MOT cost .
SEAT Arona
MOT 2023
Wikimedia

SEAT

Arona

42,841 MOT tests analysed. sits above the UK fleet average — here's where Aronas pass, fail, and end up on the retest sheet.

That's 11.4 points above the UK fleet average across our 1,988 tracked models — a confident result.

Pass

87.1%

Pass-after-fix

2.2%

Fail

10.3%

Avg miles

28,247

Pass + Pass-after-fix + Fail = 100%

The picture

Arona: a strong MOT record by UK norms

Across 42,841 MOT tests, the Arona returns 87.1% first-time pass — comfortably ahead of the UK fleet average. The single most-logged Major fail is a torn steering gaiter. Brake pads worn below 1.5 mm and a missing steering gaiter round out the top three. Average tested mileage sits at 28,247, 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.

Top ten reasons for rejection.

  1. 01

    Steering rack gaiter or ball joint dust cover damaged or deteriorated

    1,359 occurrences · 3.2% of tests

  2. 02

    a brake lining or pad worn below 1.5mm

    957 occurrences · 2.2% of tests

  3. 03

    Steering rack gaiter or ball joint dust cover missing or no longer prevents the ingress of dirt etc

    801 occurrences · 1.9% of tests

  4. 04

    A tyre seriously damaged

    653 occurrences · 1.5% of tests

  5. 05

    A tyre cords visible or damaged

    535 occurrences · 1.2% of tests

  6. 06

    Tyre tread depth not in accordance with the requirements

    480 occurrences · 1.1% of tests

  7. 07

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

    477 occurrences · 1.1% of tests

  8. 08

    A tyre seriously damaged

    433 occurrences · 1.0% of tests

  9. 09

    Excessive fluctuation in brake effort through each wheel revolution.

    386 occurrences · 0.9% of tests

  10. 10

    Brake disc or drum significantly and obviously worn

    333 occurrences · 0.8% 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

£300–£735

If every one of this Arona'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.

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

Brake pad measurement gauge

Testers fail pads under 1.5mm. A wear gauge tells you if you've got two months left or two weeks.

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

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

The Arona's a good choice - good to drive and easy to get comfortable in. Don't buy one until you've tried the new Ford Puma, though. The Puma's better to drive and more practical.

Buying or keeping a Arona?

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 Arona 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.