The picture
Sr50: middle-of-the-pack on first-time pass
Across 554 MOT tests, the Sr50 returns 75.5% first-time pass — roughly in line with the UK fleet average. The single most-logged Major fail is a non-functioning shock absorber. A stop-lamp out and lamp missing or inoperative round out the top three. Average tested mileage sits at 11,673, 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
A shock absorber not functioning or leaking severely
22 occurrences · 4.0% of tests
- 02
Stop lamp missing, inoperative or in the case of a multiple light source more than 1/2 not functioning
17 occurrences · 3.1% of tests
- 03
A lamp missing or inoperative
15 occurrences · 2.7% of tests
- 04
Reflector missing or reflecting white to the rear
14 occurrences · 2.5% of tests
- 05
A brake lining or pad contaminated with oil, grease etc
13 occurrences · 2.3% of tests
- 06
Steering head bearings have excessive wear or play
11 occurrences · 2.0% of tests
- 07
A stop lamp(s) does not illuminate by the operation of both brake controls or remains on when the brakes are released
11 occurrences · 2.0% of tests
- 08
Audible warning not working
11 occurrences · 2.0% of tests
- 09
Contaminated with oil, grease etc
10 occurrences · 1.8% of tests
- 10
A shock absorber not functioning or leaking severely
9 occurrences · 1.6% 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 2 failures
£88–£195
If every one of this Sr50'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
H7 / W21W bulb pack
A spare-bulb kit lives in the boot. Test morning is not the time to find your stop-lamp's gone.
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 Sr50?
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 Sr50 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.