Aston Martin DB7 — MOT statistics 2024
The Aston Martin DB7 failed 14.31% of 1,908 first MOT attempts in 2024 ("first-time", excluding retests). Adjusted for the age of the fleet, its initial-failure ratio is 37.1 (100 = expected for its age profile). This car fails its MOT about 63% less often than expected for its age. Small sample — treat with care.
Age-adjusted peer: McLaren 570 (index 37.3) — the two published results are 0.2 index points apart.
Aston Martin DB7 common problems: what actually fails the MOT
Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment are well below the reference at 7.6 per 100 tests, against 36.5 per 100 tests across UK vehicles of the same ages.
higher bar = fails more oftenrate per 100 tests
family vs national — matched to UK vehicles of the same ages — top component groups, per 100 tests. Legend: This family · National avg. Combined labels: family / national average. A gap here reflects how these vehicles are driven, used and maintained as well as how they were built — an MOT defect is a test outcome, not a breakdown.
Component-group comparison table
Each ratio carries a 95% interval. With 6 groups compared here, roughly one apparent difference in twenty is chance alone.
| Group | This family | Cases behind it | UK, same ages | Family / national |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Brakes | 7.9 | 939 | 24.1 | 0.33×0.31–0.35 |
| Lamps & electrical | 7.6 | 902 | 36.5 | 0.21×0.19–0.22 |
| Suspension | 5.6 | 667 | 29.4 | 0.19×0.18–0.20 |
| Visibility | 5.3 | 629 | 12.9 | 0.41×0.38–0.44 |
| Tyres | 3.2 | 381 | 8.0 | 0.40×0.36–0.44 |
| Emissions & leaks | 2.8 | 339 | 10.0 | 0.28×0.26–0.32 |
| What failed | per 100 tests (this family) | per 100 tests (UK average) | ratio family / UK | What to check |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| SRS malfunction indicator lamp (MIL) indicates a…An SRS malfunction indicator lamp (MIL) indicates a system malfunction | 1.07 | 0.46 | 2.32× | Try every light and switch — lamps are a top failure |
| Strength or continuity of the load bearing…The strength or continuity of the load bearing structure within 30cm of any sub-frame, spring or suspension component mounting (a 'prescribed area') is significantly reduced or inadequately repaired | 1.64 | 1.12 | 1.47× | Look underneath for rust or cracks around subframe and suspension mountings |
| Parking brake efficiency below minimum requirementParking brake efficiency below minimum requirement | 1.45 | 1.24 | 1.17× | Feel for brake judder and pulling on the test drive |
| Significant brake effort recorded with no brake…Significant brake effort recorded with no brake applied indicating a binding brake | 1.14 | 1.03 | 1.11× | Feel for brake judder and pulling on the test drive |
| Wiper blade defectiveWiper blade defective | 1.07 | 1.26 | 0.85× | Check wipers, washers and windscreen chips in the driver's view |
| Aim of a headlamp is not within limits laid down…The aim of a headlamp is not within limits laid down in the requirements | 1.83 | 2.57 | 0.71× | Try every light and switch — lamps are a top failure |
| Tyre seriously damagedA tyre seriously damaged | 1.71 | 2.54 | 0.67× | Check tyre tread depth across the full width |
| Windscreen or window damaged or seriously…Windscreen or window damaged or seriously discoloured but not adversely affecting driver's view | 1.40 | 2.36 | 0.59× | Check wipers, washers and windscreen chips in the driver's view |
| Wiper blade missing or obviously not clearing the…Wiper blade missing or obviously not clearing the windscreen | 1.24 | 2.22 | 0.56× | Check wipers, washers and windscreen chips in the driver's view |
| Suspension pin, bush or joint excessively wornA suspension pin, bush or joint excessively worn | 1.17 | 4.87 | 0.24× | Listen for knocks over bumps — worn joints show up on the test |
Named defects ranked by how much more often they appear than the national average — not by raw rate.
Aston Martin DB7 MOT advisories: what gets flagged
Suspension is highest at 32.1 per 100 tests; Lamps & electrical are lowest at 2.1 per 100 tests — the gap is 30.0 per 100 tests.
higher bar = flagged more oftenadvisory items per 100 initial tests
Advisory rates table
| Group | Advisories per 100 |
|---|---|
| Suspension | 32.1 |
| Tyres | 18.7 |
| Brakes | 14.7 |
| Emissions & leaks | 9.2 |
| Body & structure | 4.4 |
| Lamps & electrical | 2.1 |
Advisories are wear the tester noted but didn't fail — what will need money soon.
If a car like this fails, does it fail again?
A failure rate does not say whether a failure is a one-off or the start of something. This follows the same vehicles into their next ordinary MOT a year later — retests after a repair are excluded, because they follow a failure by definition. 2019-2024.
| After this year's test | Fails next year | Vehicles followed |
|---|---|---|
| It failed | 14.6% | 555 |
| It passed | 12.5% | 6,739 |
A failed test does not clearly change next year's odds here (14.6% against 12.5%): the difference is within the margin of error. The failure most likely to come back is tyres — 25.5% of those vehicles fail again next year. Some of this is the vehicle and some is the owner: a car that was let go once tends to be let go again. One caveat: a car that fails may be sold or scrapped rather than tested again, so these figures describe the vehicles that came back.
Adjusted for how much these are actually driven
The headline index adjusts for the fleet's age. Wear, though, follows mileage: a three-year-old taxi and a three-year-old garage queen sit in the same age band. These two rows compare every car with vehicles of the same age, and then with vehicles of the same age and the same annual mileage, 2019-2024, on 11,230 tests. Both stand on the six-year corpus so they are measured on identical data — compare them with each other, not with the headline index above, which is measured on 2024 alone.
| Standardised for | Index | Reading |
|---|---|---|
| Age only | 37.4 | fails less often than expected |
| Age and annual mileage | 44.7 | fails less often than vehicles driven as much |
| Share doing under 3,000 miles a year | 72.9% | a large low-use population — often second vehicles or cars kept for occasional use |
Split by how much each car is driven. This is a split by annual mileage, not by body type — the MOT record does not say whether a car is a conversion. Within each band the index compares with vehicles of the same age driven as much.
| Miles a year | Tests | Failed first time | Index within band |
|---|---|---|---|
| under 3,000 | 8,187 | 13.4% | 42.5 |
| 3,000–6,000 | 2,950 | 20.4% | 48.9 |
Mileage matters here: matching on how much these are driven moves the figure by 7.3 points — this fleet is driven less than the vehicles it is measured against, so the age-only view flatters it — but it does not change which side of normal the car sits on. One limit to keep in mind: mileage is partly a result of how often a car breaks down — one that spends weeks in the workshop covers fewer miles — so the mileage-matched figure can understate a real weakness. Tests with no usable odometer reading are left out of it.
How the Aston Martin DB7 compares with cars of its own age and size
Not against the whole fleet — against cars of the same size class tested at the same age, 2019-2024.
| Age | Aston Martin DB7 | Same class, same age | Difference | Tests |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 16 years | 15.38% | 37.1% | -21.71 pp | 364 |
| 17 years | 13.06% | 37.49% | -24.43 pp | 582 |
| 18 years | 16.06% | 37.87% | -21.81 pp | 878 |
| 19 years | 13.62% | 37.5% | -23.88 pp | 1,182 |
| 20 years | 16.02% | 37.04% | -21.02 pp | 1,330 |
Raw first-time failure rates within each age, so fleet age cannot flatter either side. A positive difference means this model fails more often than its own class at that age.
How does the Aston Martin DB7 perform as it gets older?
The Martin DB7 at age 20 is well below the reference at 13.6%, against 41.0% for all vehicles of the same age.
higher = larger sharecompare shares in percentage points
Chart axes: car age, years · failure-rate scale 0–47%.
Takeaway: solid line: this family; dashed: all cars.
