotating parts that the pads or shoes press against to slow the car.
MOT wording: Brake disc worn, pitted or scored, but not seriously weakened
Across all MINI models; models with more MOT tests count for more.
The whole range
For each model, one number: the share of its MOT tests at 7 years old that ended in a fail. Retests count as tests. Lower is better. Every model here fails less often than the UK average (about 1 in 6 MOTs, 16.6%). Only models with enough MOT data at 7 years old are ranked. The rest sit just below, unranked.

The lowest 7-year fail rate of any MINI here.

Above the MINI average, but below the UK average.
Fail rates are the share of MOT tests on 7-year-old cars ending in a fail, retests included (DVSA MOT results, 2025). UK average across all makes at the same age: 16.6%. How we count fail rates
Shown unranked. These models don’t have enough MOT data at 7 years old yet. They’re either too new (few cars old enough) or too old (few still on the road). Each is shown at the age with the most tests, so the percentages aren’t directly comparable to the list above.
Averages tell you the odds across the range. Enter a number plate to see that car’s own MOT history, its risk rating, and what’s likely to need attention.