Repair costs

Suspension arm bush replacement 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 22 September 2026. MOT data updated 28 September 2026.

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No public source records the price of this whole job, and the time it takes varies from car to car, so we do not publish a single figure.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

Suspension arm pin or bush worn but not resulting in excessive movement4.92 per 100
Suspension arm pin or bush excessively worn1.19 per 100
Suspension arm corroded but not seriously weakened1.08 per 100
Anti-roll bar pin or bush worn but not resulting in excessive movement0.37 per 100
Anti-roll bar pin or bush excessively worn0.098 per 100
Suspension arm corroded and seriously weakened0.097 per 100

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

How often by age

All cars: 1.38 fail items per 100 MOTs that this repair fixes (n=130,233,413 tests), highest at 18 years with 2.81 per 100 (n=3,261,622). A test with two such items counts twice.

Fail items fixed by suspension arm bush replacement, per 100 MOT tests of cars at each age.
Age	Per 100 MOTs	Tests (n)
3 years	0.078	8,016,463
4 years	0.13	8,699,937
5 years	0.25	9,425,360
6 years	0.42	10,382,720
7 years	0.66	10,537,318
8 years	0.94	10,440,457
9 years	1.22	9,949,012
10 years	1.53	9,049,507
11 years	1.83	8,087,514
12 years	2.08	7,303,151
13 years	2.32	6,612,160
14 years	2.53	6,054,526
15 years	2.61	5,591,675
16 years	2.69	4,858,625
17 years	2.77	4,040,458
18 years	2.81	3,261,622
19 years	2.80	2,479,858
20 years	2.73	1,845,952
21 years	2.53	1,321,417
22 years	2.29	913,980
23 years	2.12	619,531
24 years	1.81	428,815
25 years	1.57	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. 47 of these have their own page.

Model	Times as often	Tests (n)
Fiat 500	at least 4.1	1,394,433
Skoda Rapid	at least 3.9	89,648
SEAT Toledofirst used 2012 or later	at least 3.9	20,583
Jeep Cherokeefirst used 2014 or later	at least 3.6	21,172
London Taxis International TX4	at least 3.5	53,539
Skoda Kodiaq	at least 3.5	134,246
Chevrolet Aveo	at least 3.4	36,812
Volkswagen Caddy	at least 3.1	587,699
SEAT Alhambra	at least 3.1	110,632
Fiat 500L	at least 3.0	85,411
Audi A1	at least 2.8	865,891
Volkswagen CC	at least 2.8	56,184
SEAT Ibiza	at least 2.8	775,282
Volkswagen Sharan	at least 2.7	145,752
Tesla Model 3	at least 2.7	192,551
MG 3	at least 2.7	81,125
Ford Tourneo	at least 2.5	55,404
Volkswagen Tiguan	at least 2.5	901,561
Mazda 5	at least 2.4	44,929
Vauxhall Antara	at least 2.3	83,963
Fiat Panda	at least 2.3	362,907
Rover 75	at least 2.3	33,751
Suzuki Ignisfirst used 2016 or later	at least 2.3	86,194
Nissan Note	at least 2.2	620,623
Nissan Qashqai	at least 2.2	2,264,112

42 more models

Model	Times as often	Tests (n)
Volkswagen Beetle	at least 2.2	180,577
Alfa Romeo Giulietta	at least 2.0	104,085
Ford Transit	at least 2.0	1,227,954
Nissan NV200	at least 2.0	122,396
Skoda Fabia	at least 2.0	937,544
Nissan Micra	at least 1.9	994,896
BMW X1	at least 1.9	414,040
Skoda Yeti	at least 1.9	303,988
Subaru Forester	at least 1.9	64,837
Nissan Juke	at least 1.9	1,225,209
Ford Ka	at least 1.9	743,190
Volkswagen Polo	at least 1.8	2,506,053
Chevrolet Captiva	at least 1.8	25,550
Ford S-Max	at least 1.8	301,431
Isuzu D-Max	at least 1.8	134,777
DS DS5	at least 1.8	20,165
Lexus NX	at least 1.8	105,372
Land Rover Discovery	at least 1.7	591,956
Skoda Superb	at least 1.7	248,705
Ford Galaxy	at least 1.6	251,657
Nissan X-Trail	at least 1.6	370,278
Skoda Karoq	at least 1.6	184,189
Volkswagen Passat	at least 1.6	792,205
Volvo C30	at least 1.6	93,795
Jaguar X-Type	at least 1.6	111,254
Volkswagen Jetta	at least 1.5	56,076
Audi Q3	at least 1.5	499,272
Hyundai Kona	at least 1.5	150,440
Fiat Bravo	at least 1.5	20,980
Hyundai Tucsonfirst used before 2015	at least 1.5	21,949
Citroen C5	at least 1.5	77,525
Subaru XV	at least 1.5	25,118
Ford Mondeo	at least 1.4	817,456
Abarth 500	at least 1.4	102,099
Volvo V50	at least 1.4	126,765
Volkswagen Amarok	at least 1.4	82,102
Kia Ceed	at least 1.4	487,429
Volkswagen Touran	at least 1.3	302,847
Skoda Roomster	at least 1.3	75,084
Volvo S40	at least 1.3	76,806
Skoda Citigo	at least 1.3	210,005
Tesla Model S	at least 1.3	41,739

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 0.6	298,696
Porsche 911	at most 0.6	174,386
Land Rover Range Rover Evoque	at most 0.7	704,715
MINI Countryman	at most 0.7	415,833

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.

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Brake imbalance repairlabour rate
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Brake efficiency repairlabour rate
Headlight mounting repairlabour rate
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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