Data table
| Age | Aston Martin DB7 | All vehicles | Gap |
|---|---|---|---|
| 20 | 13.6% | 41.0% | -27.4 pp |
Is an Aston Martin DB7 ULEZ compliant?
The share of classifiable 2024 Aston Martin DB7 MOT tests likely ULEZ compliant by first-registration date is 0.2%.
Based on 1,245 classifiable initial MOT tests. This describes the tested fleet, not a specific car. MOT data do not record Euro class, so likely compliance is inferred from fuel and first-registration date. For the only authoritative answer, check the registration with TfL's official ULEZ checker.
higher = larger share likely compliantinferred from fuel and first-registration date; not a recorded Euro class
| Vehicle age at test | Likely ULEZ-compliant share | Tests |
|---|---|---|
| Under 3 years | Suppressed — sample below publication threshold Check a registration with TfL | n = 1 |
| 3–5 years | Suppressed — sample below publication threshold Check a registration with TfL | n = 0 |
| 6–7 years | Suppressed — sample below publication threshold Check a registration with TfL | n = 0 |
| 8 years | Suppressed — sample below publication threshold Check a registration with TfL | n = 0 |
| 9 years | Suppressed — sample below publication threshold Check a registration with TfL | n = 0 |
| 10–14 years | Suppressed — sample below publication threshold Check a registration with TfL | n = 0 |
| 15–17 years | Suppressed — sample below publication threshold Check a registration with TfL | n = 0 |
| 18 years | Suppressed — sample below publication threshold Check a registration with TfL | n = 1 |
| 19 years | Suppressed — sample below publication threshold Check a registration with TfL | n = 2 |
| 20+ years | 0.0% Check a registration with TfL | n = 1,241 |
How dangerous are Aston Martin DB7 MOT failures?
Major defects are well below the reference at 26.4 per 100 tests, against 52.8 per 100 tests nationally.
higher bar = fails more oftenrate per 100 tests
Severity table
| Severity | This family /100 | National /100 | Family / national |
|---|---|---|---|
| Minor | 6.17 | 14.22 | 0.43× |
| Major | 26.42 | 52.75 | 0.50× |
| Dangerous | 5.01 | 11.15 | 0.45× |
Chart values: Minor 6.2 · Major 26.4 · Dangerous 5.0.
Per 100 tests on this family. National average: Minor 14.2 · Major 52.8 · Dangerous 11.2 per 100.
Does the month of an Aston Martin DB7 MOT matter?
Jan is highest at 19.5%; Jul is lowest at 13.3% — the gap is 6.2 percentage points.
higher = larger sharecompare shares in percentage points
Chart scale: 12%–33%.
bars: Aston Martin DB7 · dashed: all class-4 cars
Month-by-month table
| Month | Aston Martin DB7 | All vehicles | Gap |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 19.47% | 31.12% | -11.7 pp |
| Feb | 18.49% | 29.99% | -11.5 pp |
| Mar | 17.46% | 28.26% | -10.8 pp |
| Apr | 14.94% | 29.78% | -14.8 pp |
| May | 13.32% | 28.79% | -15.5 pp |
| Jun | 14.92% | 28.15% | -13.2 pp |
| Jul | 13.29% | 29.33% | -16.0 pp |
| Aug | 14.36% | 29.2% | -14.8 pp |
| Sep | 15.56% | 28.19% | -12.6 pp |
| Oct | 14.11% | 30.34% | -16.2 pp |
| Nov | 14.47% | 30.58% | -16.1 pp |
| Dec | 18.75% | 29.33% | -10.6 pp |
Takeaway: the spread between best and worst month is 6.2 percentage points — noticeable seasonality. Seasonality partly reflects registration-date clustering, not weather.
Before reading the shape: most of it is not about cars. Britain changes its registration plates twice a year, and 18.9% of these cars were first registered in March with another17.1% in September — 36% in two months against the 17% an even spread would give. An MOT falls due three years after first registration, so the buying calendar becomes the testing calendar. That shapes how many cars are tested each month — not how often they fail: the busiest months here are not the worst ones, so read the failure line on its own and the volume behind it separately.
