MOT cost .
Piaggio Vespa
MOT 2023
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Piaggio

Vespa

17,689 MOT tests analysed. sits above the UK fleet average — here's where Vespas pass, fail, and end up on the retest sheet.

That's 11.4 points above the UK fleet average across our 1,988 tracked models — a confident result.

Pass

87.1%

Pass-after-fix

4.7%

Fail

7.9%

Avg miles

10,374

Pass + Pass-after-fix + Fail = 100%

The picture

Vespa: a strong MOT record by UK norms

Across 17,689 MOT tests, the Vespa returns 87.1% first-time pass — comfortably ahead of the UK fleet average. The single most-logged Major fail is tyre tread under the limit. Headlamp missing, inoperative and direction indicator lamp missing round out the top three. Average tested mileage sits at 10,374, which is the lens to read those failure rankings through. If you own one and the next test is close, the ranked list below is a sensible pre-test checklist.

Top ten reasons for rejection.

  1. 01

    Tyre tread depth not in accordance with the requirements

    350 occurrences · 2.0% of tests

  2. 02

    A headlamp missing, inoperative or more than ½ not functioning in the case of LED

    149 occurrences · 0.8% of tests

  3. 03

    A direction indicator lamp missing, inoperative or in the case of a multiple light source more than 1/2 not functioning

    93 occurrences · 0.5% of tests

  4. 04

    Stop lamp missing, inoperative or in the case of a multiple light source more than 1/2 not functioning

    84 occurrences · 0.5% of tests

  5. 05

    A lamp missing or inoperative

    83 occurrences · 0.5% of tests

  6. 06

    A headlamp missing, inoperative or more than ½ not functioning in the case of LED

    72 occurrences · 0.4% of tests

  7. 07

    Brake lining or pad worn below 1.0mm

    70 occurrences · 0.4% of tests

  8. 08

    Significant brake effort recorded with no brake applied indicating a binding brake

    69 occurrences · 0.4% of tests

  9. 09

    Exhaust system leaking or insecure

    66 occurrences · 0.4% of tests

  10. 10

    Headlamp aim unable to be tested

    63 occurrences · 0.4% 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

£78–£210

If every one of this Vespa'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.

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

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

Item 02 · Amazon UK

Headlight restoration kit

Yellowed lenses fail the light-output test. A restoration kit lifts the haze in an afternoon for £20.

Search Amazon UK

Item 03 · 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

Buying or keeping a Vespa?

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 a Vespa 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.