Porsche
1,972 MOT tests analysed. sits above the UK fleet average — here's where 911 Turbo S S As pass, fail, and end up on the retest sheet.
That's 18.1 points above the UK fleet average across our 1,984 tracked models — a confident result.
Pass
95.6%
Pass-after-fix
0.8%
Fail
3.1%
Avg miles
13,205
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 · 1,885 tests
Pass rate climbs 1.5 points across the cohorts — newer 911 Turbo S S A examples clear the test more reliably than the early cars.
Pass
94.8%
Fail
3.6%
PRS
1.6%
Avg mileage at test
13,475 mi
Pass
96.3%
Fail
2.5%
PRS
0.1%
Avg mileage at test
10,852 mi
Cohort = vehicle's first-registration year band. Same model, different generations of build.
The picture
Across 1,972 MOT tests, the 911 Turbo S S-A returns 95.6% first-time pass — comfortably ahead of the UK fleet average. The single most-logged Major fail is a seriously damaged tyre. A non-conforming number plate and windscreen damage round out the top three. Average tested mileage sits at 13,205, which is the lens to read those failure rankings through. If you own one and the next test is close, the ranked list below is a sensible pre-test checklist.
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A tyre seriously damaged
14 occurrences · 0.7% of tests
Number plate does not conform to the specified requirements
12 occurrences · 0.6% of tests
Windscreen or window damaged or seriously discoloured but not adversely affecting driver's view
10 occurrences · 0.5% of tests
Tyre tread depth not in accordance with the requirements
10 occurrences · 0.5% of tests
Lambda coefficient outside the default limits or the range specified by the manufacturer
8 occurrences · 0.4% of tests
Emissions levels exceed default limits
6 occurrences · 0.3% of tests
Number plate missing or so insecure that it is likely to fall off
5 occurrences · 0.3% of tests
Emissions levels exceed default limits
5 occurrences · 0.3% of tests
Emission control equipment fitted by the manufacturer missing, obviously modified or obviously defective
5 occurrences · 0.3% of tests
Engine MIL illuminated indicating a malfunction
5 occurrences · 0.3% 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 2 failures
£75–£130
If every one of this 911 Turbo S S A'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 1.5-point gap between bands is modest — the year you buy Porsche 911 Turbo S S A makes a small but real difference to MOT outcomes.
Best band to buy
96.3%
2021+ registration
the 2021-on band climbs to 96.3% — a 1.5-point improvement. Failures here are mostly wear items: does not conform to the specified requirements, has a cut in excess of the… — 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
94.8%
2018–2020 registration
On the 2018–2020 band, the data shows a 94.8% pass rate against a fleet average of 96.3% on the newer band. The main culprits logged at test: damaged but not adversely affecting driver's view, tread depth below requirements of 1.6mm, and has a cut in excess of the…. Average mileage on test for this band is 13,475 miles — high-mileage wear items are a recurring theme.
Best band to buy: 2021+ (96.3% first-time pass). Worst band to avoid: 2018-2020 (94.8% pass). That's a 1.5-point spread across 906 older tests and 979 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
MOT-spec replacement number plate
Faded or non-standard plates fail outright. Replacements take ten minutes online with V5C details.
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
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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.
What's good
The Porsche 911 is the best real-world dream car you can buy. Not only is it sensationally good to drive, it also looks superb, has a lovely interior and is perfectly easy to live with day-to-day. Sure, it's not cheap, but then neither are its rivals.
Where it falls short
Don't expect to use the rear seats. Options can be expensive. It's quite a wide car (and feels it).
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 911 Turbo S S A 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.