Aston Martin DB7 average mileage by age
At age 20+, the middle half of Martin DB7s runs from 29,554 miles to 60,311 miles, against 44,293 miles as the median.
further right = more milesmedian is the typical car; band is p25–p75
Does high mileage mean more Aston Martin DB7 MOT failures at the same age?
Within the same age group, split by odometer (2024 MOTs), so this separates wear from age: at ages 15+, 10% of those with under 40,000 miles failed first time versus 19.2% of those with 70,000–100,000 miles.Inside this age group, higher mileage goes with more failures.
| Age | Odometer | % failing | 95% interval | Tests |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 15+ | <40k miles | 10% | 7.7–12.8% | 522 |
| 15+ | 40-70k miles | 13.8% | 11.1–17.1% | 520 |
| 15+ | 70-100k miles | 19.2% | 13.9–25.8% | 167 (rough estimate) |
line: median · band: middle half of the fleet (p25–p75)
Mileage by age (p25 / median / p75)
| Age | p25 | Median | p75 | Tests |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 20+ | 29,554 | 44,293 | 60,311 | 1,241 |
A typical 20+-year-old Martin DB7 has ~44,293 miles on the clock. Much more — ask why; much less — check for gaps in the MOT history.
Where in Britain the Aston Martin DB7 fails its MOT most
Milton Keynes area is highest at 25.0%; London SE area is lowest at 3.9% — the gap is 21.2 percentage points.
higher = larger sharecompare shares in percentage points
| Toughest areas | % failing | vs model overall |
|---|---|---|
| Milton Keynes (MK) | 25% | +9.7 pp |
| Bournemouth (BH) | 24.34% | +9.0 pp |
| Torquay (TQ) | 24.32% | +9.0 pp |
| Brighton (BN) | 24.29% | +8.9 pp |
| Preston (PR) | 24.26% | +8.9 pp |
| Easiest areas | % failing | vs model overall |
|---|---|---|
| London SE (SE) | 3.85% | -11.5 pp |
| Southend-on-Sea (SS) | 3.97% | -11.4 pp |
| Hemel Hempstead (HP) | 8.32% | -7.0 pp |
| Coventry (CV) | 8.38% | -7.0 pp |
| Kingston upon Thames (KT) | 9.69% | -5.7 pp |
Every dot is a postcode area — size = how many were tested there, colour = share failing. These figures are not age-adjusted: coastal and rural areas often run older fleets and salted roads, so higher raw fail rates do not automatically mean a worse local stock of this model.
Map labels: Scotland · N. England · Wales · London · S. West. Colour scale: 8%–25% failing.
How many miles does an Aston Martin DB7 last?
100,000+ miles stands out at 4.6%.
higher = larger sharecompare shares in percentage points
| Odometer | Tests ≥ threshold | Share of sample |
|---|---|---|
| 100,000+ miles | 549 | 4.61% |
Of 11,896 tests of this family with a usable odometer in 2024, 4.6% had reached 100k miles. This is a cross-section of cars still presenting for MOT, not a full birth cohort.
Aston Martin DB7 faults that come together
Body & structure + Emissions & leaks stand out at 8.22×, against 1.00× if the faults were independent.
