2012 Saab 9-3 2.0L Petrol · LA12 LEE

This 2012 Saab 9-3 passed its most recent MOT in April 2026, but the inspection revealed a troubling brake system pattern. Three of the four brake discs are worn, pitted, or scored, and the offside rear service brake is fluctuating. While none of these defects were deemed serious enough to warrant a fail, the combination signals that brake maintenance has been deferred and wear is active across the vehicle. The real concern emerges from the MOT history stretching back to March 2023. At that test the car failed outright due to a front sub-frame corroded and seriously weakened—a structural safety issue of the highest order. The rear sub-frame was also corroded, though less severely. That same test flagged an excessively worn nearside front anti-roll bar linkage ball joint, a broken offside rear shock absorber top mount, and a minor exhaust gas leak. Brake discs were already worn at that point, and all four tyres were close to the legal limit. The vehicle passed a retest in April 2023 after repairs, but the pattern since then has been unambiguous wear across suspension, brakes, and tyres. The April 2024 test found all four tyres worn close to the limit again and a slight play in the nearside rear lower suspension arm ball joint.