Performance by cohort

3 year bands · 327,210 tests

Pass rate climbs 24.4 points across the cohorts — newer C3 examples clear the test more reliably than the early cars.

Pre-2018 cohort 279,787

Pass

68.3%

Fail

24.7%

PRS

6.3%

Avg mileage at test

73,721 mi

2018–2020 cohort 45,125

Pass

85.9%

Fail

10.3%

PRS

3.6%

Avg mileage at test

35,452 mi

2021+ cohort 2,298

Pass

92.7%

Fail

4.9%

PRS

2.3%

Avg mileage at test

22,839 mi

Cohort = vehicle's first-registration year band. Same model, different generations of build.

Generations on file · 4

Citroen C3 · UK market

Photos: Wikimedia Commons · CC BY-SA / CC BY / public domain.

The picture

71.3% pass rate — springs and CV boots the culprits

Number plate lamps top the C3's failure list, followed by fractured spring components and missing CV joint boots — a spread that points to an ageing car worn down through neglect rather than design fault. Across 245,367 tests at 65,102 average miles, the C3's 71.3% pass rate lags behind the supermini average. MOT centres catch the same issues repeatedly on French metal of this age.

Owner reports add some specific warnings. The 2012 wrapover windscreen cracked three times on the same car. A 2013 1.2 VTi had its timing belt come off at just 12,996 miles — already through a service action at 3,200 miles that declared it sound. Gearbox fault warnings appeared in 2011 automatics after extended traffic sitting. None of these are cheap surprises. Check the springs, inspect the CV boots, and verify the rear lamps before the tester does it for you.

ABI Insurance Group

Group 5–16

Below the fleet average — generally reasonable to insure. 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 →

5–16

out of 50

Compare quotes →

Top ten reasons for rejection.

Filter failures:

Hide wear items to see the model's real defects.

01

A rear registration plate lamp or light source missing or inoperative in the case of multiple lamps or light sources

16,537 occurrences · 5.1% of tests
02

A transmission shaft constant velocity joint boot missing or no longer prevents the ingress of dirt etc

8,323 occurrences · 2.5% of tests
03

A spring or spring component fractured or seriously weakened

7,650 occurrences · 2.3% of tests
04

Tyre tread depth not in accordance with the requirements

7,633 occurrences · 2.3% of tests
05

Stop lamp missing, inoperative or in the case of a multiple light source more than 1/2 not functioning

7,052 occurrences · 2.2% of tests
06

A lamp missing, inoperative or in the case of a multiple light source more than 1/2 not functioning

6,992 occurrences · 2.1% of tests
07

A suspension pin, bush or joint excessively worn

6,456 occurrences · 2.0% of tests
08

A steering ball joint with excessive wear or free play

6,172 occurrences · 1.9% of tests
09

Windscreen or window damaged or seriously discoloured but not adversely affecting driver's view

4,760 occurrences · 1.5% of tests
10

A transmission shaft constant velocity joint boot severely deteriorated

4,757 occurrences · 1.5% 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

£156–£405

If every one of this C3'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 →

Try the calculator

Build your own retest budget.

Year-band analysis

Best year to buy. Worst to avoid.

First-time MOT pass rate split by registration band. A 24.4-point gap between bands means the year you buy Citroen C3 has a real effect on what turns up at the garage.

Best band to buy

92.7%

2021+ registration

the 2021-on band climbs to 92.7% — a 24.4-point improvement. Tests in this band average 22,839 miles — roughly 51K miles fewer on the clock than the older band. Failures here are mostly wear items: has a cut in excess of the…, constant velocity boot split or insecure, no… — the structural issues that drag down older examples don't appear in the top-10 for this band. Post-2020 examples are early in their MOT life and generally show the cleanest records.

Band to be cautious about

68.3%

Pre-2018 registration

On the older band (pre-2018), the data shows a 68.3% pass rate against a fleet average of 92.7% on the newer band. The main culprits logged at test: inoperative in the case of multiple lamps…, constant velocity boot split or insecure, no…, and fractured or broken. Average mileage on test for this band is 73,721 miles — high-mileage wear items are a recurring theme. Honest John records: "Report of repeated cracking of wrapover screen of 2012 Citroen C3. Has been replaced 3 times on the same car. Has now cracked again, right across on the inside this…"

Best band to buy: 2021+ (92.7% first-time pass). Worst band to avoid: pre-2018 (68.3% pass). That's a 24.4-point spread across 279,787 older tests and 2,298 newer ones — year of build makes a material difference on this model.

Year-spread leaderboard →

Tools that pre-empt a retest.

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

Parts & supplies for this fix

Affiliate links — small commission, no extra cost to you.

Summit

Summit ADRG-169 Citroen Replacement Stick-On Tinted Mirror Glass RHS

£9.89

View at My Motor World →

Summit

Summit ADRG-170 Citroen Replacement Stick-On Tinted Mirror Glass LHS

£9.89

View at My Motor World →

Summit

Summit ADRG-48 Citroen Replacement Stick-On Tinted Mirror Glass RHS

£9.89

View at My Motor World →

Summit

Summit ADRG-49 Citroen Replacement Stick-On Tinted Mirror Glass LHS

£9.89

View at My Motor World →

Click Mechanic · affiliate

Book a mobile mechanic

Affiliate links — small commission, no extra cost to you.

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.

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Owner reports · Honest John

What owners actually report.

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

An unassuming small car, the Citroen C3 offers easy driving and practicality. But don’t expect any of the excitement behind the wheel that the likes of a Ford Fiesta of a similar age delivers.

Recent owner-reported faults

20 Sep 2018
Report of repeated cracking of wrapover screen of 2012 Citroen C3. Has been replaced 3 times on the same car. Has now cracked again, right across on the inside this time, just above the bend.
27 Mar 2018
Report of timing belt of 2013/63 Citroen C3 1.2 82Vti coming off at 12,996 miles. Car has been in for service action at 3,200 miles where the timing belt checked okay.
15 Nov 2017
Report of problem with 2011 Citroen C3 automatic. After being stuck in traffic for a long period in rush hour the gearbox fault warning sign comes on and it jerks forward when car moves off, but once car been moving again it is fine.
12 Jul 2016
Failure of power steering rack of 34k mile 2011 Citroen C3 reported and quoted £1,300 to replace.
5 Jul 2016
Intermittent failure of electric power assistance to steering of C3 reported.

Source: honestjohn.co.uk · 5 reports indexed

Recall history

69 UK recalls on record.

The C3 has 69 official UK vehicle recalls covering defect details, remedies, and affected build dates.

See all recalls

Buying or keeping a C3?

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 C3 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.