Question 1

At what age do cars start failing their MOT?

Accepted Answer

Newer cars in the 0-3 year band fail the least, but failure rates rise sharply from the 7-9 year bracket onward as brakes, suspension arms, exhausts and corrosion take hold. Vehicles over 20 years old have the highest failure rate in the dataset.

Question 2

What is the MOT failure rate for a 10-year-old car?

Accepted Answer

Cars in the 10-14 year band fail at a rate well above the national average. Rust on brake pipes, worn suspension bushes and tyres are the usual culprits — most of these are cheap to catch at an annual service rather than on test day.

Question 3

Do classic cars have to pass the same MOT?

Accepted Answer

Vehicles first registered more than 40 years ago can be exempt from the MOT if they're not substantially modified, but for every older car still tested, statistics show failure rates climb every year past the decade mark — corrosion and perished rubber are the biggest causes.

Question 4

How does Roadworthy measure vehicle age?

Accepted Answer

Age is the gap between the vehicle's first registration date and the test date, bucketed into 0-3, 4-6, 7-9, 10-14, 15-19 and 20+ year bands across the pooled 130.22M-test dataset.