MOT fail rates

Mercedes-Benz Clk MOT fail rate by age

How often the Mercedes-Benz Clk fails its MOT at each age, compared with all cars of the same age, and what it fails on. From 121,510 DVSA MOT tests taken 2022 to 2025.

MOT data updated 22 September 2026

At 18 years, the most tested age

MOT fail rate at age 18 (n=16,271)38.8%

All cars at 18 years (n=3,261,622)43.3%

Median mileage at test102,902

All cars, median mileage105,218

71 of 238 model groups with enough tests fail less often at 18 years.

What stands out

At 13 years the Mercedes-Benz Clk fails 37.9% of MOTs (3,310 tests), about the same as the 38.3% for all cars that age. At 25 years it fails 31.6% (2,078 tests), 4.7 points below the 36.3% average.
The gap is widest at 22 years: 8.1 points below all cars.
Its most common structural or mechanical fail item at 18 years: Suspension ball joint worn, at 9.2 per 100 MOTs.

MOT fail rate by age

Solid line: this model. Dashed line: all cars at the same age.

Mercedes-Benz Clk: share of MOT tests that failed, by age, against all cars. Ages with fewer than 1,000 tests are not shown.
Age	MOT fail rate	Tests (n)	All cars	Difference	Median mileage
13 years	37.9%	3,310	38.3%	−0.4 pts	87,385 miles
14 years	38.4%	6,134	40.3%	−1.8 pts	92,602 miles
15 years	38.5%	10,186	41.6%	−3.1 pts	96,577 miles
16 years	39.2%	13,481	42.6%	−3.4 pts	99,842 miles
17 years	39.3%	14,881	43.1%	−3.8 pts	102,504 miles
18 years	38.8%	16,271	43.3%	−4.5 pts	102,902 miles
19 years	38.4%	15,419	43.2%	−4.8 pts	102,761 miles
20 years	37.6%	13,220	42.8%	−5.2 pts	103,524 miles
21 years	35.8%	10,286	42.1%	−6.2 pts	102,954 miles
22 years	32.9%	7,370	41.0%	−8.1 pts	102,039 miles
23 years	33.2%	5,321	39.6%	−6.5 pts	101,995 miles
24 years	30.2%	3,553	37.8%	−7.6 pts	99,967 miles
25 years	31.6%	2,078	36.3%	−4.7 pts	98,374 miles

Most common fail items at 18 years

Split into structural or mechanical items and wear items. Wear items (tyres, brake pads, wipers, bulbs) say more about upkeep than about the design.

Structural and mechanical

Fail item	Per 100 MOTs
Suspension ball joint worn Major	9.2
Coil spring broken Major	8.1
Suspension arm bush worn Major	3.4
Linkage ball joint dust cover: ball joint dust cover no longer prevents the ingress of dirt Major	3.3
Malfunction indicator lamp: inoperative or indicates a malfunction Major	3.3
Rigid brake pipes: excessively corroded Major	3.2

Out of 16,271 MOTs. A test with two faults counts twice.

Wear and upkeep

Fail item	Per 100 MOTs
Headlamp aim: projected beam image is obviously incorrect Major	6.2
Tyre tread below 1.6 mm Dangerous	4.1
Side/position light not working Major	2.9
Wipers not clearing screen Major	2.7

Out of 16,271 MOTs. A test with two faults counts twice.

Other models at 18 years

Model	MOT fail rate	Tests (n)	All cars
Mercedes-Benz C-Class	41.0%	43,299	43.3%
Mercedes-Benz E-Class	32.3%	19,574	43.3%
Mercedes-Benz A-Class	42.7%	15,715	43.3%

MOT fail rate by first-use year

Each year has its own page: the fail rate for cars first used that year at each MOT from 2022 to 2025 with at least 1,000 tests, the most common faults at that age, and the car tax and ULEZ rules for that year.

First-use year data updated 28 September 2026.

Latest MOT age with at least 1,000 tests for each first-use year.
First used	Age at test	MOT fail rate	Tests (n)	All cars
1999	24 years in 2023	32.9%	1,032	37.8%
2000	24 years in 2024	27.0%	1,058	37.8%
2001	24 years in 2025	30.8%	1,130	37.8%
2002	23 years in 2025	34.1%	1,336	39.6%
2003	22 years in 2025	33.9%	2,444	41.0%
2004	21 years in 2025	36.6%	3,466	42.1%
2005	20 years in 2025	37.5%	3,436	42.8%
2006	19 years in 2025	37.3%	2,851	43.2%
2007	18 years in 2025	39.2%	3,417	43.3%
2008	17 years in 2025	39.0%	2,461	43.1%
2009	16 years in 2025	39.2%	2,763	42.6%

More on the Mercedes-Benz Clk

Read this with care. A fail rate is not a measure of build quality. How far cars are driven, how they are used and how well owners maintain them all change it, and wear items such as tyres and brake pads are common fails. Compare a model only with cars of the same age. Methodology and limits.

Looking at one Mercedes-Benz Clk?

These are figures for the model, not for one car. The VetTheCar Buying Report looks at a single car: its MOT tests, defects, advisories and mileage readings.

See an example report Browse the car tools

Source

Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Source: DVSA anonymised MOT test data, class 4 normal MOT tests, 2022 to 2025. MOT data updated 22 September 2026.

Not affiliated with or endorsed by DVSA. How we calculate these figures · Data sources