Seat Arosa
Registered from 1997 to 2005.
About this model
The SEAT Arosa is a city car that was manufactured by the Spanish automaker SEAT from 1997 to 2004. The model débuted in March 1997 at the Geneva Motor Show, while its facelifted version was presented in October 2000 at the Paris Motor Show. It shared a platform with the Volkswagen Lupo and was mostly identical apart from equipment, styling and trim levels.
From the Wikipedia article SEAT Arosa, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0.
What fails its inspection
Great Britain's MOT record for the 2004 1.0 petrol. 189 of 714 tests failed, 26%.
Better than 60% of 2004 cars. The typical one fails 28%, across 750 models with enough tests behind them to say.
| Where | Share of failures | Failed tests |
|---|---|---|
| Suspension | 46% | 86 |
| Lights and electrics | 43% | 82 |
| Brakes | 32% | 61 |
| Body and structure | 31% | 59 |
| Exhaust and emissions | 31% | 59 |
| Tyres and wheels | 18% | 34 |
The defects inspectors cite
- The aim of a headlamp is not within limits laid down in the requirements
- A suspension pin, bush or joint excessively worn
- Exhaust system leaking or insecure
- Engine MIL illuminated indicating a malfunction
- A lamp missing, inoperative or in the case of a multiple light source more than 1/2 not functioning
- A suspension joint dust cover missing or no longer prevents the ingress of dirt etc
Before you buy one
Built from what this car fails on, not from general knowledge of the model.
- Suspension — 46% of its failures
- A suspension pin, bush or joint excessively worn
- A suspension joint dust cover missing or no longer prevents the ingress of dirt etc
- Brakes — 32% of its failures
- Exhaust and emissions — 31% of its failures
- Exhaust system leaking or insecure
- Tyres and wheels — 18% of its failures
- 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.
- Lights and electrics — 43% 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 — 31% of its failures
When it starts failing
At 120–140k miles this one fails 31% of its inspections, against the 30% an ordinary car of the same age fails.
| Odometer | Failure rate | Rate | Its age | Tests |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 20–40k miles | 19% | 17% | 72 | |
| 40–60k miles | 20% | 22% | 157 | |
| 60–80k miles | 25% | 25% | 169 | |
| 80–100k miles | 34% | 28% | 160 | |
| 100–120k miles | 31% | 29% | 86 | |
| 120–140k miles | 31% | 30% | 35 |
679 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.