Audi Q3: which years to avoid

Based on 105,657 real MOT tests from DVSA records. Each year is compared against every other car first registered the same year — otherwise the numbers would only tell you that older cars fail more, which you knew.

The short answer

No model year stands out as one to avoid. Every year sits within 15% of the failure rate for cars of the same age. The 2019 is the strongest, failing 33% less often than average.

Found a Audi Q3 you like?

Averages tell you what to expect. Its registration tells you what actually happened — every MOT, every advisory, and whether the mileage adds up.

Every Q3 model year

Shaded rows are the years that differ most from other cars of the same age — worse, better.

MOT failure rate by registration year for the Audi Q3
Registered	MOT tests	Fail rate	vs same-age cars
2012	6,730	23.6%	16% better
2013	11,696	22.4%	about average
2014	13,847	18.8%	17% better
2015	14,191	16.2%	17% better
2016	16,584	14.6%	about average
2017	16,126	11.1%	23% better
2018	12,626	9.2%	23% better
2019	12,432	6.9%	33% better
2020	1,425	9.5%	about average

How this is worked out

Every MOT test recorded by DVSA in 2023 on a Audi Q3, grouped by the year the car was first registered. Retests are excluded, so a car that failed and was fixed still counts as a failure. Each year's rate is then divided by the rate for all cars first registered that year — so 120 means 20% more failures than its contemporaries, not 20% more than a brand new car.

Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.