above 1.0× = more than expectedbelow 1.0× = less
| Group A | Group B | Together | Lift |
|---|---|---|---|
| Body, chassis, structure | Noise, emissions and leaks | 26 | 8.22× (rough estimate) |
| Seat belts and supplementary restraint systems | Suspension | 41 | 6.86× (rough estimate) |
| Body, chassis, structure | Brakes | 50 | 6.61× (rough estimate) |
| Brakes | Suspension | 129 | 5.94× (rough estimate) |
| Noise, emissions and leaks | Seat belts and supplementary restraint systems | 20 | 5.9× (rough estimate) |
| Body, chassis, structure | Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | 43 | 5.86× (rough estimate) |
| Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | Noise, emissions and leaks | 67 | 5.59× (rough estimate) |
| Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | Seat belts and supplementary restraint systems | 44 | 5.59× (rough estimate) |
| Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | Visibility | 138 | 5.57× (rough estimate) |
| Brakes | Noise, emissions and leaks | 68 | 5.51× (rough estimate) |
| Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | Suspension | 116 | 5.49× (rough estimate) |
| Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | Steering | 37 | 5.39× (rough estimate) |
| Steering | Suspension | 28 | 5.38× (rough estimate) |
| Body, chassis, structure | Suspension | 29 | 5.21× (rough estimate) |
| Brakes | Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | 144 | 5.03× (rough estimate) |
| Brakes | Seat belts and supplementary restraint systems | 40 | 4.93× (rough estimate) |
| Seat belts and supplementary restraint systems | Visibility | 34 | 4.85× (rough estimate) |
| Steering | Visibility | 29 | 4.75× (rough estimate) |
| Body, chassis, structure | Visibility | 31 | 4.74× (rough estimate) |
| Brakes | Visibility | 116 | 4.55× (rough estimate) |
| Noise, emissions and leaks | Suspension | 40 | 4.4× (rough estimate) |
| Suspension | Tyres | 39 | 4.34× (rough estimate) |
| Suspension | Visibility | 81 | 4.31× (rough estimate) |
| Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | Tyres | 49 | 4.14× (rough estimate) |
| Noise, emissions and leaks | Tyres | 21 | 4.12× (rough estimate) |
| Brakes | Steering | 29 | 4.11× (rough estimate) |
| Brakes | Tyres | 50 | 4.1× (rough estimate) |
| Tyres | Visibility | 41 | 3.89× (rough estimate) |
| Noise, emissions and leaks | Visibility | 36 | 3.37× (rough estimate) |
| Seat belts and supplementary restraint systems | Steering | 14 | too few (rough estimate) |
| Seat belts and supplementary restraint systems | Tyres | 14 | too few (rough estimate) |
| Identification of the vehicle | Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | 13 | too few (rough estimate) |
| Brakes | Identification of the vehicle | 13 | too few (rough estimate) |
| Body, chassis, structure | Steering | 12 | too few (rough estimate) |
| Noise, emissions and leaks | Steering | 12 | too few (rough estimate) |
| Body, chassis, structure | Seat belts and supplementary restraint systems | 11 | too few (rough estimate) |
| Body, chassis, structure | Tyres | 10 | too few (rough estimate) |
| Identification of the vehicle | Tyres | 9 | too few (rough estimate) |
| Identification of the vehicle | Visibility | 9 | too few (rough estimate) |
| Steering | Tyres | 9 | too few (rough estimate) |
| Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | Road Wheels | 7 | too few (rough estimate) |
| Identification of the vehicle | Suspension | 6 | too few (rough estimate) |
| Identification of the vehicle | Steering | 5 | too few (rough estimate) |
Defects in «Body, chassis, structure» and «Noise, emissions and leaks» appear together 8.22× more often than chance (26 co-occurrences in the same test; 66 pairs compared).
Lift = how many times more often both groups appear on the same test than if independent. A pair is listed from 5 tests with both faults; the lift is shown from 20, and called above chance only when its 95% interval excludes 1 (see rough estimates).
Aston Martin DB7 MOT repair costs
The MOT-failure repair budget per test runs from £41.05 to £77.99, against £54.85 for the test itself.
bigger number = costs morepounds per test, MOT-failing faults only
| Component | Fails per 100 tests | Typical repair | Its price | Contribution |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Brakes | 7.9 (nat. 11.25) | Front brake pads (parts + labour, typical hatchback) | £150 | £11.85 |
| Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | 7.6 (nat. 18.09) | Battery replacement (standard 12V lead-acid) | £140 | £10.64 |
| Suspension | 5.6 (nat. 15.36) | Suspension coil spring (single corner) | £180 | £10.08 |
| Noise, emissions and leaks | 2.8 (nat. 3.67) | Exhaust rear silencer | £200 | £5.60 |
| Tyres | 3.2 (nat. 8.7) | Tyre (single mid-range 16" fitted) | £90 | £2.88 |
Multiply how often each component fails on this model by what that repair usually costs, and you get the amount an owner should expect to budget per test for MOT-failing faults only — roughly £41 to £78, on top of the test fee itself. It is a budgeting figure, not a quote: the spread between a set of pads and a set of discs is most of the range.
