Mercedes-Benz C-Class MOT pass rate and common failures
What the MOTs of 340,894 Mercedes-Benz C-Class cars in 2025 show. These are patterns across all tests recorded by DVSA, not a verdict on any one car.
How often does a Mercedes-Benz C-Class pass its MOT first time?
In 2025, 74.3% of the 340,894 Mercedes-Benz C-Class cars tested passed their MOT first time. Cars of all makes from the same registration years passed 70.7% of the time, so the Mercedes-Benz C-Class was 3.6 points above them.
Pass rate by registration year
First-time pass rate in 2025 for each year the car was first registered, next to all cars registered in the same year. Older cars fail more often, so compare like with like. Years with fewer than 1,000 cars tested are not shown.
Compared with all cars registered in the same year, the Mercedes-Benz C-Class did best for 2008 registrations (6.6 points above all cars of that year) and worst for 2021 registrations (1.2 points below all cars of that year).
See the figures
| Registered | Mercedes-Benz C-Class | All cars | Cars tested |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | 88.1% | 89.1% | 3,803 |
| 2021 | 87.0% | 88.2% | 5,769 |
| 2020 | 85.7% | 86.8% | 9,433 |
| 2019 | 85.4% | 84.2% | 23,531 |
| 2018 | 83.7% | 81.7% | 26,966 |
| 2017 | 81.5% | 78.9% | 37,579 |
| 2016 | 80.1% | 75.5% | 34,859 |
| 2015 | 77.8% | 72.4% | 32,615 |
| 2014 | 75.0% | 68.9% | 24,159 |
| 2013 | 69.4% | 65.9% | 22,376 |
| 2012 | 66.9% | 63.5% | 24,419 |
| 2011 | 67.1% | 61.3% | 17,809 |
| 2010 | 65.6% | 59.1% | 12,132 |
| 2009 | 64.0% | 57.9% | 11,943 |
| 2008 | 63.3% | 56.7% | 12,478 |
| 2007 | 61.3% | 56.9% | 10,842 |
| 2006 | 58.2% | 56.6% | 8,298 |
| 2005 | 59.1% | 57.3% | 6,881 |
| 2004 | 57.8% | 57.4% | 5,094 |
| 2003 | 58.1% | 58.4% | 3,438 |
| 2002 | 63.2% | 59.2% | 1,932 |
| 2001 | 63.9% | 61.0% | 1,040 |
What the Mercedes-Benz C-Class failed on most
Of the 87,595 Mercedes-Benz C-Class cars that failed first time in 2025, the share with each fault on the MOT. One car can fail on several faults.
- 1.Worn suspension joint or bush21.4%
- 2.Tyre tread below the legal limit12.9%
- 3.Engine warning light on10.9%
- 4.Broken or weak suspension spring10.9%
- 5.Badly damaged tyre10.2%
By area of the car: suspension 40.8%, tyres 29.9%, brakes 23.5%, lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment 23.5%, noise, emissions and leaks 14.2%.
Typical mileage by age
The median odometer reading at the MOT, by the car's age at the test to the nearest year, up to 20 years. Half the cars had covered more and half less. A rough guide when a car's mileage looks high or low for its age.
| Age | Mercedes-Benz C-Class | All cars |
|---|---|---|
| 3 years | 25,100 | 23,200 |
| 4 years | 34,300 | 30,600 |
| 5 years | 40,700 | 36,100 |
| 6 years | 46,300 | 42,400 |
| 7 years | 55,300 | 50,100 |
| 8 years | 64,900 | 58,200 |
| 9 years | 77,200 | 65,200 |
| 10 years | 87,800 | 72,100 |
| 11 years | 92,400 | 78,800 |
| 12 years | 98,600 | 84,700 |
| 13 years | 104,200 | 90,400 |
| 14 years | 109,400 | 95,900 |
| 15 years | 109,800 | 97,900 |
| 16 years | 117,200 | 98,600 |
| 17 years | 119,000 | 103,500 |
| 18 years | 116,000 | 104,800 |
| 19 years | 114,400 | 104,100 |
| 20 years | 114,700 | 103,100 |
Looking at a Mercedes-Benz C-Class?
Averages describe thousands of cars. The one you are looking at has its own history.
- Mercedes-Benz C-Class buyer's guideCommon problems and what to check before you buy.
- Free MOT history checkEvery MOT result, failure and advisory for one registration.
- Full car history checkFinance, write-off, stolen and mileage records for the exact car.
- MOT league tableMakes and models ranked against cars of the same age.
Check the Mercedes-Benz C-Class you want to buy
Enter the registration for its MOT record, mileage, finance, write-off and stolen checks.
More Mercedes-Benz MOT pass rates
Source
Calculated by Carhealth from the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA), Anonymised MOT tests and results, 2025: 28,468,316 cars. How we worked it out.
Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Source: Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA).