Ranked #258 car in the UK · City car · 430 units sold last year
The Vauxhall Adam (2013-2019) is the style-led city car - Vauxhall's answer to the Fiat 500 and Mini, built around endless personalisation options. Petrol engines, a characterful look and a huge range of trims and colours. It's more about image than driving polish, and the cabin is snug, but as a cheap used buy it's a cheerful, individual small car for town use, with the warm Adam S adding a bit of pace for keen drivers.
combined
The short version
Forecourt score
Value 43 · Reliability 26 · Insurance 96
The Vauxhall Adam holds its value about averagely and is cheaper to run than most. Its MOT-based reliability is average, 67 out of 100, ahead of 26% of the cars we track. On three-year value retention it ranks better than 43% of models.
The Forecourt score blends how this car ranks against the catalogue on value retention, reliability and insurance cost (weighted 40/40/20). Higher is better; running cost is not yet folded in.
Estimates are tuned to the version you choose.
Fuel
Petrol · 1398cc
Power
100 ps
Drivetrain
FWD
Quoted MPG
47 mpg
Vauxhall Adam — Corsa-based city/lifestyle car. 1.4 NA petrol, 100 PS, manual. Discontinued in UK 2019, used market only.
Tidy and well looked-after for its age — the typical car.
Remembered as you browse other cars.
Optional — fills in the exact year and ULEZ status for your specific car. The registration isn’t stored.
Estimated market value
How we got this number — click for the breakdown, or to challenge it.£5,650
Range £4,650 – £6,800
medium confidence
Still falling fast — a 8-year-old example is the value pick.
At 44,779 miles it’s about the ~44,262 typical for a 7-year-old.
Seen one for sale?
The steep losses are mostly over by about 8 years — around then it’s shedding roughly 6% a year rather than 18%. A 8-year-old example (a ~2018 plate) is the value pick.
A data-led guide from the depreciation curve, UK parc trend and reliability — not financial advice.
How a 2019-registration Vauxhall Adam loses value over time.
Based on the 2019 car with 44,779 miles you entered above — worth about £5,650 today — here is the cost of owning it for the next 5 years, at roughly 6,397 miles a year.
5-year total
£10,977
Per year
£2,195
All-in per mile
£0.34
Fuel per mile
12.7p
Uses current UK pump and home-charging prices (DESNZ weekly), typical-driver insurance and manufacturer service intervals. "Fuel per mile" is just the energy input — so an EV at ~9p and a diesel at ~22p make running-cost comparison direct. A guide; your own costs will vary.
Where this car ranks against the 340 vehicles in our index — higher is better.
Percentile rank across our full index. A measure is shown only where the data spreads meaningfully across the index.
How the available versions compare on price, running cost, and the headaches each tends to develop.
The default choice: lowest purchase price and easy upkeep, at the cost of higher fuel bills than a hybrid.
Watch for
Makes sense for high motorway mileage; less so for short urban hops, where the DPF struggles.
Watch for
Fuel/energy costs based on this week’s UK averages (w/c 22/06/2026) · Petrol 153.3p/L, Diesel 172.5p/L, Electricity 27.0p/kWh · DESNZ
Group 8 of 50 (low — cheaper end of the scale) · Comprehensive · 3 years NCB
Indicative annual comprehensive premiums for this car, by driver age band and risk profile. Pick the combination closest to your circumstances.
Estimated annual premium · typical, age 33-39
£568/ year
Roughly £47 per month
Typical
Average UK driver — 3 years NCB, average postcode, no recent claims.| Age band | Lower risk | Typical | Higher risk |
|---|---|---|---|
| Age 17-25 | £1,295 | £1,619 | £2,104 |
| Age 26-32 | £676 | £795 | £970 |
| Age 33-39Selected | £500 | £568 | £670 |
| Age 40-49 | £424 | £471 | £547 |
| Age 50+ | £378 | £420 | £496 |
How we estimate this
Indicative annual comprehensive premium estimates. The 'Typical' figure represents an average UK driver in each age band; Lower and Higher risk show the realistic spread driven by factors UK insurers legitimately price on (postcode, occupation, claims history, NCB, voluntary excess, modifications). Based on 10,000 miles/yr, £250 voluntary excess, and the no-claims bonus selected above. Always get individual quotes before buying.
