Residents of the quaint village of Holmer Green, Buckinghamshire have voiced that they are tired of failing their MOT. This is a complaint that I’m sure comes up across the nation as it has recently been published that 40% of all cars and 50% of all vans fail their MOT first time. In fact, when analysing pass rates by post code, Holmer Green are in the top third of the country, with 63% of vehicles in the area passing; statistically, they’re doing quite well! However it would still be nice to see this figure rise to join, or even beat, the leaders in Romford who hold a staggering pass rate of 71%.
Most common points of MOT failure in Holmer Green:
Two of the top ten reasons are down to the very simple matter of headlights; either the aim is blinding other drivers or the bulb itself has blown, both scenarios are very easy to spot and fix. Other common light related issues include the registration lamp or break light performance. These are harder to spot as they are at the back of the car, thus you are unlikely to realise that they are broken unless someone tells you. Perhaps have a family member or friend check them for you every once in a while. Many cars fail their MOT due to the condition of the tyres; some may not have an adequate level of tread while others have small tears that can deem them to be highly dangerous. As a motorist it is your responsibility to regularly check the condition of your tyres for not only your own safety but also that of other road users. The fourth highest reason for failure is windscreen wipers; if your visibility is poor in the rain then you need to replace the wipers, replacement blades can be sourced and fitted very easily. Other common failures are a little more difficult to spot and fix at home and repairs may need to be carried out by a trustworthy garage. These include suspension problems, usually concerning the pins bushes and ball joints of the suspension arm, hand brake insufficiency and issues with the exhaust system.
If, like many, you don’t spot these problems prior to your M.O.T then luckily free retests are often available if you have the work carried out by the garage and the retest is conducted within a certain time period. If you make all the advised regular checks to avoid M.O.T failure and are still having a hard time passing then perhaps you should consider changing to a more reliable car. Below are the cars with the best and worst MOT pass rates. You will notice that the worst performing cars are all older models that may have had very little money spent on upkeep; there also seems to be a running theme in car makes within each category.
Best 10:
- Toyota iQ (91%)
- Audi Q5 (90%)
- Porsche Cayman (86%)
- VW Tiguan (85%)
- Suzuki Splash (85%)
- Audi A5 (84%)
- Hyundai i20 (84%)
- Mercedes SL (83%)
- Porsche 911 (83%)
- Hyundai i10 (82%)
Worst 10:
- Fiat Multipla (38%)
- Fiat Brava (38%)
- Citreon Saxo (39%)
- City Rover (42%)
- Fiat Stilo (42%)
- Daewoo Matiz (42%)
- Renault megane scenic (43%)
- Citreon ZX (43%)
- Peugeot 106 (43%)
- Alfa Romero 156 (43%)
