DVSA, DfT Data reveals Britain’s MOT failure hotspots and top 10 reasons why

Top 10 reasons for MOT failure (DVSA data, last updated: July 4 2019)

• Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment – 12.80 per cent
• Suspension – 9.10 per cent
• Brakes – 7.50 per cent
• Tyres – 5.80 per cent
• Visibility – 5.20 per cent
• Body, chassis, structure – 4.00 per cent
• Noise, emissions and leaks – 3.30 per cent
• Steering – 1.90 per cent
• Seat belts and supplementary restraint systems – 1.30 per cent
• Identification of the vehicle – 0.40 per cent

An investigation into the best and worst regions for MOT pass rates showed surprising patterns. The top pass rates are all in South East England, and on the flip side, the most failures fall in Scotland.

The government research, analysed by CarTakeBack.com found some high fail rates in Kirkcaldy (39.45 per cent) and Dundee (39.4 per cent). Over 1 in 3 motorists are bound for an MOT failure there.

Truro, Plymouth, Aberdeen, Exeter, Torquay and Hull didn’t fare much better, all with similarly low pass rates.

In better news, drivers in the London and Essex regions are most likely to pass their MOT with flying colours. This area of Britain fills pretty much all the top spots, displaying the UK’s best pass rates.

Rebecca Currier, marketing manager at CarTakeBack says: “CarTakeBack branches across the UK regularly see cars sold to them that have failed an MOT. Minor fails can often be easily repaired, relatively cheaply. However, when a car fails and it’s likely to cost more than a car is worth to get it to pass an MOT test, those cars often end up being recycled. With a change in the law recently, cars that fail can’t be driven off the MOT centre site, in these instances it’s vital that the cars are collected from the MOT centre for the customer.”

UK locations most likely to pass/fail (DfT data, last updated: 11 Jan 2019)

Highest fail rates:

• Kirkcaldy – 39.45 per cent
• Dundee – 39.40 per cent
• Truro – 35.56 per cent
• Plymouth – 35.36 per cent
• Aberdeen – 34.30 per cent
• Exeter – 33.60 per cent
• Torquay – 33.52 per cent
• Hull – 33.35 per cent
• Perth – 33.03 per cent

Lowest fail rates:

• Enfield – 15.60 per cent
• South East London – 15.88 per cent
• Romford – 16.24 per cent
• Ilford – 16.41 per cent
• East London – 16.65 per cent
• North London – 17.98 per cent
• Bromley – 18.20 per cent
• Croydon – 18.36 per cent
• Luton – 18.71 per cent
• Dartford – 18.74 per cent