Pass rate
77.8%
Around average — 3.1 pts ahead of the 74.7% that cars this age and mileage manage.
Across 72 recorded tests.
Typical repair bill £37–£87
2010 Mercedes-Benz C MOT pass rate
- 2010
- 4 trims combined
- typical 126,421 mi
Only 72 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
33.9% of faults · 20.9% nationally
mostly worn pads and discs, corroded pipes and a handbrake that will not hold.
Part only £25–£55 for Rigid brake pipes excessively corroded. What fitting it takes →
Which year to buy
- Best 2023 94.4% pass
- Avoid 2005 71.3% pass
Across the 17 years on record, a spread of 23.1 points. See every year →
- First-attempt pass
- 72.9%
- Typical mileage
- 126k mi
The 2010 Mercedes-Benz C MOT pass rate is 77.8% of its MOT tests — 3.1 points ahead of what its age and mileage predict. Brakes is the biggest single reason it fails, at 33.9% of what testers record.
Check your postcode
MOT pass rates are national — type your postcode to see how Mercedes-Benz C does in your corner of the country.
Expert verdict
Brakes: 1.6× the national share
Brakes make up 33.9% of everything recorded on the 2010 Mercedes-Benz C, against 20.9% nationally — 13.0 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 74.7% and this one manages 77.8% — 3.1 points ahead of what its age and mileage predict.
- When it fails, it costs. Only 13% 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.
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 C? Get an email when these numbers change .
Every Mercedes-Benz C first registered in 2010 is combined here — 4 trim and body variants in total — so the sample is as large as the DVSA data allows.
How does the 2010 Mercedes-Benz C compare?
Cars of this age and mileage average 74.7%, so this figure is 3.1 points ahead of what its age and mileage predict. On a first attempt, before any retests, the figure drops to 72.9%. The median 2010 Mercedes-Benz C in this dataset had covered 126,421 mi.
The most common fuel recorded here is Diesel — 78% of tests, with a 80.4% pass rate.
The single most recorded failure item is "Ball joint excessively worn", noted on 5.56% of tests.
- 72 recorded tests behind this page.
- 77.8% overall pass rate, 72.9% on a first attempt.
- Across every year of the Mercedes-Benz C, the average is 87.7% — best year 2023 (94.4%), worst 2005 (71.3%).
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
- 72
- Typical mileage (median)
- 126,421 mi
- Make and model
- Mercedes-Benz C
- Updated
- 2026-11-05
Source: DVSA anonymised MOT test data (2023–2025), OGL v3.0.
Top part to budget for
Ball Joint
Usually a DIY or independent-garage job.
Does mileage affect the C MOT pass rate?
Pass rate by odometer reading. Bar lengths start at 60% so small gaps stay visible.
Fuel type and reliability
Pass rate by fuel type. Diesel is the most common here (78% of tests).
Regional pass rates for the C
| Region | Tests | Pass rate |
|---|---|---|
| South East | 22 | 77.3% |
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 2010 C
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 2010 C
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 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 brake pipes 5.6% of tests
“rigid brake pipes excessively corroded”
Brake pipes run under the car, usually in front of the rear wheels. Flaking or crusty metal is what fails; a light dusting of surface rust does not. Worth asking a garage to look while it is on a ramp.
-
Check the coil springs 4.2% 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.
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 2010 C through its MOT
Across the 10 items that are recorded most often on this model, the average repair comes to £37–£87 — and 13% of those repairs are parts that cost under £30.
- Average repair across the 10 common items
- £37–£87
- Cheapest common item: side repeaters not working
- £5–£25
- Dearest common item: rigid brake pipes excessively corroded
- £80–£180
- Common items a careful owner can do at home
- 80%
- Repairs that still cost under £30
- 13%
Estimates from typical UK parts prices, weighted by how often each item appears in 72 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 C, side by side
17 model years on record, from 2000 to 2023. Across them the pass rate runs from 71.3% to 94.4% — a spread of 23.1 points. The bar under each year is the item that failed it most often.
