Fizzled: The owners of these car brands let the MOT expire most often

It's a bit childish to make a point of this, but did you know that the RDW itself says 'APK inspection' on its website? So General Periodic Inspection. Or are they talking about a sample? We also have a nice intro for an article. In any case, TopGear Nederland delved into the RDW database to find out which brands of cars had their MOT expired most often.

The RDW database contains more than 10 million passenger cars, of which the MOT has expired on approximately 340,000 cars. These, of course, include the cars that have been sitting in a shed for ten years, waiting for the owner to complete the job that 'would take at most three weeks'. That is why for this study we only look at cars whose MOT has expired for a maximum of two months.

Why two months?

The RDW allows the MOT of a car to be expired for a maximum of two months without you receiving a fine at home. During this period you are not allowed to drive the car, unless you drive it to the garage. Has the car not yet been inspected after two months, and have you not suspended it in the meantime? Then you will receive a fine at home from the CJIB. For this list we look at the car brands of which there are at least 20,000 cars driving around in the Netherlands.

Of these car brands, the MOT has expired most often

The number one whose MOT has expired most often in percentage terms is Saab. That brand has not been making new cars for a while, so the average age (and risk of ailments) is increasing. Although it is of course an assumption to attribute expired MOTs to defects. Maybe the average Saab driver's agenda is a mess and they keep forgetting to go to the inspection.

Land Rover, Alfa Romeo and Subaru are also high on the list. If the expired MOTs have anything to do with reliability, then it is strange that Porsche is so high on the list. This is normally one of the most reliable brands. There are also brands that are doing better, such as Rover (2.6 percent), Daewoo (2.4 percent) and Maserati (2.3 percent); but their numbers are too small to participate in this study.

Most cars without an MOT are Volkswagens

The car brand with the most expired MOTs is Volkswagen. Completely logical: this is the brand with the most cars in the Netherlands. As you might expect, the people's car scores very average, with a percentage of 0.9. This puts the most popular car brand in the Netherlands in the middle of the list.

Skoda, Dacia and Kia drivers have everything in order

At the very bottom of the list are Skoda, Kia and Dacia. Of those owners, only 0.5 percent had their MOT expired. If we can make an assumption again: these car brands are usually driven by sensible people who go to the garage on time for a service and an inspection. Or are they just extremely reliable cars?

Compiled by TopGear Netherlands | Photo: © RDW