Mercedes-Benz C-Class MOT reliability

Mercedes-Benz C-Classs passed their MOT first time 64% of the time across 36 tests in 2025. 321,750 are still licensed in Great Britain.

Example photo of a Mercedes-Benz C-Class — Photo: Alexander-93 · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons

These figures come from 36 MOT tests. That's a fairly small number of cars, so they may not be typical of these cars as a whole.

First-time pass rate

64%

MOTs analysed

36

Still licensed (GB)

321,750

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

2009 petrol

4 MOTs

These figures come from only 4 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.

Passed first time 50%. Typical mileage 93,315 (most between 84,785 and 98,964).

2012: 86% → 2013: 60% → 2014: 67% → 2015: 40% → 2016: 50% → 2017: 57% → 2018: 100% → 2019: 50% → 2020: 83% → 2021: 60% → 2022: 100% → 2023: 50% → 2024: 80% → 2025: 50%

Most common failures

Ball joint excessively worn (50.0%)

2009 diesel

1 MOT

These figures come from only 1 MOT test. 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.

Passed first time 100%. Typical mileage 80,737 (most between 80,737 and 80,737).

2012: 100% → 2013: 50% → 2014: 100% → 2015: 75% → 2016: 75% → 2017: 25% → 2018: 75% → 2019: 100% → 2020: 33% → 2021: 33% → 2022: 67% → 2023: 50% → 2024: 100% → 2025: 100%

Most common failures

Where 2009 C-Classs fail

Suspension & axles

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.