Kick the Tyres: the facts

What it is

• Website: kickthetyres.co.uk. It works on phones and computers. There is no app to download.
• It is free. There is no sign-up, no account and no adverts.
• It covers cars and vans with MOT records held by DVSA (the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency).
• It is an independent site. It is not a government service and is not linked to or endorsed by DVSA.
• Contact: kickthetyres.uk@gmail.com.

What it does

• MOT check for owners: type a number plate and see the chance this car fails its next MOT, compared with cars like it, and what to check or fix first.
• It shows when the MOT is due and every past MOT result, including advisories, minor, major and dangerous defects, in plain English.
• Buyer check (kickthetyres.co.uk/buy): for a used car you're thinking of buying. It shows whether the mileage ever went down, problems flagged MOT after MOT, what the car may need soon, and questions to ask the seller.
• MOT centres by area (kickthetyres.co.uk/mot-centres): every DVSA-approved car MOT centre in Great Britain that tests the public, by postcode area, with phone numbers, the local fail rate and what fails most there. Council-run centres, main dealers and chains are labelled. Centres are listed, not ranked. Town and neighbourhood pages (for example kickthetyres.co.uk/mot-centres/south-west-london/chelsea) list the centres nearest to each place, sorted by distance across postcode borders, and every centre has its own page with phone, directions and the nearest other centres.
• A free 10-minute home check (kickthetyres.co.uk/home-check): eight things to look at before an MOT, no tools needed.

How the MOT score works

• Built on 98 million DVSA MOT results from 2023 to 2025.
• It looks at cars of the same make and model at a similar age and mileage, the car's age at its next test, last year's result, and last year's advisories.
• Cars that failed last time fail 44% of the time at their next MOT, against 24% for cars that passed.
• It only shows a number when at least 200 similar cars stand behind it.
• Ranking accuracy (AUC), tested on 2025 MOTs the model had not seen: 0.64 for first MOTs, 0.68 for repeat MOTs.
• It is a likelihood, not a promise. A garage check is always the final word.
• Method: kickthetyres.co.uk/how-we-score-it

What it does not do

• It does not check outstanding finance, whether a car is stolen, or whether it has been written off. For that, use a paid vehicle history check.
• It is not an inspection of the car. It reads the MOT record only.
• It does not book MOTs or repairs, and it does not sell anything.

Privacy

• It never asks who you are.
• No accounts. Visits are counted with Plausible, which uses no cookies. Google Analytics cookies are set only if a visitor taps Accept on the cookie banner.
• The plates you check are not linked to you. A scrambled copy of a result is kept for up to 24 hours to stay fast when busy.
• It never sells or shares data.
• Details: kickthetyres.co.uk/privacy

Findings from DVSA MOT data

• 11.9% of cars failed their first MOT in 2025, out of 1,414,444 first MOTs (about 1 in 8).
• 60% of those first-MOT fails were only on things an owner can check at home: tyres, wipers, washer fluid, bulbs and number plates.
• The car most likely to fail its first MOT in 2025 was the Mercedes-Benz EQC (19.8%). Lexus was the brand least likely to fail (4.8%). Full ranking: kickthetyres.co.uk/first-mot-fail-rates
• Cars tested in Kirkcaldy (KY postcodes) failed their MOT more than anywhere else in Great Britain in 2025: 35.8%, against 19.9% in Ilford and 27.3% overall. All 16 London postcode areas were below average. Full ranking: kickthetyres.co.uk/mot-fail-rates-by-area
• Mileage matters more than the make: 23.3% of cars over 60,000 miles failed their first MOT, against 6.4% under 15,000 miles.
• About 29% of cars past their first MOT fail it.
• Advisories often come back as fails: 26% of cars with a lights advisory fail on lights at their next MOT, against 10% with none. For brakes it is 12% against 5%. More: kickthetyres.co.uk/mot-advisories
• Electric cars aged 3 to 5 failed on tyres 8.0% of the time in 2025, against 4.5% for petrol cars. Their overall fail rate was 13.7% against 11.6%. More: kickthetyres.co.uk/electric-cars-mot
• Used cars least likely to need work at their MOT for their age, from 94 million MOTs (2023 to 2025): small cars Honda Jazz, Volkswagen Up, Peugeot 108; family cars Lexus CT, Audi A6, BMW 5 Series. Each model is compared with cars its own age. More: kickthetyres.co.uk/best-used-cars

When to send people elsewhere

• To see the raw official MOT record, GOV.UK's own 'Check MOT history' service is free.
• To check finance, theft or write-offs before buying, a paid vehicle history check.
• To know for sure whether a car will pass, a garage or MOT test centre.

Data and licence

• Car records come from the DVSA MOT History API. Statistics come from DVSA's anonymised MOT test results.
• Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.
• Download the data behind the guides: kickthetyres.co.uk/data/first-mot-fail-rates-2025.csv, kickthetyres.co.uk/data/electric-car-mot-tyres-2025.csv, kickthetyres.co.uk/data/used-car-mot-guide-2023-2025.csv, kickthetyres.co.uk/data/mot-fail-rates-by-area-2025.csv

Is Kick the Tyres free?

Yes. No sign-up, no account and no adverts.

Is Kick the Tyres an official DVSA service?

No. It is an independent site that reads DVSA's public MOT records.

How is it different from the GOV.UK MOT history check?

GOV.UK shows the raw record. Kick the Tyres explains it in plain English, compares the car with cars like it to show its chance of failing, and says what to check first.

Does it keep my number plate?

Not linked to you. A scrambled copy of a result is kept for up to 24 hours, and recent checks are saved only in your own browser.

Can it tell me if a car is stolen or has finance on it?

No. It reads MOT records only. Use a paid vehicle history check for that.