In 2025, 80,059 Vauxhall Combo cars had a regular MOT in Great Britain. 60% passed first time, compared with 71% for all cars of the same ages, which makes the Combo worse than average. Most are commercial vans or pick-ups, which usually cover far higher mileages and harder work than private cars, so we leave them out of the car rankings.
That comparison matters: older cars fail more often, so a raw pass rate flatters models that are mostly young. We compare each model against every car on the road at the same age.
Pass rate by age
At 4 years old, 74% of Combos passed first time (all cars that age: 87%). By 20 years, that figure is 52% (all cars: 58%). It trails the average car at most ages, most noticeably at 8 years (18 points behind).
Vauxhall Combo All cars of that age
| Age | Tests | Combo passed first time | All cars | Typical mileage |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 4 years | 881 | 74% | 87% | 54,348 |
| 5 years | 7,725 | 74% | 86% | 60,118 |
| 6 years | 15,388 | 73% | 84% | 65,019 |
| 7 years | 2,891 | 66% | 81% | 75,054 |
| 8 years | 3,488 | 60% | 78% | 88,555 |
| 9 years | 4,841 | 59% | 75% | 99,916 |
| 10 years | 4,740 | 58% | 72% | 106,904 |
| 11 years | 4,392 | 55% | 69% | 108,775 |
| 12 years | 2,780 | 54% | 66% | 113,981 |
| 13 years | 2,546 | 52% | 63% | 116,756 |
| 14 years | 6,635 | 57% | 61% | 110,735 |
| 15 years | 5,631 | 53% | 59% | 112,582 |
| 16 years | 3,164 | 49% | 58% | 123,956 |
| 17 years | 4,156 | 49% | 57% | 130,640 |
| 18 years | 3,409 | 47% | 57% | 131,866 |
| 19 years | 2,568 | 47% | 57% | 128,078 |
| 20 years | 1,644 | 52% | 58% | 128,055 |
What fails most on a Vauxhall Combo
The area that lets the Combo down most, relative to other cars, is steering: 4.9% of tests failed on it, 2.2 times the rate for the average car.
Share of Combo tests failing on this area Average car
The six most common failure items
| Failure item | Area | Share of tests |
|---|---|---|
| The aim of a headlamp is not within limits laid down in the requirements | Lights and electrics | 7.9% |
| A suspension pin, bush or joint excessively worn | Suspension | 7.9% |
| A spring or spring component fractured or seriously weakened | Suspension | 6.7% |
| Windscreen washers not working or not providing sufficient fluid to clear the windscreen | Visibility | 4.8% |
| Tyre tread depth not in accordance with the requirements | Tyres | 4.7% |
| A lamp missing, inoperative or in the case of a multiple light source more than 1/2 not functioning | Lights and electrics | 4.1% |
What to check when buying a used Combo
Based on where the Combo fails more often than other cars, these are the checks worth making before you buy:
- Steering: Feel for play or knocking through the wheel, and check power-steering fluid isn’t leaking. More
- Body and structure: Get underneath with a torch: sills, jacking points, subframe mounts and floor pans. Structural rust is the failure that can make a car uneconomic to fix. Repair guide
- Suspension: Listen for knocks over speed bumps, look for leaking shock absorbers, and check the car sits level. Ask whether springs, bushes or drop links have been replaced. Repair guide
Then check the individual car: its own MOT history will show whether it follows the pattern. A car with repeated advisories in the same weak area is more likely to fail its next test.
Check a specific Combo
Enter the registration to see its full MOT history, mileage record and reliability score, compared with these figures.
Check a ComboFrequently asked questions
What is the MOT pass rate for a Vauxhall Combo?
In 2025, 60% of Vauxhall Combo cars passed their MOT first time, across 80,059 tests. Cars of the same ages averaged 71%.
What do Vauxhall Combo cars most often fail their MOT on?
The most common failure items were: the aim of a headlamp is not within limits laid down in the requirements (7.9% of tests); a suspension pin, bush or joint excessively worn (7.9% of tests); a spring or spring component fractured or seriously weakened (6.7% of tests).
Other Vauxhall models
Vauxhall Corsa (61%), Vauxhall Astra (65%), Vauxhall Mokka (66%), Vauxhall Insignia (67%), Vauxhall Zafira (62%), Vauxhall Vivaro (54%). All Vauxhall models
Source: DVSA anonymised MOT tests and results, 2025 (class 4 normal tests; first-time pass means passed with no faults fixed at the test). Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.