Pass rate
74.4%
Below average — 13.5 pts behind the 87.9% that cars this age and mileage manage.
Across 305 recorded tests.
Typical repair bill £33–£100
2018 Mercedes-Benz M8 MOT pass rate
- 2018
- typical 195,333 mi
Most common fault
Suspension
26.7% of faults · 21.0% nationally
mostly worn arm bushes, split ball-joint boots and broken coil springs.
Which year to buy
- Best 2019 82.8% pass
- Avoid 2017 73.8% pass
Across the 3 years on record, a spread of 9 points. See every year →
- First-attempt pass
- 66.4%
- Typical mileage
- 195k mi
The 2018 Mercedes-Benz M8 MOT pass rate is 74.4% of its MOT tests — 13.5 points behind what its age and mileage predict. Suspension is the biggest single reason it fails, at 26.7% of what testers record.
Check your postcode
MOT pass rates are national — type your postcode to see how Mercedes-Benz M8 does in your corner of the country.
Expert verdict
Emissions & leaks: 2.4× the national share
Emissions & leaks make up 13.5% of everything recorded on the 2018 Mercedes-Benz M8, against 5.5% nationally — 8.0 points above. Suspension is still the single largest share at 26.7%, but at 21.0% nationally that one is ordinary. A smoky diesel or a leaking joint fails on emissions more often than on wear, so ask for a recent emissions printout.
- Falls short of its own age and mileage. Like-for-like, cars this age and mileage expect about 87.9%; this one manages 74.4% — 13.5 points below. Age is a fair excuse; this is not age.
- When it fails, it costs. Only 12% 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 M8? Get an email when these numbers change .
How does the 2018 Mercedes-Benz M8 compare?
Cars of this age and mileage average 87.9%, so this figure is 13.5 points behind what its age and mileage predict. On a first attempt, before any retests, the figure drops to 66.4%. The median 2018 Mercedes-Benz M8 in this dataset had covered 195,333 mi.
Pass rates also shift with the test month: tests recorded October–March passed 74.4% of the time, April–September 74.4%.
The single most recorded failure item is "Coil spring fractured or broken", noted on 3.61% of tests.
- 305 recorded tests behind this page.
- 74.4% overall pass rate, 66.4% on a first attempt.
- Across every year of the Mercedes-Benz M8, the average is 75.7% — best year 2019 (82.8%), worst 2017 (73.8%).
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
- 305
- Typical mileage (median)
- 195,333 mi
- Make and model
- Mercedes-Benz M8
- 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 M8 MOT pass rate?
Pass rate by odometer reading. Bar lengths start at 64% so small gaps stay visible.
Regional pass rates for the M8
| Region | Tests | Pass rate |
|---|---|---|
| Scotland | 253 | 72.3% |
| West Midlands | 18 | 88.9% |
| East Midlands | 18 | 77.8% |
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 2018 M8
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 2018 M8
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 3.6% 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 3.3% of tests
“linkage ball joint dust cover ball joint dust cover no longer prevents the ingress of dirt”
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 3.0% of tests
“malfunction indicator lamp inoperative or indicates a malfunction”
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 2018 M8 through its MOT
Across the 10 items that are recorded most often on this model, the average repair comes to £33–£100 — and 12% of those repairs are parts that cost under £30.
- Average repair across the 10 common items
- £33–£100
- Cheapest common item: malfunction indicator lamp inoperative or…
- £3–£12
- Dearest common item: emissions not tested unable to be completed
- £60–£250
- Common items a careful owner can do at home
- 60%
- Repairs that still cost under £30
- 12%
Estimates from typical UK parts prices, weighted by how often each item appears in 305 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 M8, side by side
3 model years on record, from 2017 to 2019. Across them the pass rate runs from 73.8% to 82.8% — a spread of 9 points. The bar under each year is the item that failed it most often.
