Mercedes-Benz 208D MOT reliability

Mercedes-Benz 208Ds passed their MOT first time 67% of the time across 18 tests in 2025.

These figures come from only 18 MOT tests. With so few cars, a single pass or fail changes the percentages a lot, so treat them as a rough guide rather than a true average.

First-time pass rate

67%

MOTs analysed

18

Still licensed (GB)

–

Body type

–

Pass rate by year of first registration

Older cars fail more often, so compare a car with others of the same age. Years with very few MOTs can show extreme pass rates, even 0% or 100%, so give more weight to years with more tests.

In detail:

First registered

1990 diesel

7 MOTs

Passed first time 57%. Typical mileage 86,364 (most between 57,207 and 100,134).

2005: 50% → 2006: 47% → 2007: 56% → 2008: 43% → 2009: 82% → 2010: 58% → 2011: 83% → 2012: 46% → 2013: 50% → 2014: 43% → 2015: 55% → 2016: 71% → 2017: 33% → 2018: 25% → 2019: 33% → 2020: 46% → 2021: 42% → 2022: 38% → 2023: 25% → 2024: 17% → 2025: 57%

Most common failures

Individual direction indicators: not working (14.3%)
Service brake performance: effort inadequate at a wheel (14.3%)
Component mounting prescribed areas: prescribed area excessively corroded significantly reducing structural strength (14.3%)
Service brake performance: efficiency below requirements (14.3%)
Headlamp: not working on main beam (14.3%)

Where 1990 208Ds fail

Brakes

28.6%

Lights & electrics

28.6%

Suspension & axles

14.3%

Visibility & wipers

14.3%

Looking at a particular car?

See its own MOT history, mileage and red flags, compared with these figures. Free.

Based on 2025 initial MOT tests in DVSA's anonymised MOT dataset (cars and light vans). Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Model details: Vehicle data by VehiclesDB.