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Citroen C1: which years to avoid

Based on 167,236 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 2020 is the strongest, failing 39% less often than average.

Found a Citroen C1 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.

UK

Every C1 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 Citroen C1
Registered MOT tests Fail rate vs same-age cars
2006 5,220 39.1%
about average
2007 8,130 37.0%
about average
2008 11,045 37.6%
about average
2009 12,414 33.3%
about average
2010 13,442 28.5%
about average
2011 14,063 26.7%
about average
2012 14,021 23.0%
18% better
2013 14,112 20.7%
19% better
2014 13,659 17.9%
21% better
2015 18,002 16.6%
15% better
2016 18,239 15.0%
about average
2017 9,190 12.5%
about average
2018 7,228 10.1%
16% better
2019 5,140 7.7%
25% better
2020 3,331 5.6%
39% better

How this is worked out

Every MOT test recorded by DVSA in 2023 on a Citroen C1, 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.