Mazda MX-5: which years to avoid

Based on 91,337 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 61% less often than average.

Found a Mazda MX-5 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 MX-5 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 Mazda MX-5
Registered	MOT tests	Fail rate	vs same-age cars
1996	1,168	29.9%	about average
1997	1,964	29.8%	about average
1998	2,788	29.1%	about average
1999	3,104	30.7%	about average
2000	3,072	33.7%	about average
2001	2,176	29.8%	about average
2002	3,599	29.4%	17% better
2003	4,650	33.2%	about average
2004	3,699	32.5%	about average
2005	3,604	31.0%	15% better
2006	6,769	30.2%	16% better
2007	7,885	26.2%	26% better
2008	5,506	25.3%	28% better
2009	4,234	22.2%	34% better
2010	4,686	20.1%	38% better
2011	3,425	19.6%	35% better
2012	3,099	15.6%	44% better
2013	3,094	14.4%	44% better
2014	2,860	12.4%	46% better
2015	2,967	9.5%	52% better
2016	4,100	8.7%	49% better
2017	4,552	6.4%	56% better
2018	4,267	5.8%	52% better
2019	4,069	4.0%	61% better

How this is worked out

Every MOT test recorded by DVSA in 2023 on a Mazda MX-5, 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.