Pass rate
71.8%
Below average — 0.4 pts behind the 72.2% that cars this age and mileage manage.
Across 71 recorded tests.
Typical repair bill £35–£87
2004 Mercedes-Benz 320 MOT pass rate
- 2004
- typical 113,202 mi
Only 71 tests of this exact model and year are in the DVSA data, below the 100 we ask for before a page goes in the index. The figures are still shown, because they are the only ones there are.
Most common fault
Brakes
29.4% of faults · 20.9% nationally
mostly worn pads and discs, corroded pipes and a handbrake that will not hold.
Which year to buy
- Best 2007 78.5% pass
- Avoid 2009 70.4% pass
Across the 7 years on record, a spread of 8.1 points. See every year →
- First-attempt pass
- 64.3%
- Typical mileage
- 113k mi
The 2004 Mercedes-Benz 320 MOT pass rate is 71.8% of its MOT tests — about what its age and mileage predict. Brakes is the biggest single reason it fails, at 29.4% of what testers record.
Check your postcode
MOT pass rates are national — type your postcode to see how Mercedes-Benz 320 does in your corner of the country.
Expert verdict
Brakes: 1.4× the national share
Brakes make up 29.4% of everything recorded on the 2004 Mercedes-Benz 320, against 20.9% nationally — 8.5 points above. Have the discs and pads measured rather than glanced at, and ask whether the handbrake holds on a slope.
- When it fails, it costs. Only 18% of this model’s typical repairs come in under £30 in parts — the failures here tend to be the kind that need a garage rather than a bulb.
- Based on a small sample. 71 tests back this page. That is enough to publish and to index, not enough to treat the decimal places as precise — read the pattern, not the second digit.
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 Mercedes-Benz 320? Get an email when these numbers change .
How does the 2004 Mercedes-Benz 320 compare?
Cars of this age and mileage average 72.2%, so this figure is 0.4 points behind what its age and mileage predict. On a first attempt, before any retests, the figure drops to 64.3%. The median 2004 Mercedes-Benz 320 in this dataset had covered 113,202 mi.
70% of the tests on this vehicle ran on Petrol, which passed 72.0% of the time. Pass rates also shift with the test month: tests recorded October–March passed 67.6% of the time, April–September 75.7%.
The single most recorded failure item is "Coil spring fractured or broken", noted on 7.04% of tests.
- 71 recorded tests behind this page.
- 71.8% overall pass rate, 64.3% on a first attempt.
- Across every year of the Mercedes-Benz 320, the average is 75.0% — best year 2007 (78.5%), worst 2009 (70.4%).
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
- 71
- Typical mileage (median)
- 113,202 mi
- Make and model
- Mercedes-Benz 320
- Updated
- 2026-11-05
Source: DVSA anonymised MOT test data (2023–2025), OGL v3.0.
Top part to budget for
Coil Spring
Usually a DIY or independent-garage job.
Does mileage affect the 320 MOT pass rate?
Pass rate by odometer reading. Bar lengths start at 55% so small gaps stay visible.
Fuel type and reliability
Pass rate by fuel type. Petrol is the most common here (70% of tests).
Regional pass rates for the 320
| Region | Tests | Pass rate |
|---|---|---|
| South East | 22 | 63.6% |
| South West | 19 | 63.2% |
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 2004 320
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 2004 320
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 coil springs 7.0% of tests
“coil spring fractured or broken”
Look up inside each wheel arch with a torch, all the way round the spring. A snapped spring usually breaks at the very bottom coil, where a quick glance will not reach.
-
Check the suspension joints 5.6% of tests
“ball joint excessively worn”
With the car parked on level ground, rock the top of each front wheel in and out while someone watches the suspension arm. Clunks, or rubber boots split and greasy, are what testers record here.
-
Check the lights 5.6% of tests
“mirrors slightly damaged”
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.
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 2004 320 through its MOT
Across the 10 items that are recorded most often on this model, the average repair comes to £35–£87 — and 18% of those repairs are parts that cost under £30.
- Average repair across the 10 common items
- £35–£87
- Cheapest common item: mirrors slightly damaged
- £3–£15
- Dearest common item: windscreen damaged
- £80–£200
- Common items a careful owner can do at home
- 80%
- Repairs that still cost under £30
- 18%
Estimates from typical UK parts prices, weighted by how often each item appears in 71 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 320, side by side
7 model years on record, from 2000 to 2009. Across them the pass rate runs from 70.4% to 78.5% — a spread of 8.1 points. The bar under each year is the item that failed it most often.
