AutoSpect

The atlas · 686 models · 23.6m DVSA tests

Some cars fail their MOT 10.8 times more often than others.

Every model with enough tests behind it to be worth quoting, plotted by how often it fails first time. The guides below are how you read one.

Distribution of MOT first-time failure rates across 686 model cohorts Rates run from 4.9% to 52.8%. The volume-weighted national rate is 24.5%. 62% of models fall below it. 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 4% to 6% — 4 models6% to 8% — 8 models8% to 10% — 19 models10% to 12% — 55 models12% to 14% — 76 models14% to 16% — 57 models16% to 18% — 54 models18% to 20% — 54 models20% to 22% — 52 models22% to 24% — 37 models24% to 26% — 25 models26% to 28% — 37 models28% to 30% — 32 models30% to 32% — 33 models32% to 34% — 25 models34% to 36% — 24 models36% to 38% — 17 models38% to 40% — 19 models40% to 42% — 18 models42% to 44% — 14 models44% to 46% — 11 models46% to 48% — 4 models48% to 50% — 7 models50% to 52% — 3 models52% to 54% — 1 models National average 24.5% Best Lexus RX 4.9% Worst Vauxhall Vivaro 52.8%

4.9% Lexus RX · rule marks the national average 24.5% · 52.8% Vauxhall Vivaro

Each bar is a two-point band. Height is how many of the 686 models land in it. Cohorts with fewer than 5,000 tests are excluded.
62%
of models fail less than the national average
29.2%
average for the twenty most-tested models, against 23.5% for the rest
10.8×
between the best model and the worst, Lexus RX to Vauxhall Vivaro

The average is not a typical car. It is dragged up by the models the most people buy.

Read the distribution as a table
Failure rateModels
4% to 6%4
6% to 8%8
8% to 10%19
10% to 12%55
12% to 14%76
14% to 16%57
16% to 18%54
18% to 20%54
20% to 22%52
22% to 24%37
24% to 26%25
26% to 28%37
28% to 30%32
30% to 32%33
32% to 34%25
34% to 36%24
36% to 38%17
38% to 40%19
40% to 42%18
42% to 44%14
44% to 46%11
46% to 48%4
48% to 50%7
50% to 52%3
52% to 54%1

The long one · free · 48 checks

Everything a mechanic looks at, in the order they look at it

Six stages, forty-eight checks, and eight that will lose you the car if you get them wrong. This is the corpus the paid walkaround runs on — published in full, illustrated, with the repair cost attached to each one.

  • Check all four tyre tread depths (legal minimum 1.6mm) — a 20p coin makes a quick gauge
  • Inspect tyre sidewalls for bulges, cuts or perishing
  • Check tyre wear is even and read the DOT age code

Exterior 14Under the Bonnet 7Interior 10Before You Start the Car 1Test Drive 11Documents & History 5

The 8 marked critical are the ones that lose you the car.

The five-minute call that saves the trip

Seven questions, in order. The first one — “has anyone got a deposit on it?” — ends about a third of conversations before anybody gets in a car.

Two free ways to count the owners

The exact figure is printed on the V5C, and the dates a car changed hands are readable in its free MOT history. Here is how.

Dangerous, major, minor, advisory, PRS

Only two of the five fail the test. The one worth money off is an advisory that comes back two years running — flagged, ignored, flagged again.

These are model averages and general method. The car in the advert has its own MOT history, its own mileage record and its own advisories. Weighing this against an HPI check, a carVertical report or an AA/RAC inspection? The comparisons say what each costs and covers, with every price dated.

Check a registration free → See a finished report →