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Brake efficiency repair garage rates and how often MOTs call for it

What UK garages charge per hour, from ONS price quotes, and how often MOT tests fail on the items this repair fixes, from 130,233,413 DVSA MOT tests (2022 to 2025).

Prices updated . MOT data updated .

Garage labour rates

No public source records the price of this whole job, and the time it takes varies from car to car, so we do not publish a single figure. Garages charge by the hour, so ask for a quote that lists labour time and parts. The rates below are what UK garages charge per hour.

Local garage labour, per hour (65 shops)£78
Local garage, middle half£70 to £96
Main dealer labour, per hour (62 shops)£156
Main dealer, middle half£144 to £174

Median hourly rate charged for car repairs, from 1,058 local garage and 953 main dealer price quotes collected by the ONS, September 2025 to August 2026. The same shops are priced each month, so the number of shops is the real sample.

MOT defects this repair fixes

Records per 100 MOT tests at all ages (n=130,233,413 tests).

How often by age

All cars: 0.17 fail items per 100 MOTs that this repair fixes (n=130,233,413 tests), highest at 25 years with 1.31 per 100 (n=313,355). A test with two such items counts twice.

Fail items fixed by brake efficiency repair, per 100 MOT tests of cars at each age.
AgePer 100 MOTsTests (n)
3 years0.0278,016,463
4 years0.0338,699,937
5 years0.0409,425,360
6 years0.04910,382,720
7 years0.06310,537,318
8 years0.08110,440,457
9 years0.119,949,012
10 years0.159,049,507
11 years0.208,087,514
12 years0.237,303,151
13 years0.246,612,160
14 years0.236,054,526
15 years0.215,591,675
16 years0.224,858,625
17 years0.274,040,458
18 years0.333,261,622
19 years0.442,479,858
20 years0.571,845,952
21 years0.731,321,417
22 years0.88913,980
23 years1.02619,531
24 years1.18428,815
25 years1.31313,355

Models that fail on these items more often

At least 1.3 times the rate of cars of the same ages and fuel, over ages with at least 1,000 tests each and 20,000 in total. Each generation of a model is compared on its own. 12 of these have their own page.

ModelTimes as oftenTests (n)
Hyundai Ioniqat least 6.6151,341
Suzuki Jimnyat least 5.098,308
Kia Niroat least 3.3237,586
MG TFat least 3.236,093
Mercedes-Benz B-Classat least 3.0290,232
Renault Masterat least 2.763,499
Volkswagen Lupoat least 2.524,196
Mazda Bongoat least 2.535,066
Fiat Ducatoat least 2.4272,846
Hyundai ix35at least 2.1209,126
Land Rover Defenderfirst used before 2020at least 2.0291,433
Fiat Dobloat least 1.8190,103
Toyota Hiluxat least 1.7278,401
Mercedes-Benz A-Classat least 1.61,360,594
Volkswagen Caravelleat least 1.659,973
Peugeot Boxerat least 1.3203,202

Models that fail on these items less often

At most 0.7 times the rate of cars of the same ages and fuel, on the same rules.

No model meets the rule.

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.

Other repairs

All repair costs All MOT defects

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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, and the MOT inspection manual published on GOV.UK. Prices: ONS consumer price inflation price quotes, September 2025 to August 2026, UK.

MOT data updated . Prices updated .

Not affiliated with or endorsed by DVSA or the Office for National Statistics. How we calculate these figures · Data sources