2013 Mercedes-Benz Slk MOT pass rate

Pass rate

81.5%

Around average — 2.9 pts ahead of the 78.6% that cars this age and mileage manage.

Across 16,273 recorded tests.

Typical repair bill £32–£77

Which year to buy

  • Best 2016 87.2% pass
  • Avoid 2004 75.8% pass

Across the 17 years on record, a spread of 11.4 points. See every year →

First-attempt pass
77.6%
Typical mileage
60k mi

The 2013 Mercedes-Benz Slk MOT pass rate is 81.5% of its MOT tests — 2.9 points ahead of what its age and mileage predict. Tyres is the biggest single reason it fails, at 29.8% of what testers record.

MOT PASS RATES

The 2013 Mercedes-Benz Slk on the real record

81.5% of 2013 Mercedes-Benz Slk MOTs passed — 16,273 tests, 2023–2025

Pass rate

The answer from the DVSA's class-4 MOT records.

Check your postcode

MOT pass rates are national — type your postcode to see how Mercedes-Benz Slk does in your corner of the country.

How one model's pass rate varies by postcode →

Expert verdict

Tyres: 1.5× the national share

Tyres make up 29.8% of everything recorded on the 2013 Mercedes-Benz Slk, against 19.8% nationally — 10.0 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.

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 Slk? Get an email when these numbers change .

How does the 2013 Mercedes-Benz Slk compare?

Cars of this age and mileage average 78.6%, so this figure is 2.9 points ahead of what its age and mileage predict. On a first attempt, before any retests, the figure drops to 77.6%. The median 2013 Mercedes-Benz Slk in this dataset had covered 60,207 mi.

The most common fuel recorded here is Diesel — 73% of tests, with a 80.3% pass rate. Pass rates also shift with the test month: tests recorded October–March passed 81.7% of the time, April–September 81.2%.

The single most recorded failure item is "Coil spring fractured or broken", noted on 4.18% of tests.

  • 16,273 recorded tests behind this page.
  • 81.5% overall pass rate, 77.6% on a first attempt.
  • Across every year of the Mercedes-Benz Slk, the average is 79.9% — best year 2016 (87.2%), worst 2004 (75.8%).

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
16,273
Typical mileage (median)
60,207 mi
Make and model
Mercedes-Benz Slk
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 Slk MOT pass rate?

0-30k 91.0%
30-60k 84.3%
60-90k 78.6%
90-120k 75.8%
120k+ 72.8%

Pass rate by odometer reading. Bar lengths start at 64% so small gaps stay visible.

Fuel type and reliability

Diesel 80.3%
Petrol 84.7%

Pass rate by fuel type. Diesel is the most common here (73% of tests).

Regional pass rates for the Slk

Region Tests Pass rate
South East 3,042 83.5%
East of England 1,945 82.3%
North West 1,829 81.4%
South West 1,796 80.3%
Yorkshire 1,661 81.8%
West Midlands 1,611 82.5%
East Midlands 1,307 80.0%
Scotland 1,200 76.8%
Wales 883 81.5%
North East 727 78.8%
London 270 88.1%

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 2013 Slk

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.

Tyres 29.8%
+10.0 pts vs national national 19.8% Compare tyre prices
Suspension 26.3%
+5.3 pts vs national national 21.0% Price suspension parts
Brakes 26.0%
+5.1 pts vs national national 20.9% Price brakes parts
Lamps & electrics 4.8%
−7.4 pts vs national national 12.2% Order bulbs & wipers
Show the other 6 fault categories
  • Visibility 4.1%
  • Advisories 2.4%
  • Emissions & leaks 2.4%
  • Road wheels 1.6%
  • Identification 1.0%
  • Body & chassis 0.8%

Shares are of every item recorded on 2013 Mercedes-Benz Slk tests — a composition, so they add to 100% across all sections, not per test.

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 2013 Slk

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.

  1. 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.

  2. Check the suspension joints 3.3% of tests

    “linkage ball joint dust cover 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.

  3. Check the windscreen 2.3% 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.

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 2013 Slk through its MOT

Across the 10 items that are recorded most often on this model, the average repair comes to £32–£77 — and 0% of those repairs are parts that cost under £30.

Average repair across the 10 common items
£32–£77
Cheapest common item: linkage ball joint dust cover ball joint dust…
£18–£45
Dearest common item: windscreen damaged
£80–£200
Common items a careful owner can do at home
90%
Repairs that still cost under £30
0%

Estimates from typical UK parts prices, weighted by how often each item appears in 16,273 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 Slk, side by side

17 model years on record, from 2000 to 2016. Across them the pass rate runs from 75.8% to 87.2% — a spread of 11.4 points. The bar under each year is the item that failed it most often.