Prices are modal quotes from a hand-kept catalogue of published UK garage guides — we do not scrape the booking sites, their terms forbid it, so this list is short and updated by hand with a source and date against each line. Each line prices one typical repair in that group, not a full remedy, and only groups our catalogue actually covers are counted. The contrast worth noticing is the second card: the legal maximum for the test has been £54.85 since 2010, while the repairs it uncovers have followed inflation the whole time.
For scale from a different direction: Warrantywise, which sees used-car warranty claims rather than test failures, puts the average claim at £2,052 across the ten highest-claim models it ranks and £539 for Honda, the lowest-claim make in its index (Warrantywise index 2026, 1.6 million claims, cars aged 3–15). Those sit an order of magnitude above the figures in this table, and the gap is the point: a warranty claim is a gearbox or an engine, which almost never fails an MOT, while the faults that do fail one are corrosion, lamps and tyres, which no warranty pays for. The two numbers answer different questions and neither replaces the other.
Aston Martin DB7 rust problems: where they corrode
Age-standardised corrosion susceptibility is well below the reference at 0.54×, against 1.00× for the national age-standardised rate.
above 1.0× = rusts more than averagebelow 1.0× = rusts less
This Aston Martin DB7 fails on corrosion much less often than average once age is held constant, and its owners live in areas that are gentler than most for the models we publish.
Corrosion is the one failure mode that is as much about geography as about the car. We keep the two apart on purpose: a model can look rusty simply because it is popular in Scotland, and a model can look clean simply because it is bought in Surrey. Blending them into a single score would hide which of the two is doing the work.
Exposure is this model's tests weighted by an area corrosion index built from frost days, salt load and distance to the coast — the composite validated at r = 0.42 against corrosion defects we actually record. It is published as a rank, not a raw score, because every mainstream model skews towards low-corrosion areas for the simple reason that most of Britain's cars are in the south. Susceptibility is standardised to the national age profile, so an old fleet does not get labelled a rusty model.
Does an Aston Martin DB7 advisory become a failure?
Brakes are highest at 11.1%; Noise, emissions and leaks are lowest at 3.3% — the gap is 7.9 percentage points.
higher = more likelypercentage is the observed transition probability
chance the same component fails at the next MOT, given an advisory now
| Component | Fails next time | Typical lead time | Miles of warning | Advisories tracked |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Brakes | 11.1% | 12.1 months | 370 | 791 |
| Suspension | 6.9% | 12.4 months | 536 | 1,296 |
| Tyres | 6.6% | 12.3 months | 469 | 955 |
| Noise, emissions and leaks | 3.3% | 12.3 months | 431 | 738 |
This is the question an advisory note actually raises, and it needs six years of test history to answer. We followed the same vehicles from one MOT to the next across 2019–2024 and measured how often a component that was merely advised came back as a genuine failure at the next test.
Read it as a budgeting horizon, not a prophecy: the most likely component above turns into a failure for about 11 in 100 cars, and the median gap is 12.1 months and roughly 370 miles. The rest were repaired, sold, scrapped, or simply held. Rows with fewer than 500 tracked advisories are not shown.
What will fail next on an Aston Martin DB7?
