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1989 Mercedes-Benz 260 — MOT History by Age

How cars manufactured in 1989 perform at MOT as they age

37 years
Current Age
68.0%
Latest Pass Rate
226
Total Tests (All Years)
107,411 mi
Avg Mileage (Latest)

Data from official DVSA MOT testing records

Insufficient data for same-age comparison.

How This Car Ages

Pass rate progression for the 1989 Mercedes-Benz 260 as it ages.

28 yrs63.0%
32 yrs70.5%
34 yrs79.5%
35 yrs68.0%

Bar chart showing pass rate by car age from 28 to 35 years

Fail Rate %
📊 View as table
AgePass RateTests
28 yrs63.0%46
32 yrs70.5%44
34 yrs79.5%39
35 yrs68.0%97

Pass Rate Trend

How the 1989 Mercedes-Benz 260 pass rate changes as it ages, from first MOT to most recent.

Trend shows declining over 4 years

Pass Rate %
📊 View as table
BuiltPass RateTests
2024 (35 yrs)68%97
2023 (34 yrs)79.5%39
2021 (32 yrs)70.5%44
2017 (28 yrs)63%46

Year-by-Year MOT Results

2017High Fail Rate
63.0%
Age (yrs) 28Tests 46Avg Mileage 111,687Top Failure Brakes — 52.2%
2021
70.5%
Age (yrs) 32Tests 44Avg Mileage 108,784Top Failure Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment — 29.5%
2023
79.5%
Age (yrs) 34Tests 39Avg Mileage 109,884Top Failure Suspension — 28.2%
2024
68.0%
Age (yrs) 35Tests 97Avg Mileage 107,411Top Failure Suspension — 50.5%

Common MOT Failures

Top failure categories across all test years for 1989 Mercedes-Benz 260, with age trends.

Brakes
36.3%
↓ Decreases with age
Suspension
35.7%
↑ Increases with age
Lamps, Reflectors and Electrical Equipment
32.6%
— Consistent
Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment
24.0%
↓ Decreases with age
Body, chassis, structure
17.9%
— Consistent

How Failures Change With Age

Comparing failure rates between the youngest and oldest test years.

CategoryAt YoungestAt OldestChangeTrend
Brakes52.2% (28 yrs)42.3% (35 yrs)
-9.9%
🟢 ↓
Suspension41.3% (28 yrs)50.5% (35 yrs)
+9.2%
🔴 ↑
Tyres13.0% (28 yrs)13.4% (35 yrs)
+0.4%
⚪ —

Other Manufacture Years

Looking for the best year to buy? See the full comparison on the Mercedes-Benz 260 page →

About This Data

This page shows how Mercedes-Benz 260 cars manufactured in 1989 perform at MOT as they age. Data spans from 2017 to 2024, covering 226 tests. Pass rates naturally decline with age as components wear.

Based on DVSA anonymised MOT test data (2005–2024). Crown copyright, Open Government Licence v3.0.

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