2005 Mercedes-Benz Slk: MOT pass rate and reliability

70.9% of 2005 Mercedes-Benz Slks pass the MOT first time, measured across 4,720 DVSA tests on that model year alone. The average one had covered 82,261 miles.

How the 2005 compares

  • Against all Mercedes-Benz Slks (75.5%, 56,614 tests): -4.6 points
  • Against all 2005 cars (64.2%): +6.7 points
  • National first-time pass rate, all cars and years: 77%

Every Mercedes-Benz Slk model year

Pass rates fall as cars age, so the only fair comparison for a 2005 car is other cars of the same age. The full run for the Mercedes-Benz Slk:

Year Pass rate Tests Avg mileage
1997 76.1% 656 89,558
1998 73.2% 1,013 89,259
1999 75.7% 1,367 87,539
2000 75.9% 1,775 90,196
2001 76.8% 2,082 89,798
2002 77.4% 1,897 86,605
2003 72.7% 1,701 83,774
2004 70% 3,035 83,438
2005 70.9% 4,720 82,261
2006 71.9% 3,654 80,489
2007 70.8% 3,493 76,902
2008 71.4% 3,148 75,278
2009 73.4% 2,474 70,519
2010 72.7% 2,075 66,948
2011 78.8% 2,501 61,431
2012 76.6% 5,532 64,741
2013 77% 4,526 62,950
2014 80.6% 4,822 55,409
2015 82.6% 4,857 48,843
2016 83.9% 1,239 42,972

What this means if you are buying a 2005 Slk

The 2005 is a weaker year for this model, passing 4.6 points less often than the Mercedes-Benz Slk average. Some of that is simply age, so compare it against the 2005 figure for all cars above rather than against newer examples. 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 21-year-old car fails on

A 2005 car is 21 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 above average, the point where suspension bushes, drop links and exhaust corrosion start showing up as advisories before they become failures. On a 2005 Mercedes-Benz Slk the average at test was 82,261 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 2016 at 83.9%, and the weakest in our data is 2004 at 70%. That 13.9 point spread across the model's life is why comparing a 2005 car against a newer one tells you very little.

Nearby model years

All Mercedes-Benz Slk MOT data · Every model