Caterham Seven
Registered from 1990 to 2012.
About this model
The Caterham 7 is a super-lightweight sports car produced by Caterham Cars in the United Kingdom. It is based on the Lotus Seven, a lightweight sports car sold in kit and factory-built form by Lotus Cars, from 1957 to 1972.
From the Wikipedia article Caterham 7, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0.
What fails its inspection
Great Britain's MOT record for the 1997 1.6 petrol. 9 of 72 tests failed, 13%.
Better than 94% of 1997 cars. The typical one fails 26%, across 225 models with enough tests behind them to say.
| Where | Share of failures | Failed tests |
|---|---|---|
| Lights and electrics | 56% | 5 |
| Brakes | 33% | 3 |
| Exhaust and emissions | 22% | 2 |
| Suspension | 22% | 2 |
| Body and structure | 11% | 1 |
The defects inspectors cite
- A lamp missing, inoperative or in the case of a multiple light source more than 1/2 not functioning
- An obligatory rear fog lamp missing, or a front or rear fog lamp inoperative or in the case of a multiple light source more than 1/2 not functioning
- A direction indicator lamp missing, inoperative or in the case of a multiple light source more than 1/2 not functioning
- A rear registration plate lamp or light source missing or inoperative in the case of a single lamp or all lamps
- A shock absorber insecurely attached to chassis or axle
- A suspension pin, bush or joint excessively worn
Before you buy one
Built from what this car fails on, not from general knowledge of the model.
- Brakes — 33% of its failures
- Exhaust and emissions — 22% of its failures
- Suspension — 22% of its failures
- A shock absorber insecurely attached to chassis or axle
- A suspension pin, bush or joint excessively worn
- Lights and electrics — 56% of its failures
- A lamp missing, inoperative or in the case of a multiple light source more than 1/2 not functioning
- An obligatory rear fog lamp missing, or a front or rear fog lamp inoperative or in the case of a multiple light source more than 1/2 not functioning
- A direction indicator lamp missing, inoperative or in the case of a multiple light source more than 1/2 not functioning
- Body and structure — 11% of its failures
- A shock absorber insecurely attached to chassis or axle