2001 ROVER 451.6L Petrol

The Rover 45 currently holds a failed MOT status from the 11 August 2025 test at 98,718 miles, with the DVSA record showing no defects logged against that failure. Prior to this, the vehicle passed cleanly at 94,652 miles on 15 July 2024 and at 87,508 miles on 18 July 2023, following a failed test on 17 July 2023 at the same mileage with no defects recorded. The maintenance trend reads as broadly stable across the passed years, though the two most recent annual entries reveal administrative or presentation faults rather than confirmed mechanical decline, and the latest failure leaves roadworthiness unconfirmed until a fresh test is passed. Recorded mileage sits at 98,718 against a 25-year-old chassis, averaging roughly 3,949 miles per year. The odometer moved 5,144 miles between the July 2022 test at 82,211 and July 2023 at 87,508, then 7,144 miles to July 2024 at 94,652, and 4,066 miles to the August 2025 failure at 98,718. This low annual use suggests extended standing periods, which typically accelerate rubber perishing, brake caliper seizure, and underbody corrosion even where the record shows no advisories. The MOT data itself is sparse, with no advisories or defects ever listed, so the clean sheets cannot be read as proof of component health. A buyer should commission a physical inspection of suspension bushes, coil springs, and subframe structural integrity, as low-mileage Rover 45 bodies of this era are prone to hidden rust where the tester may not have probed. The brake discs and calipers warrant strip-checking for binding or pitting after the long idle spells implied by the mileage. The unexplained fail-pass sequence in July 2023 and the August 2025 failure with no defects demand scrutiny of the test paperwork and a full re-test before purchase.