Mercedes-Benz 3 MOT reliability

Mercedes-Benz 3s passed their MOT first time 50% of the time across 2 tests in 2025.

These figures come from only 2 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

50%

MOTs analysed

2

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

1988 petrol

2 MOTs

Passed first time 50%. Typical mileage 147,003 (most between 147,003 and 147,003).

2007: 0% → 2008: 100% → 2009: 100% → 2010: 100% → 2013: 100% → 2024: 50% → 2025: 50%

Most common failures

Pins and bushes: pin or bush excessively worn (50.0%)
Anchor pins and bushes: anchor pin or bush excessively worn (50.0%)
Washers: provides insufficient washer liquid (50.0%)
Prescribed areas: or chassis has excessive corrosion, seriously affecting its strength within 30cm of a cab mounting (50.0%)
Shackle pins and bushes: shackle pin or bush excessively worn (50.0%)

Where 1988 3s fail

Body, structure & corrosion

50.0%

Suspension & axles

50.0%

Visibility & wipers

50.0%

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.