Pass rate
91.2%
Above average — 3.3 pts ahead of the 87.9% that cars this age and mileage manage.
Across 4,725 recorded tests.
Typical repair bill £41–£94
2018 Mercedes-Benz Slc MOT pass rate
- 2018
- 3 trims combined
- typical 26,152 mi
Most common fault
Tyres
59.0% of faults · 19.8% nationally
mostly tread below the limit, cuts and sidewall bulges.
Part only £55–£85 for Tread depth below 1.6 mm. What fitting it takes →
1.1 pts down across model years — 5.4% in 2016, 4.3% in 2020.
Which year to buy
- Best 2021 93.9% pass
- Avoid 2016 87.5% pass
Across the 6 years on record, a spread of 6.4 points. See every year →
- First-attempt pass
- 90.4%
- Typical mileage
- 26k mi
The 2018 Mercedes-Benz Slc MOT pass rate is 91.2% of its MOT tests — 3.3 points ahead of what its age and mileage predict. Tyres is the biggest single reason it fails, at 59.0% of what testers record.
Check your postcode
MOT pass rates are national — type your postcode to see how Mercedes-Benz Slc does in your corner of the country.
Expert verdict
Tyres: 3.0× the national share
Tyres make up 59.0% of everything recorded on the 2018 Mercedes-Benz Slc, against 19.8% nationally — 39.2 points above. Check all four tyres yourself, including the inner shoulders, and look at the date stamp — a tyre can pass on tread and still be six years old.
- 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 87.9% and this one manages 91.2% — 3.3 points ahead of what its age and mileage predict.
- When it fails, it costs. Only 17% 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 Slc? Get an email when these numbers change .
Every Mercedes-Benz Slc first registered in 2018 is combined here — 3 trim and body variants in total — so the sample is as large as the DVSA data allows.
How does the 2018 Mercedes-Benz Slc compare?
Cars of this age and mileage average 87.9%, so this figure is 3.3 points ahead of what its age and mileage predict. On a first attempt, before any retests, the figure drops to 90.4%. The median 2018 Mercedes-Benz Slc in this dataset had covered 26,152 mi.
88% of the tests on this vehicle ran on Petrol, which passed 91.7% of the time. Pass rates also shift with the test month: tests recorded October–March passed 91.8% of the time, April–September 90.7%.
The single most recorded failure item is "Has a cut in excess of the requirements deep enough to reach the ply or cords", noted on 1.97% of tests.
- 4,725 recorded tests behind this page.
- 91.2% overall pass rate, 90.4% on a first attempt.
- Across every year of the Mercedes-Benz Slc, the average is 89.1% — best year 2021 (93.9%), worst 2016 (87.5%).
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
- 4,725
- Typical mileage (median)
- 26,152 mi
- Make and model
- Mercedes-Benz Slc
- Updated
- 2026-11-05
Source: DVSA anonymised MOT test data (2023–2025), OGL v3.0.
Top part to budget for
Tyres
Usually a DIY or independent-garage job.
Does mileage affect the Slc MOT pass rate?
Pass rate by odometer reading. Bar lengths start at 63% so small gaps stay visible.
Fuel type and reliability
Pass rate by fuel type. Petrol is the most common here (88% of tests).
Regional pass rates for the Slc
| Region | Tests | Pass rate |
|---|---|---|
| South East | 1,169 | 90.8% |
| East of England | 676 | 90.7% |
| South West | 564 | 89.9% |
| North West | 446 | 94.2% |
| Yorkshire | 394 | 93.7% |
| West Midlands | 350 | 91.1% |
| East Midlands | 309 | 93.5% |
| Scotland | 287 | 87.8% |
| Wales | 217 | 86.6% |
| London | 156 | 92.9% |
| North East | 154 | 92.9% |
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 Slc
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 Slc
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 windscreen 1.4% of tests
“windscreen damaged”
Check the driver’s side of the screen within the swept area for chips and cracks; anything larger than 10mm in the driver’s central view is a fail. Most chips can be resin-repaired for far less than a new screen.
-
Check the suspension joints 0.6% of tests
“ball joint dust cover severely deteriorated”
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 0.5% of tests
“headlamp aim too high”
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 Slc through its MOT
Across the 10 items that are recorded most often on this model, the average repair comes to £41–£94 — and 17% of those repairs are parts that cost under £30.
- Average repair across the 10 common items
- £41–£94
- Cheapest common item: malfunction indicator lamp inoperative or…
- £3–£12
- Dearest common item: windscreen damaged
- £80–£200
- Common items a careful owner can do at home
- 80%
- Repairs that still cost under £30
- 17%
Estimates from typical UK parts prices, weighted by how often each item appears in 4,725 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 Slc, side by side
6 model years on record, from 2016 to 2021. Across them the pass rate runs from 87.5% to 93.9% — a spread of 6.4 points. The bar under each year is the item that failed it most often.