Adjust the annual mileage to match how you'll actually use the car. Insurance is what you selected above (age 33-39, typical risk, 3 yrs NCB).
Routine service
£185
Annual main-dealer service
Major service
£210
Every 2 years, annualised
Road tax
£195
Standard rate, post year-one
Fuel
£922
55 mpg, £1.49/L
Insurance
£568
Age 33-39, group 6
Clean-air zones
⚠ Depends on variantBased on London ULEZ standards — Birmingham, Bath, Bristol, Sheffield, Glasgow and other UK clean-air zones generally follow the same rules.
Excludes depreciation and unscheduled repairs (see next section).
What out-of-warranty repairs typically run, by mileage band. Your selected mileage is highlighted.
0-30k miles
£80
per year · low risk
30-60k miles
£240
per year · low risk
60-100k miles
£520
per year · medium risk
100k+ miles
£900
per year · high risk
175/65 R14 · 185/60 R15
What a full set of four will cost you (including fit and balance), and which brand each tier of buyer should pick. A typical set lasts about 24,000 miles.
Budget
£300
set of 4, fitted · £60 per tyre
Mid-range
£440
set of 4, fitted · £95 per tyre
Premium
£620
set of 4, fitted · £140 per tyre
Factory options ranked by how much of their original cost they recover at resale. Anything above 70% return tends to make money back; below 40% is paying for your own enjoyment.
| Option | New cost | Added used value | Return |
|---|---|---|---|
Tow bar (factory-fit) Niche, but the buyers who want one will pay for it. | £650 | £450 | 69% |
Parking sensors & reversing camera Near-expected now — its absence costs more than its presence returns. | £500 | £300 | 60% |
Heated seats / cold-weather pack | £450 | £200 | 44% |
Metallic or premium paint Almost universal — an unusual colour is the bigger resale risk. | £600 | £200 | 33% |
Panoramic / opening roof | £1,100 | £350 | 32% |
Larger alloy wheels | £700 | £200 | 29% |
Drawn from owner reports and warranty data. Filtered for relevance to 44,779 miles.
Watch now
Failure typically happens around your current mileage.
Upcoming
A known weak point — but you haven't reached its usual mileage yet.
Already due
Past its usual failure mileage. Either already fixed, or about to.
Recorded in 14.4% of MOT tests over 100k miles — from 594,056 DVSA MOT tests analysed.
Recorded in 6.8% of MOT tests over 100k miles — from 594,056 DVSA MOT tests analysed.
Recorded in 5.1% of MOT tests over 100k miles — from 594,056 DVSA MOT tests analysed.
Recorded in 3.6% of MOT tests under 30k miles — from 594,056 DVSA MOT tests analysed.
Recorded in 5.0% of MOT tests over 100k miles — from 594,056 DVSA MOT tests analysed.
Recorded in 2.4% of MOT tests over 100k miles — from 594,056 DVSA MOT tests analysed.
"Parts low/medium/high" indicates how easy the replacement part is to source — discontinued or specialist parts mean longer workshop time and bigger bills.
How this model fares at its MOT as it ages — from 608,381 real DVSA test records.
MOT pass rate by age
A 3-year-old Adam passes its MOT 85.5% of the time; by 14 years that has slipped to 84.6%. The y-axis is zoomed to this model’s range so the trend is readable.
Longevity
From 53 vehicles registered in 2012.
Survival by registration year
Each point is one registration cohort. Older cars on the left, newer on the right. A flatter line means the model holds up over time; a steep drop means cohorts disappear from UK roads faster.
What’s on the road
The fuel-type split of every Adam currently MOT’d in the UK. From 61,244 vehicles.
Common MOT failures by mileage
The defect categories this Adam fails on most often, and how the failure rate climbs as the miles add up — from the same DVSA test records.
| Category | 0-30k | 30-60k | 60-100k | 100k+ |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Suspension | 3% | 9% | 14% | 15% |
| Tyres & wheels | 2% | 4% | 6% | 7% |
| Brakes | 2% | 3% | 4% | 5% |
| Driver's view | 4% | 3% | 3% | 3% |
| Lighting & signalling | 1% | 2% | 4% | 5% |
| Emissions | — | — | 1% | 2% |
Share of MOT tests in each mileage band with at least one defect in that category. The peak band for each is highlighted.
