Vauxhall Agila 2003: MOT failure rate for its age

42.3% of 12,296 MOT tests of the Vauxhall Agila first registered in 2003 failed at the first attempt (2019–2024; retests excluded). Against this model's own normal rate at the same ages the index is 99.0 (95% CI 96.3–101.7; 100 = normal for this model at that age): the 2003 build year is no different from other years of the same model at the same age.

Vauxhall Agila built in 2003 at a glance
Measure	Value	Unit	Compared with	Years	Tests
Failed first time	42.3	%	all ages tested	2019–2024	12296
Index against this model at the same age (95% CI 96.3–101.7)	99.0	index	100 = normal for this model at that age	2019–2024	12296
Rank among this model's 16 build years	9	of 16	1 = fails least for its age	2019–2024	12296
Tested in 2024	1313	tests	median 73,871 miles	2024	1313

Built 2003 against Vauxhall Agila normal for the age: first-time MOT failure share at each age, age 16: 42% vs 45.2%; age 17: 42.9% vs 41.7%; age 18: 40.8% vs 42.4%; age 19: 42% vs 40.9%; age 20: 44.1% vs 42.2%; age 21: 42.3% vs 42.5%. Axis from 0% to 50%. DVSA MOT bulk data, 2019–2024.

Check a 2003 Vauxhall Agila by registration · All Vauxhall Agila MOT statistics · Download the build-year table (CSV)

Data release dvsa-2024-v2 (24 Sep 2026) · page updated 30 Sep 2026 · full dataset (v5).

How does the 2003 Vauxhall Agila fail at each age?

Cars built in 2003 were tested at ages 16 to 21 between 2019 and 2024. Each row compares their first-time failure share with what this model normally shows at that age, after allowing for the overall failure level of each test year.

Vauxhall Agila built 2003: first-time MOT failure by age, against the model's normal rate at that age (2019–2024)
Age	Tests	Failed, %	95% interval	Normal for this model at that age, %	Index (100 = normal)
16	2,990	42	40.2–43.8	45.2	93
17	2,455	42.9	41–44.9	41.7	102.9
18	2,117	40.8	38.7–42.9	42.4	96.2
19	1,844	42	39.7–44.2	40.9	102.6
20	1,577	44.1	41.7–46.6	42.2	104.5
21	1,313	42.3	39.7–45	42.5	99.6

Source: DVSA MOT bulk data · Window: 2019–2024 · n = 12,296 (initial tests) · Method: normal rate = this model's first-time failure share at that age across its build years (cells of 400+ tests), adjusted for each test year's overall level; cells of 30+ tests, under 500 marked rough · Updated: 30 Sep 2026 · Release: dvsa-2024-v2 · CSV

What fails most on the 2003 Vauxhall Agila?

The most common failure group on cars built in 2003 is brakes: 21.4 items per 100 first tests, against 20.6 across all build years of the Vauxhall Agila. These counts are not age-adjusted: cars built in 2003 were tested at ages 16 to 21.

Failure items per 100 first tests, Vauxhall Agila built 2003 against the Vauxhall Agila in all build years (2019–2024, not age-adjusted)
Failure group	Built 2003, per 100	All build years, per 100	Items
Brakes	21.4	20.6	2,629
Body, chassis, structure	21.1	5.1	2,600
Suspension	19.4	26	2,390
Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment	17.6	12.1	2,163
Tyres	13.2	7.8	1,626

Source: DVSA MOT bulk data · Window: 2019–2024 · n = 12,296 (initial tests of this build year) · Method: failure items grouped by DVSA's top-level defect groups, per 100 initial tests; groups with 30+ items · Updated: 30 Sep 2026 · Release: dvsa-2024-v2 · CSV

How does 2003 compare with the years around it?

Among the 16 published build years of the Vauxhall Agila, 2003 ranks 9 (1 = fails least for its age). 2002: index 102.2. 2004: index 93.9.

Vauxhall Agila build years: index against the model at the same age (2019–2024)
Build year	Index (100 = normal)	95% interval	Verdict	Tests
2000	104.2	98.4–110.1	no different (rough estimate)	2,596
2001	100.0	96.2–103.7	no different	6,184
2002	102.2	98.6–105.8	no different	7,053
2003	99.0	96.3–101.7	no different	12,296
2004	93.9	91.1–96.6	better	10,911
2005	95.7	92.9–98.6	better	10,467
2006	89.3	86.3–92.3	better	9,422
2007	90.0	86.8–93.3	better	7,893
2008	108.4	106.2–110.7	worse	20,464
2009	108.1	106.4–109.8	worse	36,790
2010	103.5	101.4–105.7	worse	24,445
2011	104.3	102.2–106.5	worse	26,784
2012	95.2	92.9–97.4	better	24,681
2013	91.3	88.8–93.9	better	21,250
2014	87.6	84.9–90.3	better	21,327
2015	80.5	68.3–92.8	better (rough estimate)	1,067

Source: DVSA MOT bulk data · Window: 2019–2024 · n = 243,630 (initial tests) · Method: observed failures against those expected for the same model at the same ages, test-year level adjusted; verdict follows the printed one-decimal bound · Updated: 30 Sep 2026 · Release: dvsa-2024-v2 · CSV

How to cite this page

MOT Risk Index (2026). Vauxhall Agila 2003 MOT statistics (data release dvsa-2024-v2; full dataset motriskindex-families-2024-v5, DOI 10.5281/zenodo.22975051), updated 30 September 2026. motriskindex.co.uk/cars/vauxhall-agila/2003/

How every figure is calculated: methodology. Age, test year and build year are tied together (age = test year − build year), so the test-year level is taken as observed, not estimated.

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