- 2016 87.5% coil spring fractured or broken
- 2017 87.6% has a cut in excess of the…
- 2018 91.2%has a cut in excess of the…
- 2019 92.8% has a cut in excess of the…
- 2020 92.9% has a cut in excess of the…
- 2021 93.9% has a cut in excess of the…
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 Slc 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
- Toyota Aygo 91.1%
- Porsche Cayenne 91.1%
- Subaru Outback 91.1%
- MINI Countryman 91.0%
- Skoda Kodiaq 91.0%
- Kia Niro 91.0%
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 Slc 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 2,752 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tyres | 1,627 | 59.00% | 19.76% | +39.24 |
| Brakes | 327 | 11.90% | 20.89% | −8.99 |
| Suspension | 267 | 9.70% | 20.98% | −11.28 |
| Visibility | 121 | 4.40% | 4.97% | −0.57 |
| Road Wheels | 105 | 3.80% | 0.75% | +3.05 |
| Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | 102 | 3.70% | 12.21% | −8.51 |
| Non-component advisories | 101 | 3.70% | 4.18% | −0.48 |
| Identification of the vehicle | 49 | 1.80% | 1.76% | +0.04 |
| Noise, emissions and leaks | 45 | 1.60% | 5.52% | −3.92 |
| Seat belts and supplementary restraint systems | 8 | 0.30% | 0.82% | −0.52 |
The exact failure items, in the tester's words
| Recorded item | Severity | Tests | Est. cost |
|---|---|---|---|
| Has a cut in excess of the requirements deep enough to reach the ply or cords Tyres | Major | 2.0% | £45–95 |
| Windscreen damaged but not adversely affecting driver's view Visibility | Minor | 1.4% | £80–200 |
| Has ply or cords exposed Tyres | Major | 1.3% | £45–95 |
| Ball joint dust cover severely deteriorated Suspension | Minor | 0.57% | £18–45 |
| Headlamp aim too high Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | Rectified | 0.49% | £30–80 |
| Wipers blade defective Visibility | Minor | 0.49% | £8–22 |
| Anti-lock braking system warning lamp indicates an ABS fault Brakes | Major | 0.44% | £3–15 |
| Coil spring fractured or broken Suspension | Major | 0.42% | £25–65 |
| Malfunction indicator lamp inoperative or indicates a malfunction Noise, emissions and leaks | Major | 0.38% | £3–12 |
| Tread depth below requirements of 1.6mm Tyres | Major | 0.38% | £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 | 13.0% | £45–95 |
| Has a tear, caused by separation or partial failure of its structure Tyres | Advisory | 8.8% | £45–95 |
| Has a cut in excess of the requirements deep enough to reach the ply or cords Tyres | Advisory | 4.1% | £45–95 |
| Brake discs in such a condition that it is seriously weakened Brakes | Advisory | 2.1% | £45–110 |
| Wheel bearings has excessive play Suspension | Advisory | 2.0% | £20–55 |
| Has a bulge, caused by separation or partial failure of its structure Tyres | Advisory | 2.0% | £45–95 |
Pass rate by mileage
| Mileage | Tests | Pass rate | Median odometer |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0-30k | 2,838 | 93.9% | 18,486 mi |
| 30-60k | 1,683 | 87.9% | 40,414 mi |
| 60-90k | 165 | 81.8% | 70,107 mi |
| 90-120k | 32 | 78.1% | 101,347 mi |
| 120k+ | 7 | 71.4% | 133,826 mi |
Source: 4,725 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 Slc MOT questions
What is the MOT pass rate for a 2018 Mercedes-Benz Slc?
91.2% of the 4,725 2018 Mercedes-Benz Slc tests in this dataset passed, against a national average of 87.9% for cars first used in 2018. First-attempt pass rate: 90.4%.
What are the most common MOT failures on a 2018 Mercedes-Benz Slc?
The three most recorded items are has a cut in excess of the requirements deep enough to reach the ply or cords (1.97%), windscreen damaged but not adversely affecting driver's view (1.40%), has ply or cords exposed (1.29%). Percentages are the share of tests on this vehicle that recorded the item.
Does mileage affect the 2018 Mercedes-Benz Slc MOT pass rate?
Yes. Cars under 30,000 miles passed 93.9% of the time, falling to 71.4% for those over 120,000 miles. The median 2018 Mercedes-Benz Slc in this dataset had covered 26,152 mi.
Which fuel type is most reliable for a 2018 Mercedes-Benz Slc?
Petrol: 91.7% pass rate across 4,153 tests. Diesel: 87.6% pass rate across 572 tests. Shares are of the tests on this vehicle that recorded each fuel type.
Does the season affect the 2018 Mercedes-Benz Slc MOT pass rate?
Tests recorded in the winter months (October–March) passed 91.8% of the time; summer months (April–September) passed 90.7%. Brakes, tyres and lights are tested harder in bad weather, but the difference is small on most models.