- 2000 77.6% headlamp lens slightly defective
- 2004 71.8%coil spring fractured or broken
- 2005 72.2% registration plate lamp(s)…
- 2006 75.4% ball joint excessively worn
- 2007 78.5% windscreen damaged but not…
- 2008 75.1% joints constant velocity boot…
- 2009 70.4% ball joint excessively worn
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 2004 Mercedes-Benz 320 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 2004 cars with a similar record
- Volvo V70 71.7%
- Ford Fiesta 71.9%
- Vauxhall Astra 71.6%
- Suzuki Grand Vitara 71.6%
- Audi A2 72.0%
- Volvo XC70 71.5%
Closest pass rates among 2004 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 2004 Mercedes-Benz 320 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 176 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 | 52 | 29.40% | 20.89% | +8.51 |
| Suspension | 44 | 24.90% | 20.98% | +3.92 |
| Tyres | 22 | 12.40% | 19.76% | −7.36 |
| Visibility | 16 | 9.00% | 4.97% | +4.03 |
| Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | 14 | 7.90% | 12.21% | −4.31 |
| Body, chassis, structure | 13 | 7.30% | 5.57% | +1.73 |
| Non-component advisories | 5 | 2.80% | 4.18% | −1.38 |
| Steering | 4 | 2.30% | 2.57% | −0.27 |
| Noise, emissions and leaks | 3 | 1.70% | 5.52% | −3.82 |
| Seat belts and supplementary restraint systems | 3 | 1.70% | 0.82% | +0.88 |
The exact failure items, in the tester's words
| Recorded item | Severity | Tests | Est. cost |
|---|---|---|---|
| Coil spring fractured or broken Suspension | Major | 7.0% | £25–65 |
| Ball joint excessively worn Suspension | Major | 5.6% | £18–45 |
| Mirrors slightly damaged Visibility | Minor | 5.6% | £3–15 |
| Rbt (sp) efficiency below requirements Brakes | Major | 5.6% | £45–110 |
| Windscreen damaged but not adversely affecting driver's view Visibility | Minor | 5.6% | £80–200 |
| Flexible brake hoses slightly chafed Brakes | Minor | 4.2% | £25–70 |
| Parking brake performance inoperative on one side Brakes | Major | 4.2% | £60–150 |
| Has ply or cords exposed Tyres | Major | 2.8% | £45–95 |
| Mirrors slightly loose Visibility | Minor | 2.8% | £3–15 |
| Obviously under inflated Tyres | Minor | 2.8% | £45–95 |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tread depth below requirements of 1.6mm Tyres | Advisory | 15.5% | £45–95 |
| Brake discs in such a condition that it is seriously weakened Brakes | Advisory | 9.9% | £45–110 |
| Brake pads less than 1.5 mm thick Brakes | Advisory | 9.9% | £18–45 |
| Ball joint excessively worn Suspension | Advisory | 8.4% | £18–45 |
| Rigid brake pipes excessively corroded Brakes | Advisory | 8.4% | £80–180 |
| Pins and bushes pin or bush excessively worn Suspension | Advisory | 7.0% | £40–150 |
Pass rate by mileage
| Mileage | Tests | Pass rate | Median odometer |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0-30k | 1 | 100.0% | 16,399 mi |
| 30-60k | 10 | 70.0% | 49,744 mi |
| 60-90k | 8 | 75.0% | 84,382 mi |
| 90-120k | 19 | 84.2% | 102,891 mi |
| 120k+ | 33 | 63.6% | 158,406 mi |
Source: 71 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.
2004 320 MOT questions
What is the MOT pass rate for a 2004 Mercedes-Benz 320?
71.8% of the 71 2004 Mercedes-Benz 320 tests in this dataset passed, against a national average of 72.2% for cars first used in 2004. First-attempt pass rate: 64.3%.
What are the most common MOT failures on a 2004 Mercedes-Benz 320?
The three most recorded items are coil spring fractured or broken (7.04%), ball joint excessively worn (5.63%), mirrors slightly damaged (5.63%). Percentages are the share of tests on this vehicle that recorded the item.
Does mileage affect the 2004 Mercedes-Benz 320 MOT pass rate?
Yes. Cars under 30,000 miles passed 100.0% of the time, falling to 63.6% for those over 120,000 miles. The median 2004 Mercedes-Benz 320 in this dataset had covered 113,202 mi.
Which fuel type is most reliable for a 2004 Mercedes-Benz 320?
Petrol: 72.0% pass rate across 50 tests. Diesel: 71.4% pass rate across 21 tests. Shares are of the tests on this vehicle that recorded each fuel type.
Does the season affect the 2004 Mercedes-Benz 320 MOT pass rate?
Tests recorded in the winter months (October–March) passed 67.6% of the time; summer months (April–September) passed 75.7%. Brakes, tyres and lights are tested harder in bad weather, but the difference is small on most models.