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1990 Mazda 121 — MOT History by Age

How cars manufactured in 1990 perform at MOT as they age

36 years
Current Age
48.6%
Latest Pass Rate
157
Total Tests (All Years)
66,697 mi
Avg Mileage (Latest)

Data from official DVSA MOT testing records

Insufficient data for same-age comparison.

How This Car Ages

Pass rate progression for the 1990 Mazda 121 as it ages.

19 yrs47.2%
20 yrs52.0%
21 yrs48.6%

Bar chart showing pass rate by car age from 19 to 21 years

Fail Rate %
📊 View as table
AgePass RateTests
19 yrs47.2%72
20 yrs52.0%50
21 yrs48.6%35

Pass Rate Trend

How the 1990 Mazda 121 pass rate changes as it ages, from first MOT to most recent.

Trend shows improving over 3 years

Pass Rate %
📊 View as table
BuiltPass RateTests
2011 (21 yrs)48.6%35
2010 (20 yrs)52%50
2009 (19 yrs)47.2%72

Year-by-Year MOT Results

2009High Fail Rate
47.2%
Age (yrs) 19Tests 72Avg Mileage 71,344Top Failure Suspension — 38.9%
2010High Fail Rate
52.0%
Age (yrs) 20Tests 50Avg Mileage 70,112Top Failure Brakes — 34.0%
2011High Fail Rate
48.6%
Age (yrs) 21Tests 35Avg Mileage 66,697Top Failure Suspension — 37.1%

Common MOT Failures

Top failure categories across all test years for 1990 Mazda 121, with age trends.

Suspension
34.7%
— Consistent
Brakes
28.7%
↓ Decreases with age
Lamps, Reflectors and Electrical Equipment
19.3%
↑ Increases with age
Tyres
13.6%
↑ Increases with age
Driver's View of the Road
12.2%
↑ Increases with age

How Failures Change With Age

Comparing failure rates between the youngest and oldest test years.

CategoryAt YoungestAt OldestChangeTrend
Lamps, Reflectors and Electrical Equipment18.1% (19 yrs)25.7% (21 yrs)
+7.6%
🔴 ↑
Exhaust, Fuel and Emissions15.3% (19 yrs)8.6% (21 yrs)
-6.7%
🟢 ↓
Brakes29.2% (19 yrs)22.9% (21 yrs)
-6.3%
🟢 ↓
Suspension38.9% (19 yrs)37.1% (21 yrs)
-1.8%
⚪ —

Other Manufacture Years

Looking for the best year to buy? See the full comparison on the Mazda 121 page →

About This Data

This page shows how Mazda 121 cars manufactured in 1990 perform at MOT as they age. Data spans from 2009 to 2011, covering 157 tests. Pass rates naturally decline with age as components wear.

Based on DVSA anonymised MOT test data (2005–2024). Crown copyright, Open Government Licence v3.0.

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