Typical mileage by age
The average odometer reading for a Adam at MOT, by age — measured from the same DVSA records, not assumed. A useful yardstick for whether a given car has done more or fewer miles than its age suggests.
Mean recorded mileage at MOT by vehicle age, from DVSA test records (ages with at least 10 tests shown).
Average
Composite of MOT pass rate, defect prevalence and cohort survival from 594,056 tests — high confidence.
MOT outlook · age 5 years
30th percentile — Below catalogue average
Based on 74,036 MOT tests · ranked against 248 catalogue models with comparable data
Where this car sits in the catalogue
Pass-rate distribution across 248 catalogue models
Safety recalls
Manufacturers occasionally issue safety recalls to fix a fault free of charge. You can check whether the Vauxhall Adam, or your exact vehicle, has any outstanding recalls on the official DVSA service.
Check on GOV.UKOpens the Driver & Vehicle Standards Agency recall checker. Choose the make, model and year of manufacture — no registration needed.
A general indicator from UK 2025 theft data and this car’s characteristics — not a prediction for any one vehicle.
Whole-car theft
Around average
Theft risk is around the UK average. Like most modern cars it has keyless entry, so relay theft is the method to guard against.
Parts theft
Around average
Parts-theft risk is around average — catalytic-converter theft is the main thing to be aware of on any petrol or diesel car.
Worth doing
Whether driving a Vauxhall Adam into a UK clean-air zone will cost you anything. Rules use the same Euro standard across most zones — petrol from 2006 and diesel from 2015 onwards are exempt; pure electric is always exempt.
| City | Area | Daily charge | Likely outcome |
|---|---|---|---|
| London | All of Greater London (within the M25) | £12.50 | Likely exempt Petrol from 2006 meets Euro 4. |
| Birmingham | Inside the A4540 Middleway | £8.00 | Likely exempt Petrol from 2006 meets Euro 4. |
| Bristol | City centre and part of the Portway | £9.00 | Likely exempt Petrol from 2006 meets Euro 4. |
| Glasgow | City centre | — | Likely exempt Petrol from 2006 meets Euro 4. |
| Edinburgh | City centre | — | Likely exempt Petrol from 2006 meets Euro 4. |
| Aberdeen | City centre | — | Likely exempt Petrol from 2006 meets Euro 4. |
| Dundee | City centre | — | Likely exempt Petrol from 2006 meets Euro 4. |
Model-level guidance only. To check a specific registration, use the official gov.uk clean-air zone checker. Zone charges and boundaries are set by local councils and change over time.
How well-supported Vauxhall is across the UK — a practical read on how easy servicing, parts and warranty work will be to find.
Franchised UK dealers
~195
Large network
Mass-market
Network size relative to the UK's largest (Vauxhall is 4.3% of all franchised outlets)
Servicing, parts and warranty work are easy to find UK-wide, and most independent garages know the brand well — which keeps maintenance competitive.
For context, the UK has roughly 4,500 franchised car-dealer outlets in total, plus about 15,500 independent garages.
Approximate figures, curated from public UK industry sources (NFDA, Car Dealer Magazine). Franchised networks shrink year on year — these indicate network size, not an exact count.
Length
3,700 mm
Width
1,680 mm
Height
1,500 mm
Kerb weight
1,000 kg
Boot
250–900 L
Fuel tank
35 L
Of every Vauxhall Adam ever registered in the UK, this is what's actively on the road, parked off the road on a SORN, or gone for good.
Total ever registered
58,812
Currently taxed & on road
55,548
94% of all registered
SORN (off road)
1,141
2% of all registered
Scrapped or exported
2,123
UK fleet trend — 2014 to 2025
-1.4% vs 2024Source: DfT VEH0124 vehicle licensing statistics (year-end 2025) · Updated 1 Jul 2026
Common questions
Common questions
Answers are generated from this car's Forecourt data — DVSA MOT records, DfT licensing statistics and our valuation model — and update with the weekly data refresh.