Fiat 124 common problems and MOT failures
What goes wrong on a used Fiat 124, year by year: known faults from UK buying guides, the parts flagged at MOT more than on other cars (from 2,775 MOTs done during 2025), and what to check before you buy one.
Pick the year
Most years have their own guide. The year is when the car was first registered (it’s on the logbook, or check the reg below).
What usually goes wrong with a Fiat 124?
We haven’t found widely reported faults for the Fiat 124 in the UK buying guides we use yet. That doesn’t mean it has none, so check the car carefully and look at the MOT weak spots below.
Common Fiat 124 MOT failures to check
Parts flagged at MOT well above the usual rate for cars the same age, in more than one year. From the DVSA’s results for every MOT done in Great Britain during 2025.
Sidelights
up to 5× usualStands out on cars registered in 2017 and 2018.
Rough price £10–£80 our estimateAt the viewing: Ask a friend to check every light while you work the switches: indicators, brake lights, fog lights and reversing lights.
Fiat 124 MOT pass rate by year
Of the years since 2005 with plenty of MOT tests, the 2016 Fiat 124 did best (84% passed first time, 9 points above all 2016 cars) and the 2018 did worst (85%, 4 points above all 2018 cars). Older cars fail more, so compare each year with all cars registered the same year.
Questions to ask the seller before buying a Fiat 124
Ask before you travel to see it. A seller who knows the car will have answers, and receipts.
- Any recent work on the sidelights? (Flagged at MOT 5× as often on the Fiat 124 as on other cars the same age.)
- Can I see the service history and receipts for any big jobs?
Looking at a Fiat 124?
Check the actual car: its own MOT history, whether it already shows these weak spots and what to ask the seller. Free, no sign-up.
Where this comes from: MOT figures are the DVSA’s anonymised results for every MOT test done in Great Britain during 2025, grouped by the year each car was first registered. How many are on the road is from the Department for Transport’s vehicle licensing statistics. Known faults are from UK buying guides, in our own words, with links. How we score