MOT cost .

Smart (mcc)

City Cabriolet

986 MOT tests analysed. runs below the UK fleet average — here's where City Cabriolets pass, fail, and end up on the retest sheet.

That's 8.0 points below the UK fleet average across our 1,988 tracked models — buyers should expect more first-time fails than the typical UK car.

Pass

67.8%

Pass-after-fix

5.4%

Fail

26.0%

Avg miles

66,147

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

The picture

City Cabriolet: a below-average pass rate worth digging into

Across 986 MOT tests, the City Cabriolet returns 67.8% first-time pass — well below the UK fleet average. The single most-logged Major fail is a defective headlamp lens. Lambda coefficient outside the default limits and a stop-lamp out round out the top three. Average tested mileage sits at 66,147, 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

    Headlamp reflector or lens slightly defective

    46 occurrences · 4.7% of tests

  2. 02

    Lambda coefficient outside the default limits or the range specified by the manufacturer

    43 occurrences · 4.4% of tests

  3. 03

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

    37 occurrences · 3.8% of tests

  4. 04

    The aim of a headlamp is not within limits laid down in the requirements

    37 occurrences · 3.8% of tests

  5. 05

    Wiper blade missing or obviously not clearing the windscreen

    30 occurrences · 3.0% of tests

  6. 06

    Tyre tread depth not in accordance with the requirements

    27 occurrences · 2.7% of tests

  7. 07

    Stop lamp with a multiple light source up to 1/2 not functioning

    26 occurrences · 2.6% of tests

  8. 08

    A spring or spring component fractured or seriously weakened

    25 occurrences · 2.5% of tests

  9. 09

    Wiper blade defective

    22 occurrences · 2.2% of tests

  10. 10

    Brake pipe damaged or excessively corroded

    21 occurrences · 2.1% 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 4 failures

£48–£240

If every one of this City Cabriolet'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

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 02 · 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

Item 03 · Amazon UK

Bosch Aerotwin wiper blades

Cheap wipers fail the test on smear streaks. Bosch Aerotwins last a winter and clear a screen properly.

Search Amazon UK

Buying or keeping a City Cabriolet?

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 City Cabriolet 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.