Brakes after a advisory at age 20+ are highest at 8.5%; Visibility after a passed at age 15-19 is lowest at 2.7% — the gap is 5.8 percentage points.
higher = more likelypercentage is the observed transition probability
| Age | Last test | Most likely next failures | Cars tracked |
|---|---|---|---|
| 15-19 | passed | Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment 2.8% · Brakes 2.8% · Visibility 2.7% | 2,366 |
| 15-19 | advisory | Visibility 6.2% · Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment 5.6% · Brakes 4.4% | 657 |
| 15-19 | failure | Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment 7.2% · Visibility 5.5% · Brakes 5.1% | 514 |
| 20+ | passed | Brakes 3.7% · Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment 3.4% · Visibility 2.9% | 3,587 |
| 20+ | advisory | Brakes 8.5% · Visibility 7.8% · Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment 7.7% | 1,267 |
| 20+ | failure | Brakes 7.7% · Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment 7.4% · Suspension 5.5% | 939 |
The same chains, cut differently: given a car's age and how its last test went, which component most often causes trouble at the following one.
The pattern that repeats across every family: a failure at one test roughly doubles the chance of a failure on the same component at the next one, and an advisory sits about half-way between a clean pass and a failure. Age bands in years; probabilities are per car, not per defect item.
Aston Martin DB7 ownership: what six years of MOTs show
The ten-day re-test pass rate is highest at 68.6%; The later re-test pass rate is lowest at 10.3% — the gap is 58.3 percentage points.
higher = larger sharecompare shares in percentage points
Failing is usually a same-week event, not a disaster. Of 1,105 failures followed through to their re-test, 21.09% were repaired and passed the same day and 68.6% within ten days; the median gap is 3 days. 2,310 defect items were cleared in the process.
Per mile driven, not per year. Dividing failures by the miles that actually went onto the odometers between consecutive tests gives 1.889 failures per 10,000 miles, on a median of 377 miles a year across 2,372 chains. This is the number to compare between models — an annual rate quietly rewards cars that barely leave the drive.
Two populations hide inside one model. 62.83% of these cars strung together three or more tests with nothing recorded at all, while 19.02% carried the same advisory three times or more — the same fault, noted, ignored, noted again. When you buy used you are buying one of those two histories, and the MOT record shows which.
Odometer anomalies: 1.51% of 2,384 chains show a reading lower than the previous test, with a median drop of 3,247 miles. We call this an anomaly and not fraud on purpose — instrument swaps, imports, unit mix-ups and keying errors all land in the same bucket. Obvious typos (drops under 100 miles or over 90% of the reading) are already excluded.
Aston Martin DB7 safety recalls and how to check yours
DVSA recall campaigns stand out at 6.
bigger number = more recorded casescompare like-for-like scope, not sample size alone
recall campaigns launched per year
| Reference | Launched | Vehicles | Concern |
|---|---|---|---|
R/2005/010 | 18/01/2005 | 59 | REAR BRAKE PRESSURE REDUCING VALVES CONNECTED INCORRECTLY |
R/2003/051 | 24/03/2003 | 62 | POWER ASSISTED STEERING HOSE MAY CONTACT THE LEFT HAND EXHAUST MANIFOLD AND BURN THROUGH |
R/2001/042 | 04/06/2001 | 1,609 | LIGHTING EQUIPMENT SWITCHGEAR CONCERN. |
R/2000/106 | 09/10/2000 | 481 | INTERMITTENT LOSS OF ENGINE POWER ON START UP. |
R/2000/001 | 10/01/2000 | 358 | FRONT DAMPER LOWER MOUNTING BRACKET MAY DETACH |
All 6 campaigns
| Reference | Launched | Build dates | Vehicles | Concern |
|---|---|---|---|---|
R/2005/010 | 18/01/2005 | 59 | REAR BRAKE PRESSURE REDUCING VALVES CONNECTED INCORRECTLY | |
R/2003/051 | 24/03/2003 | 01/05/1999 – 31/03/2003 | 62 | POWER ASSISTED STEERING HOSE MAY CONTACT THE LEFT HAND EXHAUST MANIFOLD AND BURN THROUGH |
R/2001/042 | 04/06/2001 | 01/04/1996 – 28/02/2001 | 1,609 | LIGHTING EQUIPMENT SWITCHGEAR CONCERN. |
R/2000/106 | 09/10/2000 | 01/06/1999 – 30/09/2000 | 481 | INTERMITTENT LOSS OF ENGINE POWER ON START UP. |
R/2000/001 | 10/01/2000 | 01/06/1999 – 30/11/1999 | 358 | FRONT DAMPER LOWER MOUNTING BRACKET MAY DETACH |
R/1996/038 | 12/12/1996 | 01/04/1996 – 30/11/1996 | 139 | NON OPERATION OF BRAKE FLUID WARNING LAMP CHECK FACILITY |
DVSA lists 6 safety recall campaigns for the Aston Martin DB7, covering roughly 2,708 vehicles in total. A recall is the manufacturer fixing a fault for free, so an open recall on your car costs nothing to clear.
