1990 Mercedes-Benz 300: MOT pass rate and reliability

80.4% of 1990 Mercedes-Benz 300s pass the MOT first time, measured across 301 DVSA tests on that model year alone. The average one had covered 126,973 miles.

How the 1990 compares

• Against all Mercedes-Benz 300s (80.9%, 2,789 tests): -0.5 points
• Against all 1990 cars (76%): +4.4 points
• National first-time pass rate, all cars and years: 77%

Every Mercedes-Benz 300 model year

Pass rates fall as cars age, so the only fair comparison for a 1990 car is other cars of the same age. The full run for the Mercedes-Benz 300:

What this means if you are buying a 1990 300

The 1990 sits close to the Mercedes-Benz 300 average, so there is no strong model-year signal either way. Judge the individual car on its own history. Check the exact car with the free MOT history checker before you buy, and run its VIN and mileage through our free VIN decoder and clocking check.

What a 36-year-old car fails on

A 1990 car is 36 years old now, and age drives the failure mix more than the badge does. Across all cars tested, these are the categories that actually cause failures:

• Lights and electrical: 10.36% of all cars tested
• Suspension: 8.65% of all cars tested
• Tyres: 6.23% of all cars tested
• Brakes: 6.1% of all cars tested
• Visibility: wipers, washers, glass: 4.65% of all cars tested
• Body, chassis and structure: 3.18% of all cars tested

That is high mileage, so timing belts, clutches, suspension bushes and corrosion are the items worth budgeting for rather than the MOT itself. On a 1990 Mercedes-Benz 300 the average at test was 126,973 miles, so treat anything far above that as a car that has worked harder than its peers, and anything far below as one worth checking for the faults that come from standing still.

The strongest year for this model is 1993 at 81.2%, and the weakest in our data is 1991 at 77.6%. That 3.6 point spread across the model's life is why comparing a 1990 car against a newer one tells you very little.

Nearby model years

• 1991 Mercedes-Benz 300 - 77.6%
• 1992 Mercedes-Benz 300 - 80.3%
• 1993 Mercedes-Benz 300 - 81.2%

All Mercedes-Benz 300 MOT data · Every model