What an MOT history tells you
An MOT history is the closest thing most used cars have to a health record. The DVSA holds every test since 2005, and each one records the result, the date, the mileage and any problems the tester found. Read together, they show how the car has been looked after, not just whether it passed last time.
Look for patterns. A car that passes first time every year, with a few advisories that get fixed, has usually had an owner who keeps on top of it. A car that fails on the same items year after year, or only scrapes through after a retest, is telling you something different. Our guide to reading an MOT history explains each kind of result.
Defects and advisories
Since May 2018, testers sort problems into categories. Dangerous and major defects mean an automatic fail. Minor defects are recorded, but the car still passes. Advisories are things the tester expects to need attention soon, such as tyres close to the legal limit or light corrosion.
Advisories matter more than most buyers think, because they are a free preview of the next repair bill. If the last MOT listed worn brake discs and a perished tyre, ask the seller whether the work has been done and ask to see the receipt. If it has not, take the cost off your offer. Minor defects deserve the same treatment: the car passed, but they still need fixing.
The watch list: problems that keep coming back
We group defects into plain-English categories, such as tyres, brakes, suspension and corrosion, so that a worn front tyre one year and a worn rear tyre the next count as the same issue. Any category that turns up on two or more separate test days within the last three years goes on the watch list.
Recurring corrosion or suspension problems can point to a car that has had the minimum done to get through each test. Recurring tyre advisories might just mean a driver who covers a lot of miles. Either way, it is worth a question to the seller and a closer look on the test drive.
Mileage, MOT dates and what comes next
Each test records the odometer reading, so the MOT history doubles as a mileage check. If a reading falls by more than 100 miles from one test to the next, we flag it. Cars need their first MOT three years after first registration, then one every year. A car under three years old has no tests yet, so the report shows when the first one is due.
Once you buy, set up free MOT and tax reminders so you never miss a renewal. You can take the test up to a month (minus a day) early and keep the same renewal date. If you also want finance, write-off and stolen checks, the full history check adds them for £4.49.