AI illustration of a Honda Jazz.
Used car guide · UK
Our top small car
HondaJazz
Hardly any rust and less than half the usual big repair bills. Better than average up to about 14 years old.
Our picks
Usually the cheapest to buy, insure and run, and easy to park. Good for a first car or town driving.
HondaJazz
Hardly any rust and less than half the usual big repair bills. Better than average up to about 14 years old.
When you view one, check: sidelights, brake pads.
VolkswagenUp
Fewer big repair bills. Better than average at every age we have, up to 14 years.
When you view one, check: headlight aim, weak brakes.
Peugeot108
Less than half the usual big repair bills and little rust. Better than average at every age we have, up to 11 years.
When you view one, check: cuts and bulges, brake pads.
MiniHatch
Little rust and less than half the usual big repair bills. Better than average up to about 14 years old.
When you view one, check: headlight aim, cuts and bulges.
VauxhallViva
Fewer big repair bills, but more rust. Better than average at every age we have, up to 8 years.
When you view one, check: the tyre pressure warning light, worn wiper blades.
Repair bills and rust are compared with other cars the same age, using their MOT results.
Think twice
Not bad cars, but get one checked by a mechanic before you pay.
CitroënDS3
A lot more rust and far more big repair bills. Worse than average at every age.
DaciaSandero
A lot more rust and far more big repair bills. Worse than average at every age.
RenaultClio
Far more big repair bills and more rust. Worse than average at every age.
Before you buy
Pick the size first. A small car is usually cheaper to buy, insure and park. A family car or SUV gives you room for people and luggage.
Repairs are the big unknown with any used car. Our picks above are the models least likely to need work as they get older, based on every MOT in Great Britain from 2023 to 2025.
Check the insurance group, road tax and fuel economy of the exact car. They change with the engine, not just the model.
London's ULEZ and other clean air zones charge older cars. Most petrol cars from 2006 and diesels from late 2015 meet the standard, but check the exact car on the TfL or gov.uk checker.
A good model can still be a bad car. Check its history: the mileage should go up every year, and the same fault shouldn't keep coming back.
By brand
How much less, or more, likely each brand is to need work at its MOT than the average car the same age.
Brands with at least 500,000 MOTs. Luxury brands (Porsche, Jaguar, Land Rover) left out.
Questions
For a small car, the Honda Jazz. Of 38 small cars, it's the least likely to need work at its MOT for its age. Among family cars, Lexus CT and Audi A6 come top.
A small petrol car is usually the cheapest to insure and run. For one that won't keep costing you, start with the Honda Jazz, Volkswagen Up, Peugeot 108.
Diesel suits lots of long motorway miles. For short trips and town driving, petrol is usually the better choice. Older diesels can also be charged in clean air zones like London's ULEZ.
Check its MOT history for mileage that goes down or faults that keep coming back, see the logbook (V5C) and service history, and pay for a history check to make sure there's no money owed and it isn't stolen or written off.
We used 94 million MOTs from 2023 to 2025. Each model is compared with all cars its own age, so an older car isn't marked down just for being older. It shows how likely a car is to need repairs, not running costs or breakdowns.
Check its MOT history: mileage, problems that keep coming back, and what to ask the seller. Free, no sign-up.
We used every normal MOT on a car aged 3 or more from 2023 to 2025: 94 million tests. For each model we took its fail rate at 3 to 5, 6 to 8, 9 to 11, 12 to 14 and 15+ years, compared each with all cars that age, and averaged them by number of tests. A model counts at an age only with at least 20,000 MOTs there. A fail includes cars fixed and passed on the same visit. Vans left out.
Free to use with a credit and a link to this page. Download the full table (CSV). Questions from journalists: kickthetyres.uk@gmail.com.
Source: DVSA anonymised MOT tests and results, 2023 to 2025. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Kick the Tyres is not linked to DVSA. Which cars fail their first MOT?
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