Mercedes-Benz 190 E: MOT pass rate and reliability data

The Mercedes-Benz 190 E fails its first MOT more often than the average UK car, by 0.4 percentage points. These figures come from the DVSA's full year of anonymised MOT results, covering 1,963 individual Mercedes-Benz 190 E tests. Nothing here is an estimate or a survey.

The numbers

What this means if you are buying one

A 76.3% first-time pass rate means roughly 24 in every 100 Mercedes-Benz 190 Es presented for MOT fail on the first attempt. That is worse than average, so budget for remedial work and treat a fresh 12-month MOT as a genuine selling point rather than a given. The average Mercedes-Benz 190 E tested had covered 120,184 miles and was built around 1991.

What this means at salvage auction

Pass rate is a proxy for what a car costs to keep on the road. On a Mercedes-Benz 190 E bought as a repairable salvage, assume the mechanical side needs more than the visible accident damage, and pad your repair estimate accordingly.

Before you bid: run the lot through the analyzer, check the car's own record, check the mileage, decode the VIN, and if it carries a marker use the write-off value calculator. Or compare it against another model.

Looking at a specific Mercedes-Benz 190 E rather than the model in general? The free check covers its MOT and mileage history, and the full HPI report confirms the insurance write-off category, outstanding finance and whether it is recorded stolen, from licensed data for 5 credits. Already own one that has been damaged? Work out whether fixing it beats selling it with the repair or scrap calculator, and see what damaged Mercedes-Benz 190 Es actually sold for at UK salvage auction.

Most common MOT failures on a Mercedes-Benz 190 E

1. Body, cab or chassis excessively corroded at a mounting point, 1.4% of tests (7.16x the national rate for this defect)
2. Emissions levels exceed default limits, 2% of tests (6.79x the national rate for this defect)
3. The strength or continuity of the load bearing structure within 30cm of any sub-frame, spring or suspension component mounting (a 'prescribed area') is significantly reduced or inadequately repaired, 5.2% of tests (6.24x the national rate for this defect)
4. Vehicle structure corroded to the extent that the rigidity of the assembly is seriously reduced, 2.2% of tests (6.03x the national rate for this defect)
5. A direction indicator lamp missing, inoperative or in the case of a multiple light source more than 1/2 not functioning, 2.4% of tests (4.95x the national rate for this defect)
6. Exhaust system leaking or insecure, 2% of tests (2.64x the national rate for this defect)
7. Significant brake effort recorded with no brake applied indicating a binding brake, 1.9% of tests (2.49x the national rate for this defect)
8. Brake pipe damaged or excessively corroded, 1.8% of tests (2.15x the national rate for this defect)
9. A steering ball joint with excessive wear or free play, 1.4% of tests (1.5x the national rate for this defect)
10. A suspension joint dust cover missing or no longer prevents the ingress of dirt etc, 2% of tests (1.48x the national rate for this defect)

From 5,289 DVSA-tracked Mercedes-Benz 190 E tests, 2024. DVSA testers marked 2.61% of these flagged Mercedes-Benz 190 E defects as "dangerous", meaning the tester judged the car unsafe to drive away, against 4.97% nationally.

Mercedes-Benz 190 E pass rate by model year

Pass rates fall steadily as cars age, so the model year matters as much as the model. First-time pass rate for each Mercedes-Benz 190 E year:

• 1990 Mercedes-Benz 190 E - 76.2% first-time pass, 357 tests
• 1991 Mercedes-Benz 190 E - 77.8% first-time pass, 333 tests
• 1992 Mercedes-Benz 190 E - 75% first-time pass, 468 tests
• 1993 Mercedes-Benz 190 E - 77.4% first-time pass, 371 tests

Other Mercedes-Benz models

• Mercedes-Benz C - 77.4%
• Mercedes-Benz A-Class - 78.7%
• Mercedes-Benz E - 79.2%
• Mercedes-Benz A - 89.5%
• Mercedes-Benz Vito - 72.7%
• Mercedes-Benz Gla - 85.2%
• Mercedes-Benz Glc - 87.8%
• Mercedes-Benz B-Class - 74.7%

Models with a similar pass rate

• Vauxhall Combo 2300 Sportive Td - 76.4%
• Audi A4 - 76.3%
• Lexus Rx400h - 76.3%
• Lexus Ls400 - 76.3%
• Mercedes-Benz Ml - 76.2%
• BMW 728 - 76.2%

If this car is a salvage or write-off

• What does Cat N mean? Category N explained
• What does Cat S mean? Category S explained
• Cat S vs Cat N: the real differences

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All 2,005 models ranked by MOT pass rate