Suzuki Alto years to avoid: the early ones

Based on 48,759 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

Avoid 2004 to 2005. The worst is the 2004, which fails its MOT 22% more often than other cars of the same age. The 2009 is the strongest, failing 18% less often than average.

Found a Suzuki Alto 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 Alto 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 Suzuki Alto
Registered	MOT tests	Fail rate	vs same-age cars
2004 Worst	1,121	44.4%	22% worse
2005	1,310	43.1%	19% worse
2009	5,548	27.5%	18% better
2010	4,585	26.9%	17% better
2011	4,655	24.7%	18% better
2012	4,779	24.2%	about average
2013	11,946	20.9%	18% better
2014	12,987	18.9%	17% better
2015	1,828	17.9%	about average

How this is worked out

Every MOT test recorded by DVSA in 2023 on a Suzuki Alto, 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.