Mercedes-Benz SL 2007: MOT failure rate for its age

18.2% of 3,454 MOT tests of the Mercedes-Benz SL first registered in 2007 failed at the first attempt (2019–2024; retests excluded). Against this model's own normal rate at the same ages the index is 98.6 (95% CI 90.9–106.3; 100 = normal for this model at that age): the 2007 build year is no different from other years of the same model at the same age. This is a rough estimate from a smaller sample.

Mercedes-Benz SL built in 2007 at a glance
Measure	Value	Unit	Compared with	Years	Tests
Failed first time	18.2	%	all ages tested	2019–2024	3454
Index against this model at the same age (95% CI 90.9–106.3)	98.6	index	100 = normal for this model at that age	2019–2024	3454
Rank among this model's 23 build years	11	of 23	1 = fails least for its age	2019–2024	3454
Tested in 2024	776	tests	median 67,873 miles	2024	776

Built 2007 against Mercedes-Benz SL normal for the age: first-time MOT failure share at each age, age 12: 13.3% vs 18.3%; age 13: 23.8% vs 18.9%; age 14: 20.1% vs 19%; age 15: 15.7% vs 17.8%; age 16: 17.7% vs 18%; age 17: 19.5% vs 19.2%. Axis from 0% to 30%. DVSA MOT bulk data, 2019–2024.

Check a 2007 Mercedes-Benz SL by registration · All Mercedes-Benz SL MOT statistics · Download the build-year table (CSV)

Data release dvsa-2024-v2 (24 Sep 2026) · page updated 30 Sep 2026 · full dataset (v5).

How does the 2007 Mercedes-Benz SL fail at each age?

Cars built in 2007 were tested at ages 12 to 17 between 2019 and 2024. Each row compares their first-time failure share with what this model normally shows at that age, after allowing for the overall failure level of each test year.

Mercedes-Benz SL built 2007: first-time MOT failure by age, against the model's normal rate at that age (2019–2024)
Age	Tests	Failed, %	95% interval	Normal for this model at that age, %	Index (100 = normal)
12	83 (rough estimate)	13.3	7.6–22.2	18.3	72.3
13	84 (rough estimate)	23.8	16–33.9	18.9	125.9
14	840	20.1	17.5–23	19	105.7
15	840	15.7	13.4–18.3	17.8	88.3
16	831	17.7	15.2–20.4	18	98.4
17	776	19.5	16.8–22.4	19.2	101.3

Source: DVSA MOT bulk data · Window: 2019–2024 · n = 3,454 (initial tests) · Method: normal rate = this model's first-time failure share at that age across its build years (cells of 400+ tests), adjusted for each test year's overall level; cells of 30+ tests, under 500 marked rough · Updated: 30 Sep 2026 · Release: dvsa-2024-v2 · CSV

What fails most on the 2007 Mercedes-Benz SL?

The most common failure group on cars built in 2007 is suspension: 8 items per 100 first tests, against 8.9 across all build years of the Mercedes-Benz SL. These counts are not age-adjusted: cars built in 2007 were tested at ages 12 to 17.

Failure items per 100 first tests, Mercedes-Benz SL built 2007 against the Mercedes-Benz SL in all build years (2019–2024, not age-adjusted)
Failure group	Built 2007, per 100	All build years, per 100	Items
Suspension	8	8.9	275
Tyres	7.2	6.2	248
Brakes	6.7	5.6	232
Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment	5.8	7.4	200
Visibility	5	4.9	172

Source: DVSA MOT bulk data · Window: 2019–2024 · n = 3,454 (initial tests of this build year) · Method: failure items grouped by DVSA's top-level defect groups, per 100 initial tests; groups with 30+ items · Updated: 30 Sep 2026 · Release: dvsa-2024-v2 · CSV

How does 2007 compare with the years around it?

Among the 23 published build years of the Mercedes-Benz SL, 2007 ranks 11 (1 = fails least for its age). 2006: index 100.3. 2008: index 95.9.

Mercedes-Benz SL build years: index against the model at the same age (2019–2024)
Build year	Index (100 = normal)	95% interval	Verdict	Tests
1998	110.1	89.8–130.4	no different (rough estimate)	502
1999	95.8	80.1–111.5	no different (rough estimate)	794
2000	107.6	93.3–121.8	no different (rough estimate)	1,071
2001	94.0	79.3–108.8	no different (rough estimate)	894
2002	106.2	99.0–113.3	no different	4,277
2003	104.7	100.6–108.8	worse	12,529
2004	100.3	95.8–104.8	no different	10,173
2005	96.2	90.6–101.7	no different	6,298
2006	100.3	93.1–107.5	no different (rough estimate)	3,977
2007	98.6	90.9–106.3	no different (rough estimate)	3,454
2008	95.9	88.7–103.0	no different (rough estimate)	3,912
2009	103.0	93.9–112.2	no different (rough estimate)	2,661
2010	106.6	95.5–117.6	no different (rough estimate)	1,937
2011	90.6	78.2–103.0	no different (rough estimate)	1,415
2012	110.4	99.3–121.4	no different (rough estimate)	2,337
2013	109.1	102.4–115.8	worse	6,789
2014	100.6	93.6–107.6	no different	6,428
2015	92.3	84.2–100.4	no different	4,934
2016	105.1	95.8–114.4	no different	4,690
2017	87.6	77.4–97.8	better (rough estimate)	3,452
2018	90.7	75.5–105.8	no different (rough estimate)	1,698
2019	89.2	70.9–107.6	no different (rough estimate)	1,252
2020	93.4	60.0–126.8	no different (rough estimate)	425

Source: DVSA MOT bulk data · Window: 2019–2024 · n = 85,899 (initial tests) · Method: observed failures against those expected for the same model at the same ages, test-year level adjusted; verdict follows the printed one-decimal bound · Updated: 30 Sep 2026 · Release: dvsa-2024-v2 · CSV

How to cite this page

MOT Risk Index (2026). Mercedes-Benz SL 2007 MOT statistics (data release dvsa-2024-v2; full dataset motriskindex-families-2024-v5, DOI 10.5281/zenodo.22975051), updated 30 September 2026. motriskindex.co.uk/cars/mercedes-sl/2007/

How every figure is calculated: methodology. Age, test year and build year are tied together (age = test year − build year), so the test-year level is taken as observed, not estimated.

Other pages for this model