
Ah, the MoT. The compulsory test that is carried out every year on your pride of joy to make sure it’s roadworthy. It can bring a time of stress, both financially and mentally, as you pace up and down like an expectant father. My car recently(ish) went through its MoT and although it’s barely had any issues and it’s well maintained, I feared something bad would be found.
Thankfully it passed with flying colours, and in fact I was told it was one of the cleanest examples they had seen. The reason I bring this up is because car publication Honest John has revealed government figures that show the best – and the worst – places for MoT passes. This is great news for those that live in Romford, but bad news for those that live in Kirkcaldy.
So then, who’s in the top 10 of passes?
1) Romford (RM) – 72.7% pass rate
2) Enfield (EN) – 72.3% pass rate
3) Bromley (BR) – 71.5% pass rate
4) Croydon (CR) – 71.2% pass rate
5) Ilford (IG) – 70.6% pass rate
6) Chelmsford (CM) – 70.3% pass rate
7) Dartford (DA) – 70.1% pass rate
8) Southend-on-Sea (SS) – 70.1% pass rate
9) Slough (SL) – 69.9% pass rate
10) Kingston-upon-Thames (KT) – 69.8% pass rate
Those are the winners, what about the losers?
1) Kirkcaldy (KY) – 53.4% pass rate
2) Dundee (DD) – 53.4% pass rate
3) Plymouth (PL) – 54.2% pass rate
4) Truro (TR) – 55.1% pass rate
5) Exeter (EX) – 56.0% pass rate
6) Torquay (TQ) – 56.1% pass rate
7) Hull (HU) – 58.0% pass rate
8) Aberdeen (AB) – 58.0% pass rate
9) Bristol (BS) – 58.2% pass rate
10) Taunton (TA) – 58.4% pass rate
Daniel Powell, Managing Editor of HonestJohn.co.uk said: “While the research may initially suggest that if you want to pass your MoT first time, you should jump in your car and drive it to Romford, there are other factors at play here.
“Drivers in and around London, for example, generally cover a much lower mileage leaving less likelihood of wear and tear, while household incomes are often higher, meaning many people own newer cars.
“In less wealthy areas, some aspects of car maintenance can often be overlooked, whilst in more remote parts of the country the mileage covered between MoT tests is often much greater.”