Pass rate
88.7%
Above average — 15.6 pts ahead of the 73.1% that cars this age and mileage manage.
Across 1,699 recorded tests.
Typical repair bill £24–£74
2008 Audi R8 MOT pass rate
- 2008
- typical 50,764 mi
Check your postcode
Most common fault
Brakes
29.9% of faults · 20.9% nationally
mostly worn pads and discs, corroded pipes and a handbrake that will not hold.
Which year to buy
- Best 2020 96.5% pass
- Avoid 2008 88.7% pass · this year
Across the 15 years on record, a spread of 7.8 points. See every year →
- First-attempt pass
- 87.8%
- Typical mileage
- 51k mi
The 2008 Audi R8 MOT pass rate is 88.7% of its MOT tests — 15.6 points ahead of what its age and mileage predict. Brakes is the biggest single reason it fails, at 29.9% of what testers record.
Expert verdict
Brakes: 1.4× the national share
Brakes make up 29.9% of everything recorded on the 2008 Audi R8, against 20.9% nationally — 9.0 points above. Have the discs and pads measured rather than glanced at, and ask whether the handbrake holds on a slope.
- Beats its own age and mileage. Once you allow for how old and how far these cars have been driven, the expected pass rate is 73.1% and this one manages 88.7% — 15.6 points ahead of what its age and mileage predict.
Written from this page's own figures: fault shares against the national composition, the like-for-like pass rate, and the priced repair list. How these are worked out
Watching a Audi R8? Get an email when these numbers change .
How does the 2008 Audi R8 compare?
Cars of this age and mileage average 73.1%, so this figure is 15.6 points ahead of what its age and mileage predict. On a first attempt, before any retests, the figure drops to 87.8%. The median 2008 Audi R8 in this dataset had covered 50,764 mi.
Pass rates also shift with the test month: tests recorded October–March passed 88.4% of the time, April–September 88.9%.
The single most recorded failure item is "Rear fog lamp not working", noted on 3.24% of tests.
- 1,699 recorded tests behind this page.
- 88.7% overall pass rate, 87.8% on a first attempt.
- Across every year of the Audi R8, the average is 92.3% — best year 2020 (96.5%), worst 2008 (88.7%).
Figures count every completed test on this vehicle-year in the dataset, including retests. See methodology for the exact definition.
This page's data
- Tests analysed
- 1,699
- Typical mileage (median)
- 50,764 mi
- Make and model
- Audi R8
- Updated
- 2026-11-07
Source: DVSA anonymised MOT test data (2023–2025), OGL v3.0.
Top part to budget for
Bulb
Usually a DIY or independent-garage job.
Does mileage affect the R8 MOT pass rate?
Pass rate by odometer reading. Bar lengths start at 73% so small gaps stay visible.
Where the Audi R8 is most common
Across all R8 model years on record (2007–2021): 6,689 Audi R8 cars tested in a recordable postcode area, across 11,706 tests. Birmingham (B) has the most, with 217 cars tested there. Cars are counted by the postcode area of the MOT station, so this is where they were tested, not necessarily where their owners live.
| # | Postcode area | Cars | Pass rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Birmingham (B) | 217 | 94.3% |
| 2 | Swindon (SN) | 180 | 88.5% |
| 3 | Guildford (GU) | 165 | 90.0% |
| 4 | Chelmsford (CM) | 143 | 91.6% |
| 5 | Leicester (LE) | 135 | 94.2% |
| 6 | Derby (DE) | 134 | 98.1% |
| 7 | Ashford (TN) | 127 | 94.6% |
| 8 | Reading (RG) | 124 | 93.7% |
| 9 | High Wycombe (HP) | 117 | 93.2% |
| 10 | Crawley (RH) | 116 | 89.8% |
| 11 | Coventry (CV) | 115 | 93.3% |
| 12 | Peterborough (PE) | 109 | 95.6% |
| 13 | Nottingham (NG) | 106 | 92.5% |
| 14 | Sheffield (S) | 106 | 91.1% |
| 15 | Northampton (NN) | 104 | 92.7% |
| 16 | Milton Keynes (MK) | 102 | 93.9% |
| 17 | Hounslow (TW) | 95 | 91.5% |
| 18 | Leeds (LS) | 94 | 90.2% |
| 19 | Cardiff (CF) | 91 | 94.8% |
| 20 | Glasgow (G) | 90 | 88.2% |
The twenty areas with the most Audi R8 cars in the record, sorted by car count — sort the columns for a different question. Cars tested at a station whose postcode area could not be resolved are counted in the model's total but in no area, so the shares add up to slightly under 100% even across every area, and an area's cars are a subset of the model's. Pass rate is blank below 30 tests in an area, where a percentage is noise rather than a finding. How this model's pass rate varies by postcode →
Regional pass rates for the R8
| Region | Tests | Pass rate |
|---|---|---|
| South East | 431 | 86.8% |
| East of England | 249 | 91.6% |
| South West | 191 | 86.4% |
| North West | 164 | 87.8% |
| West Midlands | 138 | 94.2% |
| East Midlands | 130 | 91.5% |
| Scotland | 112 | 84.8% |
| Yorkshire | 94 | 84.0% |
| Wales | 75 | 89.3% |
| London | 58 | 93.1% |
| North East | 57 | 91.2% |
Regions come from the postcode area recorded at the test station. Areas on region borders are assigned to the region with the majority of their population.
