The picture
Sr: middle-of-the-pack on first-time pass
Across 476 MOT tests, the Sr returns 76.5% first-time pass — roughly in line with the UK fleet average. The single most-logged Major fail is tyre tread under the limit. Steering head bearings have excessive wear and a non-functioning shock absorber round out the top three. Average tested mileage sits at 9,754, which is the lens to read those failure rankings through. If you own one and the next test is close, the ranked list below is a sensible pre-test checklist.
Top ten reasons for rejection.
- 01
Tyre tread depth not in accordance with the requirements
16 occurrences · 3.4% of tests
- 02
Steering head bearings have excessive wear or play
12 occurrences · 2.5% of tests
- 03
A shock absorber not functioning or leaking severely
12 occurrences · 2.5% of tests
- 04
A shock absorber not functioning or leaking severely
11 occurrences · 2.3% of tests
- 05
Brake lining or pad worn below 1.0mm
9 occurrences · 1.9% of tests
- 06
Stop lamp missing, inoperative or in the case of a multiple light source more than 1/2 not functioning
8 occurrences · 1.7% of tests
- 07
Exhaust system leaking or insecure
8 occurrences · 1.7% of tests
- 08
A stop lamp(s) does not illuminate by the operation of both brake controls or remains on when the brakes are released
8 occurrences · 1.7% of tests
- 09
Brake control has insufficient reserve travel
5 occurrences · 1.1% of tests
- 10
A lamp missing or inoperative
5 occurrences · 1.1% of tests
Counts cover Major and Dangerous defects logged at test. Advisory items excluded so this shows why a car was rejected, not just what the tester flagged in passing.
Worst-case fix budget · top 3 failures
£230–£445
If every one of this SR's most-logged Major fails hit at the same MOT, that's the real-world UK garage range. Reality is usually one or two items, not all of them. Open the estimator →
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Build your own retest budget.
Tools that pre-empt a retest.
Picked against this car's top failure patterns. Affiliate links to Amazon UK — we earn a small cut at no cost to you. Disclosed up-front, doesn't shape the data.
Item 01 · Amazon UK
Digital tyre-tread depth gauge
Five quid for a gauge beats £150 for a retest. UK MOT minimum is 1.6mm — most testers fail anything below 2mm to be safe.
Search Amazon UK
Item 02 · Amazon UK
Brake pad measurement gauge
Testers fail pads under 1.5mm. A wear gauge tells you if you've got two months left or two weeks.
Search Amazon UK
Buying or keeping a SR?
Use the failure ranking as a pre-test checklist or a haggling lever. Treat the headline pass rate as a fleet-wide trend, not a guarantee on any individual car.
If you own a SR and your last MOT looked nothing like the ranked failures above, that's normal — individual cars vary widely. The ranking shows the patterns testers flag most often across the country.