Performance by cohort

3 year bands · 23,995 tests

Pass rate climbs 10.5 points across the cohorts — newer A8 examples clear the test more reliably than the early cars.

Pre-2018 cohort 19,675

Pass

87.2%

Fail

9.0%

PRS

3.2%

Avg mileage at test

109,959 mi

2018–2020 cohort 4,142

Pass

94.1%

Fail

3.9%

PRS

1.3%

Avg mileage at test

51,529 mi

2021+ cohort 178

Pass

97.8%

Fail

2.3%

PRS

0.0%

Avg mileage at test

35,364 mi

Cohort = vehicle's first-registration year band. Same model, different generations of build.

The picture

Audi A8: solid MOT record across 13,005 tests

The Audi A8 is a full-size luxury sedan manufactured and marketed by the German automaker Audi since 1994. Succeeding the Audi V8, and currently in its fourth generation, the A8 has been offered with either front- or permanent all-wheel drive and in short- and long-wheelbase variants.

MOT data from 13,005 tests puts this car on an 86.6% first-time pass rate, well above the UK fleet average. Average mileage at test is 101,104 miles. The most common fail item is cracked or discoloured windscreen, followed by failed number plate light.

Priced from £69,100 OTR, and due with first UK customers in early 2018, the fourth generation A8 comes in 5.17-metre ‘standard’ form or as the A8 L, which has a 13 centimetre longer wheelbase.

For used buyers, the A8's pass rate suggests it clears the MOT with fewer surprises than most — but the top failure items above are still worth a pre-purchase inspection, particularly on higher-mileage examples.

ABI Insurance Group

Group 40–50

A high-group car — insurance costs will be significantly above average. Lower groups cost less to insure; UK fleet average is around Group 22.

Source: ABI Group Rating Panel · administered by Thatcham Research · groups cover standard variants; performance trims may sit higher. Browse all insurance groups →

40–50

out of 50

Compare quotes →

Top ten reasons for rejection.

Filter failures:

Hide wear items to see the model's real defects.

01

Windscreen or window damaged or seriously discoloured but not adversely affecting driver's view

502 occurrences · 2.1% of tests
02

A rear registration plate lamp or light source missing or inoperative in the case of multiple lamps or light sources

344 occurrences · 1.4% of tests
03

Tyre tread depth not in accordance with the requirements

298 occurrences · 1.2% of tests
04

A transmission shaft constant velocity joint boot severely deteriorated

270 occurrences · 1.1% of tests
05

A suspension pin, bush or joint excessively worn

231 occurrences · 1.0% of tests
06

A tyre cords visible or damaged

202 occurrences · 0.8% of tests
07

A tyre seriously damaged

187 occurrences · 0.8% of tests
08

A lamp with a multiple light source up to 1/2 not functioning

169 occurrences · 0.7% of tests
09

Headlamp reflector or lens slightly defective

141 occurrences · 0.6% of tests
10

Wiper blade defective

139 occurrences · 0.6% 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 3 failures

£148–£370

If every one of this A8'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 →

Try the calculator

Build your own retest budget.

Year-band analysis

Best year to buy. Worst to avoid.

First-time MOT pass rate split by registration band. A 10.5-point gap between bands means the year you buy Audi A8 has a real effect on what turns up at the garage.

Best band to buy

97.8%

2021+ registration

the 2021-on band climbs to 97.8% — a 10.5-point improvement. Tests in this band average 35,364 miles — roughly 75K miles fewer on the clock than the older band. Failures here are mostly wear items: damaged but not adversely affecting driver's view, less than 1.5 mm thick — the structural issues that drag down older examples don't appear in the top-10 for this band. Post-2020 examples are early in their MOT life and generally show the cleanest records.

Band to be cautious about

87.2%

Pre-2018 registration

On the older band (pre-2018), the data shows a 87.2% pass rate against a fleet average of 97.8% on the newer band. The main culprits logged at test: damaged but not adversely affecting driver's view, inoperative in the case of multiple lamps…, and tread depth below requirements of 1.6mm. Average mileage on test for this band is 109,959 miles — high-mileage wear items are a recurring theme.

Best band to buy: 2021+ (97.8% first-time pass). Worst band to avoid: pre-2018 (87.2% pass). That's a 10.5-point spread across 19,675 older tests and 178 newer ones — year of build makes a material difference on this model.

Year-spread leaderboard →

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

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

My Motor World · affiliate

Parts & supplies for this fix

Affiliate links — small commission, no extra cost to you.

Summit

Summit ADRG-215 Audi Replacement Stick-On Tinted Mirror Glass RHS

£9.89

View at My Motor World →

Summit

Summit ADRG-216 Audi Replacement Stick-On Tinted Mirror Glass LHS

£14.29

View at My Motor World →

Draper Expert

Draper Expert Oil Filter Socket for Audi, BMW, Mercedes-Benz, Porsche and VW

£18.69

View at My Motor World →

Draper Expert

Draper Expert Audi/VW Drain Plug Key, 1/2" Sq. Dr.

£21.99

View at My Motor World →

Click Mechanic · affiliate

Book a mobile mechanic

Affiliate links — small commission, no extra cost to you.

Mobile mechanic · UK-wide

Book a mechanic at your door.

Fixed-price quotes upfront. No garage needed. Click Mechanic sends a vetted local mechanic to you — home, work, or roadside.

Get a quote →

Owner reports · Honest John

What owners actually report.

Verbatim faults logged by owners on honestjohn.co.uk over recent years. We didn't summarise — these are the words people typed in.

What's good

Priced from £69,100 OTR, and due with first UK customers in early 2018, the fourth generation A8 comes in 5.17-metre ‘standard’ form or as the A8 L, which has a 13 centimetre longer wheelbase.

Where it falls short

Priced from £69,100 OTR, and due with first UK customers in early 2018, the fourth generation A8 comes in 5.17-metre ‘standard’ form or as the A8 L, which has a 13 centimetre longer wheelbase.

Recall history

24 UK recalls on record.

The A8 has 24 official UK vehicle recalls covering defect details, remedies, and affected build dates.

See all recalls

Buying or keeping an A8?

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 an A8 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.