2014 Citroen Berlingo 1.6L Diesel · AD11 REE

A noteworthy anomaly dominates the MOT record for this Berlingo: every one of the five documented tests is accompanied by the phrase "No defects recorded," and yet the file shows both the 2024 and 2025 cycles resulting in an outright FAIL followed immediately by a PASS on the same calendar day. There are no advisories logged across any test, no flagged components, and no progressive deterioration to trace. Mechanically, the picture is one of borderline presentation rather than structural or systemic wear, with the tester identifying something sufficient to fail the vehicle before the necessary remedial action and re-inspection cleared it. The repetition of this fail-then-pass pattern on consecutive annual visits is, however, a subtle flag that the Berlingo sits close to the legal threshold on at least one item, and a buyer should treat the absence of any recorded advisory data not as proof of perfect condition but as an incomplete picture of borderline wear. Recorded mileage of 122,418 miles across roughly twelve years equates to an annual accumulation of about 10,200 miles, which sits squarely within the expected band for a working light commercial or family MPV of this vintage and therefore neither elevates nor alleviates wear concerns. The testing cadence has been exceptionally regular, with annual entries clustered around late November and early December, suggesting the vehicle has remained in continuous operational use rather than being laid up for extended periods. With no recorded gaps in MOT history to suggest prolonged standing, the battery, brakes, tyres, and underbody components have all been kept in active service, which tends to mitigate the corrosion and perishing issues commonly seen on stored vehicles but conversely means the consumables and suspension have absorbed normal working-life fatigue. The odometer progression between 2023 and 2025 is consistent with steady commercial or family use rather than any dramatic mileage spikes. Because the MOT file itself supplies no component-level advisories to investigate, the practical priority shifts to the wear items that a 122,000-mile Berlingo typically presents at the threshold of failure, most of which would not always be advisory-worthy. On a test drive, particular attention should be paid to the front MacPherson strut top mountings and rear torsion beam bushes, listening for clonks or knocks over speed humps and uneven road surfaces, and feeling for vagueness or shimmy through the steering wheel that could indicate worn wishbone rear bushes or tired drop links. The brake pedal should be firm without sponginess or excessive travel, and the vehicle should pull up in a straight line without judder under heavy application, which would suggest disc lipping or a binding caliper slider on either of the front calipers that commonly seize on high-mileage Berlingos. Given that the only recorded MOT failure was on an unspecified defect, a prospective buyer would be well served to obtain the official VT30 refusal document for the 2024 and 2025 fail dates so the exact cause can be identified and verified as fully rectified. Underneath, the subframe mounting points, brake pipes running along the chassis rail, and the exhaust front pipe and flexi joint warrant close scrutiny for surface corrosion and weeping joints, as these are common MOT failure items on a vehicle of this age and mileage even when not previously recorded. A cold-start observation is recommended to listen for any timing chain rattle from the 1.6 HDi or valvetrain noise from the petrol variants, and a check of the oil filler cap and breather system for mayonnaise deposits will reveal any history of short journeys that may not be apparent from the mileage alone. The Berlingo's overall mechanical presentation is broadly reassuring based on its compliance history, but the recurrence of day-of-test failures warrants the deeper component-level inspection that the MOT file itself cannot provide.