2001 Volkswagen Transporter MOT pass rate: 59.7% (18,995 tests)

2001-registered Volkswagen Transporters passed 59.7% of 18,995 MOT tests in 2023–2025 — 7.0 points worse than same-age cars (66.7%). This is one of the lower-scoring Transporter years after correcting for vehicle age — inspect the individual car carefully.

59.7%Pass rate, 2001 cars

93.0Age-adjusted index (100 = average)

18,995Tests analysed

176,001 miMedian mileage at test

65.8% / 59.6%Petrol vs diesel pass rate

Is the 2001 Transporter getting worse?

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

Test year	Pass rate
2023	59.3% -6.7 vs same-age
2024	59.9% -6.5 vs same-age
2025	59.9% -7.9 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 Transporter

#	System	Defects recorded	Share
1	Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment	7,210	22.7%
2	Brakes	6,418	20.2%
3	Suspension	5,311	16.8%
4	Body, chassis, structure	4,560	14.4%
5	Steering	2,763	8.7%
6	Visibility	1,707	5.4%

All Transporter years compared

Registration year	Tests	Pass rate	Vs same-age	Median mileage
2001 (this page)	18,995	59.7%	-7.0 pts	176,001
2002	18,892	60.7%	-5.0 pts	174,505
2003	20,573	60.3%	-4.8 pts	170,125
2004	26,997	61.1%	-3.4 pts	174,608
2005	29,665	61.7%	-2.9 pts	166,888
2006	33,635	61.8%	-2.7 pts	161,235
2007	39,621	64.6%	-0.5 pts	154,942
2008	37,454	64.9%	-0.2 pts	145,782
2009	26,858	67.0%	+0.6 pts	134,860
2010	32,067	69.3%	+1.9 pts	131,890
2011	35,821	71.7%	+2.5 pts	124,750
2012	36,794	73.4%	+2.2 pts	115,489
2013	42,846	76.0%	+2.7 pts	108,438
2014	47,097	75.4%	-0.4 pts	96,375
2015	53,196	77.1%	-1.6 pts	86,048
2016	58,914	79.8%	-1.5 pts	78,278
2017	59,295	80.7%	-3.3 pts	67,431
2018	58,110	82.8%	-3.5 pts	58,069
2019	40,352	85.4%	-3.0 pts	47,280
2020	1,935	86.3%	-3.6 pts	36,308

Weighing up which year to buy? See the full ranking: Volkswagen Transporter years to avoid.

Buying a 2001 Transporter? 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 Volkswagen Transporter reliable?

2001-registered examples passed 59.7% of their MOT tests (18,995 tests, 2023–2025), -7.0 points versus all UK cars registered in the same year. At roughly 25 years old with a median 176,001 miles, condition now varies car by car — always check the individual MOT history.

What mileage is too high for a 2001 Transporter?

The median tested example shows 176,001 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.