Repair costs

Exterior bulb replacement cost and how often MOTs call for it

What UK shops charge, 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 22 September 2026. MOT data updated 28 September 2026.

Price, per bulb

Median price (78 shops)£3.99

Middle half of prices£2.50 to £7.99

ONS price quotes for “CAR BULB 12 VOLT SPECIFY WATTS”, September 2025 to August 2026, UK, 1,677 quotes from 78 shops, priced per bulb. This is the price of the bulb. Some cars need a bumper or wheel-arch liner removed to reach it, which adds labour, and many newer cars have sealed LED lamps with no separate bulb. Consumer prices as quoted.

If a garage also charges labour

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

Position lamp not working2.54 per 100
Stop lamp not working1.94 per 100
Registration plate lamp inoperative in the case of a single lamp or all lamps1.09 per 100
Individual direction indicator slightly discoloured0.83 per 100
Rear fog lamp not working0.44 per 100
Individual direction indicator incorrect colour0.41 per 100
Side repeater not working0.40 per 100
Individual direction indicator not working0.20 per 100
Registration plate lamp does not illuminate simultaneously with the position lamps0.17 per 100
Reversing lamp inoperative0.12 per 100

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

How often by age

All cars: 7.33 fail items per 100 MOTs that this repair fixes (n=130,233,413 tests), highest at 17 years with 15.0 per 100 (n=4,040,458). A test with two such items counts twice.

Fail items fixed by exterior bulb replacement, per 100 MOT tests of cars at each age.
Age	Per 100 MOTs	Tests (n)
3 years	0.77	8,016,463
4 years	1.06	8,699,937
5 years	1.52	9,425,360
6 years	2.23	10,382,720
7 years	3.11	10,537,318
8 years	4.22	10,440,457
9 years	5.68	9,949,012
10 years	7.38	9,049,507
11 years	9.31	8,087,514
12 years	11.3	7,303,151
13 years	12.8	6,612,160
14 years	13.9	6,054,526
15 years	14.7	5,591,675
16 years	15.0	4,858,625
17 years	15.0	4,040,458
18 years	15.0	3,261,622
19 years	14.8	2,479,858
20 years	14.5	1,845,952
21 years	14.1	1,321,417
22 years	13.4	913,980
23 years	12.6	619,531
24 years	11.5	428,815
25 years	10.8	313,355

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. 27 of these have their own page.

Model	Times as often	Tests (n)
Mercedes-Benz Citan	at least 4.1	80,122
Toyota Proace	at least 3.5	41,151
Nissan NV200	at least 3.2	122,396
Peugeot Partner	at least 2.8	605,323
Ford Transit Courier	at least 2.8	103,155
SsangYong Korando	at least 2.7	31,615
Citroen Dispatch	at least 2.7	189,276
Vauxhall Antara	at least 2.7	83,963
Citroen Berlingo	at least 2.7	750,010
Ford EcoSport	at least 2.4	402,494
SsangYong Tivoli	at least 2.3	27,007
Isuzu D-Max	at least 2.2	134,777
Hyundai i800	at least 2.2	32,058
Peugeot Expert	at least 2.1	218,991
Citroen C3 Picasso	at least 2.0	22,583
Renault Grand Scenic	at least 1.9	98,535
Peugeot 5008	at least 1.8	130,903
Suzuki Vitarafirst used 2015 or later	at least 1.8	248,462
Chevrolet Spark	at least 1.8	59,796
Ford B-Max	at least 1.7	218,327
Ford Transit	at least 1.7	1,227,954
Fiat 500X	at least 1.7	139,151
Mitsubishi L200	at least 1.6	356,000
Vauxhall Vivaro	at least 1.6	739,286
Citroen C4 Grand Picasso	at least 1.6	88,311

28 more models

Model	Times as often	Tests (n)
Renault Trafic	at least 1.6	428,817
Renault Kangoo	at least 1.6	229,058
Renault Zoe	at least 1.6	74,266
Ford Galaxy	at least 1.6	251,657
Fiat Scudo	at least 1.6	32,566
Citroen C4 Cactus	at least 1.6	82,843
Nissan Primastar	at least 1.5	36,364
Citroen C4	at least 1.5	557,142
Citroen C3	at least 1.5	784,141
Fiat Fiorino	at least 1.5	32,190
DS DS3	at least 1.4	425,461
Peugeot 307	at least 1.4	140,556
Renault Megane	at least 1.4	441,407
Peugeot 2008	at least 1.4	496,383
Peugeot 207	at least 1.4	587,825
Renault Scenic	at least 1.4	175,093
Chevrolet Captiva	at least 1.4	25,550
Suzuki Swift	at least 1.4	532,946
Toyota Hilux	at least 1.4	278,401
Hyundai ix20	at least 1.4	116,300
Kia Venga	at least 1.4	190,286
Renault Clio	at least 1.3	1,326,120
Chevrolet Aveo	at least 1.3	36,812
Citroen C5	at least 1.3	77,525
Peugeot 3008	at least 1.3	542,666
Ford Transit Connect	at least 1.3	676,611
Suzuki Alto	at least 1.3	196,008
Hyundai i30	at least 1.3	422,957

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.