- 2000 78.1% coil spring fractured or broken
- 2001 76.8% coil spring fractured or broken
- 2002 75.4% registration plate lamp(s)…
- 2003 76.5% windscreen damaged but not…
- 2004 73.6% ball joint excessively worn
- 2005 71.3% coil spring fractured or broken
- 2006 75.6% ball joint excessively worn
- 2007 77.3% ball joint excessively worn
- 2008 77.6% ball joint excessively worn
- 2009 74.9% ball joint excessively worn
- 2010 77.8%ball joint excessively worn
- 2018 86.2% windscreen damaged but not…
- 2019 89.2% windscreen damaged but not…
- 2020 88.7% windscreen damaged but not…
- 2021 90.3% windscreen damaged but not…
- 2022 91.1% has a cut in excess of the…
- 2023 94.4% windscreen damaged but 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 2010 Mercedes-Benz C 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 2010 cars with a similar record
- Land Rover Freelander 77.8%
- BMW 120 77.8%
- Suzuki Jimny 77.7%
- Nissan Pixo 77.9%
- Toyota Verso 77.9%
- Volkswagen Touareg 77.9%
Closest pass rates among 2010 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 2010 Mercedes-Benz C 10 failure items · 6 advisories · 7 inspection categories · mileage brackets · all of it in the page, none of it above the fold
Every inspection category
Shares of the 115 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 | 39 | 33.90% | 20.89% | +13.01 |
| Suspension | 27 | 23.50% | 20.98% | +2.52 |
| Tyres | 20 | 17.40% | 19.76% | −2.36 |
| Noise, emissions and leaks | 13 | 11.30% | 5.52% | +5.78 |
| Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | 8 | 7.00% | 12.21% | −5.21 |
| Non-component advisories | 7 | 6.10% | 4.18% | +1.92 |
| Seat belts and supplementary restraint systems | 1 | 0.90% | 0.82% | +0.08 |
The exact failure items, in the tester's words
| Recorded item | Severity | Tests | Est. cost |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ball joint excessively worn Suspension | Major | 5.6% | £18–45 |
| Rigid brake pipes excessively corroded Brakes | Major | 5.6% | £80–180 |
| Coil spring fractured or broken Suspension | Major | 4.2% | £25–65 |
| Rbt (sp) efficiency below requirements Brakes | Major | 4.2% | £45–110 |
| Side repeaters not working Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | Major | 4.2% | £5–25 |
| Has ply or cords exposed Tyres | Major | 2.8% | £45–95 |
| Ball joint dust cover severely deteriorated Suspension | Minor | 1.4% | £18–45 |
| Has a cut in excess of the requirements deep enough to reach the ply or cords Tyres | Major | 1.4% | £45–95 |
| Has a tear, caused by separation or partial failure of its structure Tyres | Major | 1.4% | £45–95 |
| Headlamp aim projected beam image is obviously incorrect Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | Rectified | 1.4% | £30–80 |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Engine oil leaks leaking excessively from engine Noise, emissions and leaks | Advisory | 15.3% | £200–700 |
| Rigid brake pipes excessively corroded Brakes | Advisory | 12.5% | £80–180 |
| Tread depth below requirements of 1.6mm Tyres | Advisory | 12.5% | £45–95 |
| Brake discs in such a condition that it is seriously weakened Brakes | Advisory | 11.1% | £45–110 |
| Ball joint excessively worn Suspension | Advisory | 6.9% | £18–45 |
| Brake pads less than 1.5 mm thick Brakes | Advisory | 6.9% | £18–45 |
Pass rate by mileage
| Mileage | Tests | Pass rate | Median odometer |
|---|---|---|---|
| 30-60k | 1 | 100.0% | 56,347 mi |
| 60-90k | 13 | 92.3% | 77,258 mi |
| 90-120k | 17 | 88.2% | 104,954 mi |
| 120k+ | 41 | 68.3% | 147,711 mi |
Source: 72 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.
2010 C MOT questions
What is the MOT pass rate for a 2010 Mercedes-Benz C?
77.8% of the 72 2010 Mercedes-Benz C tests in this dataset passed, against a national average of 74.7% for cars first used in 2010. First-attempt pass rate: 72.9%.
What are the most common MOT failures on a 2010 Mercedes-Benz C?
The three most recorded items are ball joint excessively worn (5.56%), rigid brake pipes excessively corroded (5.56%), coil spring fractured or broken (4.17%). Percentages are the share of tests on this vehicle that recorded the item.
Does mileage affect the 2010 Mercedes-Benz C MOT pass rate?
Yes. Cars under 30,000 miles passed 100.0% of the time, falling to 68.3% for those over 120,000 miles. The median 2010 Mercedes-Benz C in this dataset had covered 126,421 mi.
Which fuel type is most reliable for a 2010 Mercedes-Benz C?
Diesel: 80.4% pass rate across 56 tests. Petrol: 68.8% pass rate across 16 tests. Shares are of the tests on this vehicle that recorded each fuel type.