Alfa Romeo
48,080 MOT tests analysed. lands in the middle of the pack — here's where Giuliettas pass, fail, and end up on the retest sheet.
That's 2.4 points below the UK fleet average across our 1,984 tracked models — buyers should expect more first-time fails than the typical UK car.
Pass
75.1%
Pass-after-fix
3.8%
Fail
20.4%
Avg miles
86,661
Pass + Pass-after-fix + Fail = 100%
Some examples of this model are borderline — a small number of diesels were certified Euro 6 before September 2015. Check your registration on the government's ULEZ checker to be certain. Daily charges if driven in the zone: London £12.50 · Birmingham £8.00 · Bristol £9.00 .
Performance by cohort
2 year bands · 48,065 tests
Pass rate climbs 12.1 points across the cohorts — newer Giulietta examples clear the test more reliably than the early cars.
Pass
74.6%
Fail
20.9%
PRS
3.8%
Avg mileage at test
88,883 mi
Pass
86.7%
Fail
10.0%
PRS
2.9%
Avg mileage at test
38,987 mi
Cohort = vehicle's first-registration year band. Same model, different generations of build.
The picture
Alfa Romeo Giulietta is the name of three different automobiles made by Italian car manufacturer Alfa Romeo:The first Giulietta was a rear-wheel drive car made from 1954 to 1965, in 4-door saloon/sedan, coupé, spider and estate forms. It was replaced by the original Alfa Romeo Giulia.
MOT data from 32,981 tests puts this car on a 74.4% first-time pass rate, below the UK fleet average. Average mileage at test is 80,810 miles. The most common fail item is tyre tread below the legal limit, followed by fractured or weakened suspension spring.
| | | Basic Price £ | | VAT £ | | Retail Price £ | | OTR Charges £ | | Total OTR £ | |.
Buyers weighing up a used Giulietta should treat the failure breakdown as a pre-purchase checklist. The pass rate is reasonable, but the gap between first attempt and a clean sheet narrows with age and mileage.
ABI Insurance Group
Around the UK fleet average for insurance cost. Lower groups cost less to insure; UK fleet average is around Group 22.
Source: ABI Group Rating Panel · administered by Thatcham Research · groups cover standard variants; performance trims may sit higher. Browse all insurance groups →
16–28
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A suspension pin, bush or joint excessively worn
1,455 occurrences · 3.0% of tests
A rear registration plate lamp or light source missing or inoperative in the case of multiple lamps or light sources
1,351 occurrences · 2.8% of tests
Tyre tread depth not in accordance with the requirements
1,233 occurrences · 2.6% of tests
A spring or spring component fractured or seriously weakened
1,115 occurrences · 2.3% of tests
A direction indicator lamp missing, inoperative or in the case of a multiple light source more than 1/2 not functioning
1,021 occurrences · 2.1% of tests
A tyre cords visible or damaged
902 occurrences · 1.9% of tests
Windscreen or window damaged or seriously discoloured but not adversely affecting driver's view
850 occurrences · 1.8% of tests
a brake lining or pad worn below 1.5mm
593 occurrences · 1.2% of tests
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
563 occurrences · 1.2% of tests
A headlamp or light source missing, inoperative or more than ½ not functioning in the case of LED
538 occurrences · 1.1% of tests
Counts cover Major and Dangerous defects logged at test. Advisory items excluded so this shows why a car was rejected, not just what the tester flagged in passing.
Worst-case fix budget · top 4 failures
£228–£610
If every one of this Giulietta's most-logged Major fails hit at the same MOT, that's the real-world UK garage range. Reality is usually one or two items, not all of them. Open the estimator →
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Build your own retest budget.
Year-band analysis
First-time MOT pass rate split by registration band. A 12.1-point gap between bands means the year you buy Alfa Romeo Giulietta has a real effect on what turns up at the garage.
Best band to buy
86.7%
2018–2020 registration
the 2018–2020 band climbs to 86.7% — a 12.1-point improvement. Tests in this band average 38,987 miles — roughly 50K miles fewer on the clock than the older band. Failures here are mostly wear items: has a cut in excess of the…, has ply or cords exposed — the structural issues that drag down older examples don't appear in the top-10 for this band. The stricter post-2018 MOT test rules meant manufacturers had to tighten up emissions and electrical checks, but this band still shows far fewer major failures on suspension and bodywork than the older fleet.
Band to be cautious about
74.6%
Pre-2018 registration
On the older band (pre-2018), the data shows a 74.6% pass rate against a fleet average of 86.7% on the newer band. The main culprits logged at test: pin or bush excessively worn, inoperative in the case of multiple lamps…, and tread depth below requirements of 1.6mm. Average mileage on test for this band is 88,883 miles — high-mileage wear items are a recurring theme.
Best band to buy: 2018-2020 (86.7% first-time pass). Worst band to avoid: pre-2018 (74.6% pass). That's a 12.1-point spread across 45,951 older tests and 2,114 newer ones — year of build makes a material difference on this model.
Picked against this car's top failure patterns. Affiliate links to Amazon UK — we earn a small cut at no cost to you. Disclosed up-front, doesn't shape the data.
Item 01 · Amazon UK
H7 / W21W bulb pack
A spare-bulb kit lives in the boot. Test morning is not the time to find your stop-lamp's gone.
Search Amazon UK
Item 02 · Amazon UK
Digital tyre-tread depth gauge
Five quid for a gauge beats £150 for a retest. UK MOT minimum is 1.6mm — most testers fail anything below 2mm to be safe.
Search Amazon UK
My Motor World · affiliate
Affiliate links — small commission, no extra cost to you.
Summit
Summit ADRG-238 Alfa Romeo Replacement Stick-On Tinted Mirror Glass LHS
£8.79
View at My Motor World →
Summit
Summit ADRG-380 Alfa Romeo Replacement Stick-On Tinted Mirror Glass RHS
£9.89
View at My Motor World →
Summit
Summit ADRG-381 Alfa Romeo Replacement Stick-On Tinted Mirror Glass LHS
£12.09
View at My Motor World →
Summit
Summit ADRG-383 Alfa Romeo Replacement Stick-On Tinted Mirror Glass RHS
£12.09
View at My Motor World →
Click Mechanic · affiliate
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Mobile mechanic · UK-wide
Book a mechanic at your door.
Fixed-price quotes upfront. No garage needed. Click Mechanic sends a vetted local mechanic to you — home, work, or roadside.
Owner reports · Honest John
Verbatim faults logged by owners on honestjohn.co.uk over recent years. We didn't summarise — these are the words people typed in.
What's good
This technology, combined with an electronically controlled variable geometry turbocharger, guarantees excellent torque delivery: 350 Nm at just 1750 rpm (with the D.N.A. selector in Dynamic position) and 320 Nm at 1500 rpm (in Normal) – giving it the highest torque in its class compared to similarly efficient and powerful engines.
Where it falls short
| | | Basic Price £ | | VAT £ | | Retail Price £ | | OTR Charges £ | | Total OTR £ | |
Use the failure ranking as a pre-test checklist or a haggling lever. Treat the headline pass rate as a fleet-wide trend, not a guarantee on any individual car.
If you own a Giulietta and your last MOT looked nothing like the ranked failures above, that's normal — individual cars vary widely. The ranking shows the patterns testers flag most often across the country.
