MOT cost .
Vauxhall Insignia
MOT 2023
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Vauxhall

Insignia

271,489 MOT tests analysed. lands in the middle of the pack — here's where Insignias pass, fail, and end up on the retest sheet.

That's 1.9 points below the UK fleet average across our 1,988 tracked models — buyers should expect more first-time fails than the typical UK car.

Pass

73.9%

Pass-after-fix

4.6%

Fail

21.0%

Avg miles

95,898

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

The picture

Insignia: middle-of-the-pack on first-time pass

Across 271,489 MOT tests, the Insignia returns 73.9% first-time pass — below the UK fleet average. The single most-logged Major fail is a broken or weak spring. A number-plate lamp out and tyre tread under the limit round out the top three. Average tested mileage sits at 95,898, 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

    A spring or spring component fractured or seriously weakened

    18,891 occurrences · 7.0% of tests

  2. 02

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

    14,626 occurrences · 5.4% of tests

  3. 03

    Tyre tread depth not in accordance with the requirements

    12,104 occurrences · 4.5% of tests

  4. 04

    a brake lining or pad worn below 1.5mm

    9,251 occurrences · 3.4% of tests

  5. 05

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

    8,275 occurrences · 3.0% of tests

  6. 06

    Wiper blade missing or obviously not clearing the windscreen

    4,837 occurrences · 1.8% of tests

  7. 07

    A tyre cords visible or damaged

    4,186 occurrences · 1.5% of tests

  8. 08

    Headlamp reflector or lens slightly defective

    4,111 occurrences · 1.5% of tests

  9. 09

    A suspension pin, bush or joint excessively worn

    3,634 occurrences · 1.3% of tests

  10. 10

    Wiper blade defective

    3,621 occurrences · 1.3% 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 4 failures

£228–£530

If every one of this Insignia'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

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

Item 03 · 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

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

Represents good value for money. Big boot and generous amount of rear legroom. Diesels are very economical.

Buying or keeping a Insignia?

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 Insignia 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.