Fiat
34,070 MOT tests analysed. lands in the middle of the pack — here's where 500cs pass, fail, and end up on the retest sheet.
That's 2.8 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
74.7%
Pass-after-fix
3.9%
Fail
20.9%
Avg miles
56,102
Pass + Pass-after-fix + Fail = 100%
Petrol cars first registered from January 2006 meet Euro 4 — compliant in London ULEZ, Birmingham CAZ, Bristol CAZ, and Glasgow LEZ.
Performance by cohort
2 year bands · 34,068 tests
Pass rate climbs 13.3 points across the cohorts — newer 500c examples clear the test more reliably than the early cars.
Pass
74.6%
Fail
21.0%
PRS
3.9%
Avg mileage at test
56,303 mi
Pass
87.9%
Fail
8.3%
PRS
3.8%
Avg mileage at test
30,895 mi
Cohort = vehicle's first-registration year band. Same model, different generations of build.
The picture
The Fiat 500c is a petrol-powered car sold in the UK market across multiple generations, covering a broad date range in the test population.
MOT data from 21,623 tests puts this car on a 74.3% first-time pass rate, below the UK fleet average. Average mileage at test is 51,775 miles. The most common fail item is worn suspension pin or bush, followed by shock absorber damaged to the extent that it does not function or showing signs of severe leakage.
The long-lived Fiat 500C offers fresh-air fun mixed with the same cabin space as its small hatchback sibling. But there’s just a single mild-hybrid engine option nowadays.
Buyers weighing up a used 500c 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
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 →
4–22
out of 50
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A suspension pin, bush or joint excessively worn
1,374 occurrences · 4.0% of tests
A shock absorber damaged to the extent that it does not function or showing signs of severe leakage
1,351 occurrences · 4.0% of tests
A shock absorber bush excessively worn
1,039 occurrences · 3.0% of tests
Tyre tread depth not in accordance with the requirements
492 occurrences · 1.4% of tests
A suspension pin, bush or joint excessively worn
454 occurrences · 1.3% of tests
Windscreen or window damaged or seriously discoloured but not adversely affecting driver's view
442 occurrences · 1.3% of tests
A tyre cords visible or damaged
428 occurrences · 1.3% of tests
Parking brake efficiency below minimum requirement
383 occurrences · 1.1% of tests
A rear registration plate lamp or light source missing or inoperative in the case of multiple lamps or light sources
370 occurrences · 1.1% of tests
Wiper blade missing or obviously not clearing the windscreen
355 occurrences · 1.0% 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 3 failures
£220–£575
If every one of this 500c'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
First-time MOT pass rate split by registration band. A 13.3-point gap between bands means the year you buy Fiat 500c has a real effect on what turns up at the garage.
Best band to buy
87.9%
2018–2020 registration
the 2018–2020 band climbs to 87.9% — a 13.3-point improvement. Tests in this band average 30,895 miles — roughly 25K miles fewer on the clock than the older band. Failures here are mostly wear items: not working, has a serious fluid leak — 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 87.9% on the newer band. The main culprits logged at test: pin or bush excessively worn, has a serious fluid leak, and has an excessively worn bush. Average mileage on test for this band is 56,303 miles — high-mileage wear items are a recurring theme.
Best band to buy: 2018-2020 (87.9% first-time pass). Worst band to avoid: pre-2018 (74.6% pass). That's a 13.3-point spread across 33,803 older tests and 265 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.
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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.
Where it falls short
Cramped inside for six-footers. Not much room in the back, and rear visibility is poor with the roof retracted.
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 500c 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.