What fails a 2008 R8
Everything a tester recorded on this vehicle, grouped into the inspection sections that produced it. The notch on each bar is the national share, so you can see at a glance whether this car is unusual or just ordinary.
A test can record several items, so these percentages do not add up to 100%. The exact strings, with prices, are in the full DVSA record at the bottom of this page.
Before your test
Three checks worth doing on a 2008 R8
These are not generic tips — they are the faults recorded most often on this exact model, rewritten as things you can check yourself. All three take about ten minutes and cost nothing.
-
Check the lights 3.2% of tests
“rear fog lamp not working”
Switch everything on and walk round the car: both headlamps on dip and main, every indicator, both brake lights, reverse, fog and the two number-plate lamps. A bulb is a few pounds and a five-minute job.
-
Check the shock absorbers 2.3% of tests
“shock absorbers has a serious fluid leak”
Press down hard on each corner of the car and let go. It should settle in one bounce; if it keeps rocking, or you can see oil weeping down a shock absorber, that is the fault a tester will find.
-
Check the exhaust and emissions 0.9% of tests
“catalyst emissions Lambda reading after 2nd fast idle outside specified limits”
Listen for a blow at idle and have someone rev it gently. Then look at the tailpipe smoke: blue is oil, white when warm is coolant, black is over-fuelling. Any of those and the emissions test is the least of it.
Shares are the proportion of tests on this vehicle that recorded the item, so they overlap: one test can record several.
What it costs to get a 2008 R8 through its MOT
Across the 10 items that are recorded most often on this model, the average repair comes to £24–£74 — and 47% of those repairs are parts that cost under £30.
- Average repair across the 10 common items
- £24–£74
- Cheapest common item: rear fog lamp not working
- £3–£15
- Dearest common item: catalyst emissions lambda reading after 2nd…
- £60–£250
- Common items a careful owner can do at home
- 70%
- Repairs that still cost under £30
- 47%
Estimates from typical UK parts prices, weighted by how often each item appears in 1,699 MOT tests on this vehicle. They exclude diagnostics, retest fees and garage labour where the part is a DIY fit, and they are not figures from the DVSA dataset. Older and higher-mileage examples cost more than the average. How these estimates are built → · All MOT repair costs → · Cheapest cars to put through a test →
Every year of the R8, side by side
15 model years on record, from 2007 to 2021. Across them the pass rate runs from 88.7% to 96.5% — a spread of 7.8 points. The bar under each year is the item that failed it most often.
- 2007 89.3% rear fog lamp not working
- 2008 88.7%rear fog lamp not working
- 2009 90.5% rear fog lamp not working
- 2010 90.9% rear fog lamp not working
- 2011 91.2% rear fog lamp not working
- 2012 90.8% rear fog lamp not working
- 2013 93.5% rear fog lamp not working
- 2014 95.0% shock absorbers has a serious…
- 2015 93.5% shock absorbers has a serious…
- 2016 94.2% windscreen damaged but not…
- 2017 94.7% shock absorbers has a serious…
- 2018 95.7% shock absorbers has a serious…
- 2019 95.0% has a cut in excess of the…
- 2020 96.5% has a cut in excess of the…
- 2021 92.7% registration plates does not…
Colour is the pass rate on a fixed scale, so a block means the same thing on any model. Each year links to its own page with the full fault breakdown.
Compare the 2008 Audi R8 with another year
The raw pass rate mostly measures age. The year comparison adds the like-for-like figure, the mileage bands and the repair bill.
Other 2008 cars with a similar record
- Porsche Boxster 89.4%
- BMW M3 90.0%
- Mercedes-Benz Sl 86.7%
- Porsche 911 91.0%
- Bentley Continental 91.4%
- Toyota Estima 84.8%
Closest pass rates among 2008 cars with at least 2,000 tests, so a small sample cannot flatter itself into the list. See the full rankings: best and worst MOT pass rates.