  1. 2000 80.3% windscreen damaged but not…
  2. 2001 80.3% windscreen damaged but not…
  3. 2002 81.2% headlamp lens slightly defective
  4. 2003 78.3% coil spring fractured or broken
  5. 2004 75.8% coil spring fractured or broken
  6. 2005 76.4% coil spring fractured or broken
  7. 2006 76.7% coil spring fractured or broken
  8. 2007 76.8% coil spring fractured or broken
  9. 2008 77.0% coil spring fractured or broken
  10. 2009 77.6% coil spring fractured or broken
  11. 2010 78.6% coil spring fractured or broken
  12. 2011 82.1% coil spring fractured or broken
  13. 2012 81.2% coil spring fractured or broken
  14. 2013 81.5%
    coil spring fractured or broken
  15. 2014 83.6% coil spring fractured or broken
  16. 2015 85.4% coil spring fractured or broken
  17. 2016 87.2% 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 2013 Mercedes-Benz Slk 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.

Compare 2013 with another year →

Compare two different cars instead →

Other 2013 cars with a similar record

Closest pass rates among 2013 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 2013 Mercedes-Benz Slk 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 18,616 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 5,595 29.80% 19.76% +10.04
Suspension 4,934 26.30% 20.98% +5.32
Brakes 4,876 26.00% 20.89% +5.11
Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment 907 4.80% 12.21% −7.41
Visibility 765 4.10% 4.97% −0.87
Non-component advisories 454 2.40% 4.18% −1.78
Noise, emissions and leaks 450 2.40% 5.52% −3.12
Road Wheels 303 1.60% 0.75% +0.85
Identification of the vehicle 180 1.00% 1.76% −0.76
Body, chassis, structure 152 0.80% 5.57% −4.77

The exact failure items, in the tester's words

Share of the 16,273 tests on this vehicle that recorded each item
Recorded item Severity Tests Est. cost Part
Coil spring fractured or broken Suspension Major 4.2% £25–65 Coil Spring →
Linkage ball joint dust cover ball joint dust cover severely deteriorated Suspension Minor 3.3% £18–45 Ball Joint →
Windscreen damaged but not adversely affecting driver's view Visibility Minor 2.3% £80–200 Windscreen →
Ball joint dust cover severely deteriorated Suspension Minor 2.1% £18–45 Ball Joint →
Linkage ball joint dust cover ball joint dust cover no longer prevents the ingress of dirt Suspension Major 2.0% £18–45 Ball Joint →
Has ply or cords exposed Tyres Major 1.5% £45–95 Tyres →
Tread depth below requirements of 1.6mm Tyres Major 1.5% £45–95 Tyres →
Has a cut in excess of the requirements deep enough to reach the ply or cords Tyres Major 1.4% £45–95 Tyres →
Ball joint dust cover no longer prevents the ingress of dirt Suspension Major 1.3% £18–45 Ball Joint →
Ball joint excessively worn Suspension Major 1.3% £18–45 Ball Joint →

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.

Items recorded as advisory on this vehicle
Recorded item Severity Tests Est. cost
Tread depth below requirements of 1.6mm Tyres Advisory 16.4% £45–95
Brake discs in such a condition that it is seriously weakened Brakes Advisory 9.8% £45–110
Has a tear, caused by separation or partial failure of its structure Tyres Advisory 5.7% £45–95
Rigid brake pipes excessively corroded Brakes Advisory 5.7% £80–180
Brake pads less than 1.5 mm thick Brakes Advisory 4.8% £18–45
Wheel bearings has excessive play Suspension Advisory 4.2% £20–55

Pass rate by mileage

Mileage Tests Pass rate Median odometer
0-30k 1,230 91.0% 22,657 mi
30-60k 6,849 84.3% 47,025 mi
60-90k 5,939 78.6% 73,026 mi
90-120k 1,793 75.8% 100,731 mi
120k+ 460 72.8% 138,112 mi

Source: 16,273 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.

2013 Slk MOT questions

What is the MOT pass rate for a 2013 Mercedes-Benz Slk?

81.5% of the 16,273 2013 Mercedes-Benz Slk tests in this dataset passed, against a national average of 78.6% for cars first used in 2013. First-attempt pass rate: 77.6%.

What are the most common MOT failures on a 2013 Mercedes-Benz Slk?

The three most recorded items are coil spring fractured or broken (4.18%), linkage ball joint dust cover ball joint dust cover severely deteriorated (3.31%), windscreen damaged but not adversely affecting driver's view (2.34%). Percentages are the share of tests on this vehicle that recorded the item.

Does mileage affect the 2013 Mercedes-Benz Slk MOT pass rate?

Yes. Cars under 30,000 miles passed 91.0% of the time, falling to 72.8% for those over 120,000 miles. The median 2013 Mercedes-Benz Slk in this dataset had covered 60,207 mi.

Which fuel type is most reliable for a 2013 Mercedes-Benz Slk?

Diesel: 80.3% pass rate across 11,887 tests. Petrol: 84.7% pass rate across 4,386 tests. Shares are of the tests on this vehicle that recorded each fuel type.

Does the season affect the 2013 Mercedes-Benz Slk MOT pass rate?

Tests recorded in the winter months (October–March) passed 81.7% of the time; summer months (April–September) passed 81.2%. Brakes, tyres and lights are tested harder in bad weather, but the difference is small on most models.