Model	Times as often	Tests (n)
Mercedes-Benz GLC	at most 0.3	298,696
Audi Q5	at most 0.4	422,669
Porsche 911	at most 0.4	174,386
Land Rover Range Rover Evoque	at most 0.5	704,715
Jaguar E-Pace	at most 0.5	114,724
Audi A5	at most 0.5	501,056
Mercedes-Benz GLE	at most 0.5	113,268
Audi Q3	at most 0.5	499,272
Land Rover Range Rover	at most 0.5	352,624
Jaguar XK	at most 0.5	86,405
Honda HR-Vfirst used 2015 or later	at most 0.6	124,839
BMW Z4	at most 0.6	141,225
Volkswagen T-Roc	at most 0.6	260,443
Mercedes-Benz E-Class	at most 0.6	964,062
Audi A7	at most 0.6	67,548
BMW X1	at most 0.6	414,040
Mercedes-Benz CLS	at most 0.6	97,895
Mercedes-Benz S-Class	at most 0.6	107,268
Mercedes-Benz SL	at most 0.6	70,445
Porsche Boxster	at most 0.6	129,291
BMW 4 Series	at most 0.6	417,430
Audi Q2	at most 0.6	261,047
Audi Q7	at most 0.6	191,601
BMW 6 Series	at most 0.6	89,667
Porsche Macan	at most 0.6	115,297

23 more models

Model	Times as often	Tests (n)
Porsche Cayenne	at most 0.6	118,942
Volvo XC40	at most 0.6	229,238
Jaguar F-Pace	at most 0.6	202,046
Volvo V60	at most 0.6	152,693
Skoda Karoq	at most 0.6	184,189
Audi A6	at most 0.7	510,103
BMW 5 Series	at most 0.7	849,601
Skoda Kodiaq	at most 0.7	134,246
Volkswagen Tiguan	at most 0.7	901,561
Bentley Continental	at most 0.7	56,740
BMW M3	at most 0.7	59,765
Land Rover Range Rover Velar	at most 0.7	125,495
Lexus NX	at most 0.7	105,372
MG TF	at most 0.7	36,093
Mercedes-Benz SLK	at most 0.7	227,766
Lexus CT	at most 0.7	123,489
Land Rover Range Rover Sport	at most 0.7	498,033
Jaguar XJ	at most 0.7	92,084
Mazda CX-5	at most 0.7	257,821
Mercedes-Benz GLA	at most 0.7	329,115
SEAT Ateca	at most 0.7	171,168
Mazda MX-5	at most 0.7	348,258
Volkswagen Eos	at most 0.7	49,528

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

Tyre replacement£87.05 median
Headlight alignmentlabour rate
Coil spring replacementlabour rate
Wiper blade replacement£9.99 median
Handbrake repairlabour rate
Brake pad replacementlabour rate
Suspension ball joint replacementlabour rate
Anti-roll bar link replacementlabour rate
Headlight bulb replacement£3.99 median
Engine warning light diagnosislabour rate
Screenwash top-uplabour rate
Suspension arm bush replacementlabour rate
CV boot replacementlabour rate
Track rod end replacementlabour rate
Brake disc and pad replacementlabour rate
Shock absorber replacementlabour rate
Corrosion welding repairlabour rate
Binding brake repairlabour rate
Washer system repairlabour rate
Exhaust repair£212.09 median
Emissions fail repairlabour rate
Brake pipe replacementlabour rate
ABS warning light repairlabour rate
Airbag warning light repairlabour rate
Brake imbalance repairlabour rate
Wheel bearing replacementlabour rate
Tyre pressure sensor replacementlabour rate
Horn repairlabour rate
Number plate replacementlabour rate
Exhaust mounting repairlabour rate
Wheel nut or bolt replacementlabour rate
Steering rack gaiter replacementlabour rate
Brake efficiency repairlabour rate
Headlight mounting repairlabour rate
Headlight unit replacementlabour rate
Headlight lens restorationlabour rate
Swivel pin replacementlabour rate

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 28 September 2026. Prices updated 22 September 2026.

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