The full DVSA record for the 2008 Audi R8 10 failure items · 6 advisories · 10 inspection categories · mileage brackets · all of it in the page, none of it above the fold
Every inspection category
Shares of the 1,317 individual items recorded on this vehicle, and the same share across all cars nationally. A single test can record several items, so a row is not a percentage of tests.
| Category | Items | This car | Nationally | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Brakes | 395 | 29.90% | 20.89% | +9.01 |
| Suspension | 292 | 22.10% | 20.98% | +1.12 |
| Tyres | 259 | 19.60% | 19.76% | −0.16 |
| Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | 127 | 9.60% | 12.21% | −2.61 |
| Noise, emissions and leaks | 111 | 8.40% | 5.52% | +2.88 |
| Visibility | 49 | 3.70% | 4.97% | −1.27 |
| Non-component advisories | 29 | 2.20% | 4.18% | −1.98 |
| Identification of the vehicle | 25 | 1.90% | 1.76% | +0.14 |
| Steering | 17 | 1.30% | 2.57% | −1.27 |
| Body, chassis, structure | 13 | 1.00% | 5.57% | −4.57 |
The exact failure items, in the tester's words
| Recorded item | Severity | Tests | Est. cost |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rear fog lamp not working Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | Major | 3.2% | £3–15 |
| Shock absorbers has a serious fluid leak Suspension | Major | 2.3% | £30–75 |
| Catalyst emissions Lambda reading after 2nd fast idle outside specified limits Noise, emissions and leaks | Major | 0.88% | £60–250 |
| Registration plate lamp(s) inoperative in the case of multiple lamps or light sources Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | Minor | 0.88% | £5–20 |
| Windscreen damaged but not adversely affecting driver's view Visibility | Minor | 0.88% | £80–200 |
| Registration plates does not conform to the specified requirements Identification of the vehicle | Major | 0.77% | £20–80 |
| Headlamp aim too high Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | Rectified | 0.53% | £30–80 |
| Rear fog lamp not working Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | Rectified | 0.53% | £3–15 |
| Wipers blade defective Visibility | Minor | 0.53% | £8–22 |
| Brake discs significantly and obviously worn Brakes | Major | 0.47% | £45–110 |
Severity is as recorded: Major and Dangerous fail the test outright; Minor and Advisory do not. Costs are estimates from typical UK parts prices — see how they are built.
What testers noted without failing the car
Advisories are the early warnings — the same parts a year or two before they fail. Reading them is how you tell a car that has been maintained from one that has been patched.
| Recorded item | Severity | Tests | Est. cost |
|---|---|---|---|
| Brake discs in such a condition that it is seriously weakened Brakes | Advisory | 9.7% | £45–110 |
| Shock absorbers has a serious fluid leak Suspension | Advisory | 9.2% | £30–75 |
| Tread depth below requirements of 1.6mm Tyres | Advisory | 5.9% | £45–95 |
| Has a tear, caused by separation or partial failure of its structure Tyres | Advisory | 5.1% | £45–95 |
| Rigid brake pipes excessively corroded Brakes | Advisory | 4.5% | £80–180 |
| Engine oil leaks leaking excessively from engine Noise, emissions and leaks | Advisory | 4.1% | £200–700 |
Pass rate by mileage
| Mileage | Tests | Pass rate | Median odometer |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0-30k | 299 | 93.3% | 20,811 mi |
| 30-60k | 851 | 87.9% | 45,588 mi |
| 60-90k | 456 | 88.2% | 71,501 mi |
| 90-120k | 82 | 84.1% | 98,281 mi |
| 120k+ | 11 | 81.8% | 134,655 mi |
Source: 1,699 recorded tests on this vehicle-year. Every row above is recomputed from the same DVSA extract as the rest of the page — see the methodology.
2008 R8 MOT questions
What is the MOT pass rate for a 2008 Audi R8?
88.7% of the 1,699 2008 Audi R8 tests in this dataset passed, against a national average of 73.1% for cars first used in 2008. First-attempt pass rate: 87.8%.
What are the most common MOT failures on a 2008 Audi R8?
The three most recorded items are rear fog lamp not working (3.24%), shock absorbers has a serious fluid leak (2.30%), catalyst emissions lambda reading after 2nd fast idle outside specified limits (0.88%). Percentages are the share of tests on this vehicle that recorded the item.
Does mileage affect the 2008 Audi R8 MOT pass rate?
Yes. Cars under 30,000 miles passed 93.3% of the time, falling to 81.8% for those over 120,000 miles. The median 2008 Audi R8 in this dataset had covered 50,764 mi.
Does the season affect the 2008 Audi R8 MOT pass rate?
Tests recorded in the winter months (October–March) passed 88.4% of the time; summer months (April–September) passed 88.9%. Brakes, tyres and lights are tested harder in bad weather, but the difference is small on most models.