Citroen Saxo
Registered from 1996 to 2004.
About this model
The Citroën Saxo is a supermini car which was produced by the French manufacturer Citroën from 1996 to 2003. It was sold in Japan as the Citroën Chanson, because Honda had registered the "Saxo" name. The Saxo was a development of the Citroën AX and Peugeot 106, which shared a platform and running gear. It was discontinued in 2003, when it was replaced with the Citroën C2 and Citroën C3 which launched a year earlier. Both models were developed alongside the Peugeot 206.
From the Wikipedia article Citroën Saxo, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0.
What fails its inspection
Great Britain's MOT record for the 2002 1.1 petrol. 333 of 1,085 tests failed, 31%.
Better than 21% of 2002 cars. The typical one fails 27%, across 558 models with enough tests behind them to say.
| Where | Share of failures | Failed tests |
|---|---|---|
| Lights and electrics | 50% | 166 |
| Brakes | 45% | 149 |
| Body and structure | 36% | 119 |
| Exhaust and emissions | 29% | 95 |
| Suspension | 23% | 77 |
| Visibility | 20% | 68 |
The defects inspectors cite
- Brakes imbalance across an axle such that the braking effort from any wheel is less than 70% of the maximum effort recorded from the other wheel on the same axle.
- A transmission shaft constant velocity joint boot missing or no longer prevents the ingress of dirt etc
- Service brake efficiency below minimum requirement
- The strength or continuity of the load bearing structure within 30cm of any sub-frame, spring or suspension component mounting (a 'prescribed area') is significantly reduced or inadequately repaired
- A lamp missing, inoperative or in the case of a multiple light source more than 1/2 not functioning
- Lambda coefficient outside the default limits or the range specified by the manufacturer
Before you buy one
Built from what this car fails on, not from general knowledge of the model.
- Brakes — 45% of its failures
- Service brake efficiency below minimum requirement
- Exhaust and emissions — 29% of its failures
- Lambda coefficient outside the default limits or the range specified by the manufacturer
- Exhaust system leaking or insecure
- Suspension — 23% of its failures
- The strength or continuity of the load bearing structure within 30cm of any sub-frame, spring or suspension component mounting (a 'prescribed area') is significantly reduced or inadequately repaired
- Lights and electrics — 50% of its failures
- A lamp missing, inoperative or in the case of a multiple light source more than 1/2 not functioning
- Body and structure — 36% of its failures
- The strength or continuity of the load bearing structure within 30cm of any sub-frame, spring or suspension component mounting (a 'prescribed area') is significantly reduced or inadequately repaired
- Visibility — 20% of its failures
When it starts failing
At 120–140k miles this one fails 39% of its inspections, against the 29% an ordinary car of the same age fails.
| Odometer | Failure rate | Rate | Its age | Tests |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 20–40k miles | 23% | 18% | 138 | |
| 40–60k miles | 29% | 22% | 274 | |
| 60–80k miles | 31% | 25% | 287 | |
| 80–100k miles | 33% | 27% | 186 | |
| 100–120k miles | 35% | 28% | 101 | |
| 120–140k miles | 39% | 29% | 46 |
1,032 British inspections, grouped by the odometer reading recorded at the test.
Half of these have more than 60k miles on them. That is how far people drive this car, not how long it lasts.