MOT cost .

Yamaha

YS 125

1,786 MOT tests analysed. lands in the middle of the pack — here's where YS 125s pass, fail, and end up on the retest sheet.

That's 1.1 points above the UK fleet average across our 1,988 tracked models — a confident result.

Pass

76.8%

Pass-after-fix

11.6%

Fail

11.2%

Avg miles

9,733

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

The picture

Ys 125: middle-of-the-pack on first-time pass

Across 1,786 MOT tests, the Ys 125 returns 76.8% first-time pass — roughly in line with the UK fleet average. The single most-logged Major fail is tyre tread under the limit. Headlamp aim out of spec and transmission belt, chain round out the top three. Average tested mileage sits at 9,733, 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

    67 occurrences · 3.8% of tests

  2. 02

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

    30 occurrences · 1.7% of tests

  3. 03

    A transmission belt, chain, sprocket or pulley excessively loose or worn

    30 occurrences · 1.7% of tests

  4. 04

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

    27 occurrences · 1.5% of tests

  5. 05

    A rear registration plate lamp or light source missing or inoperative in the case of a single lamp or all lamps

    24 occurrences · 1.3% of tests

  6. 06

    Rear registration plate lamp does not illuminate simultaneously with the position lamps

    18 occurrences · 1.0% of tests

  7. 07

    A transmission belt, chain, sprocket or pulley excessively loose or worn

    15 occurrences · 0.8% of tests

  8. 08

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

    14 occurrences · 0.8% of tests

  9. 09

    Brake efficiency below minimum requirement

    12 occurrences · 0.7% of tests

  10. 10

    Brake lining or pad worn below 1.0mm

    12 occurrences · 0.7% 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 YS 125'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 YS 125?

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 YS 125 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.