Headlamp aim: too low
This one item accounted for 0% of every MOT test carried out in Great Britain, and it is among the commonest faults on 20 different model-and-year combinations. Here is where it clusters, and what it looks like on a car you are standing in front of.
How to spot it before you buy
With the seller's help, test every exterior light — head, brake, indicators, reversing, fogs
Failed bulbs fail the MOT; LED/xenon units can be very expensive on premium cars. Needs the key and someone working the switches — save it for when the seller joins you.
The models it hits hardest
Ranked by how often the fault came up as a share of that model's own tests, not by raw count — a fault in 8% of a small model's tests says more about that model than one in 3% of the Fiesta's. A linked row has a page of its own.
| Model | Years | Share of its tests |
|---|---|---|
| Dacia Sandero | 2010–2013 | 1.8% |
| Dacia Logan | 2014–2017 | 1.7% |
| Dacia Sandero | 2014–2017 | 1.6% |
| Dacia Logan | 2018–2021 | 1.2% |
| Peugeot Boxer | 2010–2013 | 1.1% |
| Dacia Sandero | 2018–2021 | 0.9% |
| Ford Fiesta St-Line Edition Turbo | 2018–2021 | 0.9% |
| Ford Fiesta Trend Turbo | 2018–2021 | 0.8% |
| Tesla Model 3 Standard Range + | 2018–2021 | 0.7% |
| Tesla Model 3 Performance Awd | 2018–2021 | 0.7% |
| BMW 116 | 2018–2021 | 0.7% |
| BMW 120 | 2018–2021 | 0.7% |
| BMW 118 | 2014–2017 | 0.6% |
| BMW 118 | 2018–2021 | 0.6% |
| Dacia Duster | 2018–2021 | 0.6% |
| Tesla Model 3 Long Range Awd | 2018–2021 | 0.6% |
| Alfa Romeo Giulia | 2018–2021 | 0.6% |
| Tesla Model S | 2018–2021 | 0.6% |
| Alfa Romeo Giulia | 2014–2017 | 0.6% |
| Ford Fiesta St-Line Edition T Mhev | 2018–2021 | 0.5% |
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See whether the car you're looking at has this on record
Type the registration and you get that car's own MOT history — every advisory and every failure, including whether this one has already come up.
Source: DVSA anonymised MOT tests and results, 2023. Class 4 standard tests only. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.