- 2017 73.8% coil spring fractured or broken
- 2018 74.4%coil spring fractured or broken
- 2019 82.8% coil spring fractured or broken
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 2018 Mercedes-Benz M8 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 2018 cars with a similar record
- Renault Zoe 77.5%
- Vauxhall Combo 79.4%
- Fiat 500L 80.7%
- Nissan Navara 80.9%
- Renault Grand Scenic 81.2%
- Hyundai I800 81.8%
Closest pass rates among 2018 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 2018 Mercedes-Benz M8 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 294 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Suspension | 79 | 26.70% | 20.98% | +5.72 |
| Brakes | 68 | 23.00% | 20.89% | +2.11 |
| Tyres | 45 | 15.20% | 19.76% | −4.56 |
| Noise, emissions and leaks | 40 | 13.50% | 5.52% | +7.98 |
| Seat belts and supplementary restraint systems | 16 | 5.40% | 0.82% | +4.58 |
| Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | 12 | 4.10% | 12.21% | −8.11 |
| Body, chassis, structure | 12 | 4.10% | 5.57% | −1.47 |
| Non-component advisories | 10 | 3.40% | 4.18% | −0.78 |
| Visibility | 7 | 2.40% | 4.97% | −2.57 |
| Steering | 5 | 1.70% | 2.57% | −0.87 |
The exact failure items, in the tester's words
| Recorded item | Severity | Tests | Est. cost |
|---|---|---|---|
| Coil spring fractured or broken Suspension | Major | 3.6% | £25–65 |
| Linkage ball joint dust cover ball joint dust cover no longer prevents the ingress of dirt Suspension | Major | 3.3% | £18–45 |
| Rbt (sp) efficiency below requirements Brakes | Major | 3.3% | £45–110 |
| Linkage pins and bushes pin or bush excessively worn Suspension | Major | 3.0% | £40–150 |
| Malfunction indicator lamp inoperative or indicates a malfunction Noise, emissions and leaks | Major | 3.0% | £3–12 |
| Service brake performance excessively binding Brakes | Major | 2.6% | £60–150 |
| Emissions not tested unable to be completed Noise, emissions and leaks | Major | 2.3% | £60–250 |
| Flexible brake hoses slightly twisted Brakes | Minor | 1.6% | £25–70 |
| Flexible stalk damaged Seat belts and supplementary restraint systems | Major | 1.6% | £40–120 |
| Brake pads less than 1.5 mm thick Brakes | Major | 1.3% | £18–45 |
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 | 8.2% | £45–95 |
| Service brake performance excessively binding Brakes | Advisory | 5.9% | £60–150 |
| Shock absorbers has a serious fluid leak Suspension | Advisory | 4.6% | £30–75 |
| Linkage pins and bushes pin or bush excessively worn Suspension | Advisory | 4.3% | £40–150 |
| Non-component advisories Play in steering rack inner joint(s) Non-component advisories | Advisory | 2.6% | £120–300 |
| Has a cut in excess of the requirements deep enough to reach the ply or cords Tyres | Advisory | 2.3% | £45–95 |
Pass rate by mileage
| Mileage | Tests | Pass rate | Median odometer |
|---|---|---|---|
| 60-90k | 7 | 100.0% | 78,945 mi |
| 90-120k | 14 | 92.9% | 105,164 mi |
| 120k+ | 284 | 72.9% | 205,329 mi |
Source: 305 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.
2018 M8 MOT questions
What is the MOT pass rate for a 2018 Mercedes-Benz M8?
74.4% of the 305 2018 Mercedes-Benz M8 tests in this dataset passed, against a national average of 87.9% for cars first used in 2018. First-attempt pass rate: 66.4%.
What are the most common MOT failures on a 2018 Mercedes-Benz M8?
The three most recorded items are coil spring fractured or broken (3.61%), linkage ball joint dust cover ball joint dust cover no longer prevents the ingress of dirt (3.28%), rbt (sp) efficiency below requirements (3.28%). Percentages are the share of tests on this vehicle that recorded the item.
Does mileage affect the 2018 Mercedes-Benz M8 MOT pass rate?
Yes. Cars under 30,000 miles passed 100.0% of the time, falling to 72.9% for those over 120,000 miles. The median 2018 Mercedes-Benz M8 in this dataset had covered 195,333 mi.
Does the season affect the 2018 Mercedes-Benz M8 MOT pass rate?
Tests recorded in the winter months (October–March) passed 74.4% of the time; summer months (April–September) passed 74.4%. Brakes, tyres and lights are tested harder in bad weather, but the difference is small on most models.