First MOT failure rates

The one comparison age cannot spoil

Most published failure rankings compare vehicles of mixed ages, which mostly measures how old each model’s fleet is. The first MOT removes that problem entirely, because every vehicle taking one is the same age by law.

A vehicle in Great Britain takes its first MOT three years after first registration. That makes this the only failure rate in the record where the comparison is automatically fair — no adjustment, no weighting, no assumption. Whatever separates two models here is something other than how long they have been on the road.

It is also the moment most manufacturer warranties end. Three years is the standard term, so the first test tends to arrive just as the free-repair period closes. A fail at this point is often the first bill an owner has paid for the car at all, which is why it lands harder than the number suggests.

And one in six is higher than most people expect. The common assumption is that a three-year-old vehicle passes as a formality. 15.6% of them do not, and the reasons are almost entirely mundane: tyres worn below the limit, a blown bulb, brake pads at the end of their first set, wiper blades and washer jets.

Cars that fail their first MOT most often

The Renault Megane (23.1%), Vauxhall Corsa (20.8%) and Kia Carens (20.6%) fail their first MOT most often among cars, according to DVSA data analysed by PriceMyRepair. Cars only — vans are counted separately below, and for good reason. Share of first tests failed, at exactly three years old.

Two pick-ups sit in this table — the Hilux and the Navara — and they belong to the same story as the vans below. Everything else here is a mainstream family car, a supermini or an MPV, and the Vauxhall Corsa’s 1.7 million tests make it the largest single sample on the page.

Cars that almost never fail the first time

The Porsche Macan (6.0%), Audi Q2 (7.2%) and Honda HR-V (8.1%) fail their first MOT least often of any car in PriceMyRepair’s analysis of the same DVSA data. The other end of the same list, on the same terms.

Eleven of these twelve are compact or mid-size SUVs and one is a supermini. That is not a statement about SUV engineering — it is a statement about who buys them and how far they drive. The Honda Jazz is the exception worth noticing, and its 420,703 tests make it one of the largest samples in either table.

Vans fail their first test half as often again

Vans fail their first MOT 23.0% of the time against 14.6% for cars — 1.58 times as often — across 4.8 million van tests in PriceMyRepair’s analysis of DVSA data. Light commercial vehicles take the same test as cars and are separated here because mixing them produces a table that says nothing about either.

Across 22 van models and 4,811,153 tests the rate is 23.0%, against 14.6% across 182 car models and 36,368,859 tests. Merge the two and vans occupy seventeen of the top eighteen places, which buries every useful thing the car data has to say.

What a three-year-old vehicle actually fails on

Nothing exotic. At this age the failures are first-set wear items, and most of them were visible to the owner weeks earlier.

A pre-test check costs nothing and removes most of this risk: tread depth on all four tyres, every bulb including the number plate, washer fluid topped up, wiper blades not smearing, and no warning lights on the dash. Our guide to what the MOT actually checks covers the full list a tester works through.

What this means if you are buying a three-year-old car

Ex-lease and ex-fleet cars come to market at exactly this age, which is why the numbers matter to buyers as much as to owners.

A model’s first-test rate tells you about its typical use, not about the individual car. A Corsa at 20.8% is largely reporting that Corsas are driven a great deal. A carefully-used private example is a different proposition from the fleet average behind that figure — and the car’s own record will tell you which one you are looking at.

The first MOT result is public, and it is the single most useful document about a used car. Whether it passed, what it failed on, what advisories the tester wrote — all of it is on the record, tied to the registration, free to read. A car that failed its first test on tyres was probably driven hard; one that passed clean with no advisories was probably not.

Warranty timing matters here too. A three-year-old car being sold has usually just left its warranty, and any fault found at the first test was the seller’s cost to fix or leave. An advisory left unactioned on that certificate is a repair the next owner inherits.

How these figures were produced

First MOT failure rates — FAQ

How many cars fail their first MOT?

15.6% of all vehicles fail, or roughly one in six, measured across 41.2 million tests on three-year-old vehicles. Cars alone fail at 14.6% and vans at 23.0%. The common assumption that a three-year-old vehicle passes as a formality is wrong for a sixth of them.

When is a car’s first MOT due?

Three years after the date of first registration in Great Britain. That fixed rule is what makes this comparison unusually clean — every vehicle in these tables is exactly the same age, so nothing needs adjusting for how long a model has been on sale.

Which car fails its first MOT most often?

Among cars, the Renault Megane at 23.1%, followed by the Vauxhall Corsa at 20.8% and the Kia Carens at 20.6%. Including vans changes the answer entirely — the Vauxhall Movano and Citroen Relay both fail 26.4% of first tests, and vans take seventeen of the top eighteen places overall.

Which car is least likely to fail its first MOT?

The Porsche Macan at 6.0%, then the Audi Q2 at 7.2% and the Honda HR-V at 8.1%. Eleven of the best twelve are compact or mid-size SUVs, which says more about how far such cars are driven in their first three years than about how they are built.

Why do vans fail their first MOT so much more often?

Mileage. A working van covers two to three times the annual distance of a private car, and tyres, brakes, suspension and lamps wear with distance rather than time. Three years of van use is closer to eight years of private use in everything the test inspects.

What do three-year-old cars usually fail on?

Tyres above all, then lamps and small electrical items, then the first set of front brake pads. All are ordinary wear items reaching the end of their first life, and most were visible to the owner well before the test date.

Does a first MOT failure mean a car is badly made?

Very rarely. At this age failures are worn consumables, not manufacturing faults, and a model’s rate mostly reflects how hard its owners drive it. A supermini bought as a workhorse and a compact SUV bought as a second car will differ sharply without either being better engineered.

Is the first MOT covered by the manufacturer warranty?

The test itself is not, and neither are wear items — tyres, pads, wipers and bulbs are excluded from every standard warranty. Since three years is also the usual warranty term, the first test often arrives just as cover ends, which is why the bill feels like a step change.

How can I avoid failing a first MOT?

Check the things that cause most failures a few weeks ahead: tread depth on all four tyres including the inner edges, every bulb including the number plate lamp, washer fluid, wiper blades, and any warning light on the dash. That covers the majority of what fails at this age, and each is cheap to put right before rather than after.

Should I check a used car’s first MOT before buying?

Yes, and it is free. The result, the failure items and every advisory are public and tied to the registration. A car that failed its first test on worn tyres was driven hard; one that passed with no advisories at all was not. Our used car check reads the whole history from the reg.

Related studies and guides

The same dataset at other ages and along other axes.