Counter-intuitive, and measured on our own data: across the 25 families published here, more recalls go with a lower MOT Risk Index (r = −0.52). Heavily recalled models are not worse cars in the test bay — an active manufacturer removes the fault before it becomes an MOT failure.
Check whether a specific car has an outstanding recall — free, by registration — at DVSA's recall service. Source: DVSA vehicle safety recalls (check-vehicle-recalls.service.gov.uk), OGL.
Aston Martin DB7 MOT: quick answers
Aston Martin DB7 MOT Risk Index is well below the reference at 37.1, against 100 for a car with the same age profile.
below 100 is betterabove 100 is worse100 = normal for this model at that age
- What is the Aston Martin DB7 first-time MOT pass rate?
- 85.69% of first attempts passed in 2024 (1,908 tests). This is the first-time figure: retests after repair are excluded. Basis: first-time, excluding retests.
- Why does this number differ from other sites?
- Other sites often report a pass rate that includes retests or counts all attempts. Our 14.31% figure is the first-time initial failure rate, using 1,908 primary tests as the denominator (first-time, excluding retests). The age-adjusted MOT initial-failure ratio 37.1 is shown separately because raw rates compare fleet age as well as cars.
Compare the Aston Martin DB7 with other cars
Porsche Cayman is highest at 37.3; BMW M5 is lowest at 36.7 — the gap is 0.6 points.
below 100 is betterabove 100 is worse100 = normal for this model at that age
Same brand
All Aston Martin MOT statisticsAston Martin DB11 MOT statsAston Martin Vantage MOT stats
Similar risk
McLaren 570 (index 37.3)Porsche Cayman (index 37.3)BMW M5 (index 36.7)
Same size class
how BMW X7 compareshow Chrysler PT compareshow Maserati GranTurismo compares
By area
Aston Martin DB7 MOT failure rate by postcode area
By failure group
Aston Martin DB7 body, chassis and structure failuresAston Martin DB7 brakes failuresAston Martin DB7 vehicle identification failuresAston Martin DB7 lamps, reflectors and electrics failuresAston Martin DB7 noise, emissions and leaks failuresAston Martin DB7 seat belts and airbags failuresAston Martin DB7 steering failuresAston Martin DB7 suspension failuresAston Martin DB7 tyres failuresAston Martin DB7 visibility failures
Data details & how to cite
Scope: class-4 vehicles (cars), initial tests only, outcomes pass / fail / fixed-on-the-spot at the station (PRS counts towards the failure rate — the defect was present at arrival). Index = observed initial failures ÷ failures expected for this fleet's exact age profile, ×100; margin of error is a 95% confidence interval. Covers ALL generations together — a 3-year-old and a 15-year-old are very different cars; a generation split is on the roadmap. Dataset release dataset_release_id=dvsa-2024-v2, frozen baseline; headline claim_id=family-stats:aston-martin-db7:dvsa-2024-v2. Full method: methodology.
Cite: MOT Risk Index (2026). Aston Martin DB7 MOT statistics 2024 (data release dvsa-2024-v2; downloadable dataset motriskindex-families-2024-v5, doi:10.5281/zenodo.22975051). https://motriskindex.co.uk/cars/aston-martin-db7/ · Published 2026-07-30.