2001 Skoda Fabia MOT pass rate: 62.5% (4,086 tests)

2001-registered Skoda Fabias passed 62.5% of 4,086 MOT tests in 2023–2025 — 4.1 points worse than same-age cars (66.6%). This is one of the lower-scoring Fabia years after correcting for vehicle age — inspect the individual car carefully.

62.5%Pass rate, 2001 cars

95.9Age-adjusted index (100 = average)

4,086Tests analysed

93,057 miMedian mileage at test

63.0% / 61.5%Petrol vs diesel pass rate

Is the 2001 Fabia getting worse?

Pass rate of 2001-registered cars across recent test years:

Test year	Pass rate
2023	62.1% -3.8 vs same-age
2024	63.4% -3.0 vs same-age
2025	61.9% -5.9 vs same-age

The raw rate normally falls as cars age. The “vs same-age” figure compares this cohort with all UK cars registered in the same year, so normal ageing is not mistaken for a bad model year.

What fails on a 2001 Fabia

#	System	Defects recorded	Share
1	Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment	1,312	24.0%
2	Suspension	1,284	23.5%
3	Brakes	1,140	20.8%
4	Tyres	418	7.6%
5	Body, chassis, structure	404	7.4%
6	Visibility	311	5.7%

All Fabia years compared

Registration year	Tests	Pass rate	Vs same-age	Median mileage
2001 (this page)	4,086	62.5%	-4.1 pts	93,057
2002	5,603	62.7%	-3.0 pts	95,137
2003	8,503	59.8%	-5.2 pts	95,822
2004	13,022	60.4%	-4.0 pts	105,857
2005	18,137	61.0%	-3.5 pts	104,802
2006	22,244	61.4%	-3.1 pts	101,005
2007	26,569	62.7%	-2.5 pts	98,994
2008	31,789	61.8%	-3.3 pts	96,293
2009	40,505	66.0%	-0.4 pts	85,287
2010	32,575	71.1%	+3.8 pts	85,769
2011	35,603	72.4%	+3.2 pts	84,690
2012	41,339	74.8%	+3.6 pts	79,780
2013	55,445	77.3%	+4.0 pts	70,428
2014	43,756	79.5%	+3.6 pts	62,907
2015	52,880	80.7%	+2.0 pts	55,926
2016	57,364	80.4%	-0.9 pts	51,862
2017	53,623	82.1%	-1.9 pts	45,127
2018	49,508	84.4%	-1.9 pts	36,908
2019	43,366	88.7%	+0.3 pts	29,540
2020	26,184	89.7%	-0.3 pts	24,481
2021	13,052	89.7%	-0.7 pts	23,204

Weighing up which year to buy? See the full ranking: Skoda Fabia years to avoid.

Buying a 2001 Fabia? Two checks first

Free MOT history checkThe exact car’s failures, advisories and mileage trail — sellers can’t edit it
Topdon OBD2 scannersTopdon diagnostic scanners with full-system readouts
XTOOL diagnostic toolsXTOOL code readers for petrol and diesel cars
Autel UK testersAutel professional-grade diagnostic testers

FAQs

Is a 2001 Skoda Fabia reliable?

2001-registered examples passed 62.5% of their MOT tests (4,086 tests, 2023–2025), -4.1 points versus all UK cars registered in the same year. At roughly 25 years old with a median 93,057 miles, condition now varies car by car — always check the individual MOT history.

What mileage is too high for a 2001 Fabia?

The median tested example shows 93,057 miles. Anything far beyond that isn't automatically bad — a motorway-mile car with consistent service records often beats a low-mileage school-run car — but price accordingly and scrutinise the mileage trail for gaps or drops.

Source: DVSA Anonymised MOT tests and results, 2023–2025 extracts (96 million Class 4 initial tests; retests excluded). Only vehicles old enough for a routine first MOT are included. Age-adjusted figures compare the model-year cohort with all vehicles of the same registration year tested in the same calendar year. Contains public sector information licensed under OGL v3.0.