2012 Mercedes-Benz Vito: MOT pass rate and reliability

69.3% of 2012 Mercedes-Benz Vitos pass the MOT first time, measured across 4,857 DVSA tests on that model year alone. The average one had covered 167,212 miles.

How the 2012 compares

  • Against all Mercedes-Benz Vitos (73.6%, 92,326 tests): -4.3 points
  • Against all 2012 cars (70.8%): -1.5 points
  • National first-time pass rate, all cars and years: 77%

Every Mercedes-Benz Vito model year

Pass rates fall as cars age, so the only fair comparison for a 2012 car is other cars of the same age. The full run for the Mercedes-Benz Vito:

Year Pass rate Tests Avg mileage
2001 58.1% 227 121,578
2002 60.8% 403 135,555
2003 62.3% 424 126,911
2004 62% 865 140,471
2005 60.9% 1,934 152,486
2006 64.5% 3,610 170,668
2007 65.2% 4,283 172,660
2008 65.8% 4,326 171,321
2009 67.7% 4,156 175,947
2010 68.1% 4,304 181,212
2011 68.1% 3,869 168,615
2012 69.3% 4,857 167,212
2013 72.3% 5,411 166,466
2014 72.9% 5,330 153,425
2015 73.2% 5,620 139,706
2016 74.7% 6,944 130,167
2017 78.4% 9,791 128,114
2018 79% 7,445 105,943
2019 81% 9,604 94,147
2020 81.3% 3,635 69,598
2021 85.9% 4,325 60,642
2022 89.7% 438 60,925

What this means if you are buying a 2012 Vito

The 2012 is a weaker year for this model, passing 4.3 points less often than the Mercedes-Benz Vito average. Some of that is simply age, so compare it against the 2012 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 14-year-old car fails on

A 2012 car is 14 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 very high mileage. Clutches, dual-mass flywheels and head gaskets have usually been through at least one repair by this point, so ask for evidence rather than assume the car is original everywhere. On a 2012 Mercedes-Benz Vito the average at test was 167,212 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 2022 at 89.7%, and the weakest in our data is 2001 at 58.1%. That 31.6 point spread across the model's life is why comparing a 2012 car against a newer one tells you very little.

Nearby model years

All Mercedes-Benz Vito MOT data · Every model