┌─ About whatbreaks ────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐

whatbreaks is a used car risk analysis tool for the UK market. It uses Monte Carlo simulation to project likely repair costs over your ownership period, helping you make informed buying decisions.

Rather than relying on subjective reliability ratings, whatbreaks uses real failure data from the DVSA MOT testing programme to model component failure probabilities as a function of mileage. Try a free analysis or read our research.

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┌─ Data sources ────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
DVSA MOT Bulk Data (2023)
The 2023 file holds 42.5 million MOT test records. After removing commercial vehicles, 40.4 million car and van tests are analysed, covering 532 models and generations from 45 makes.
Component failure analysis
Real failure rates derived from MOT advisory and failure items, mapped to specific components (ball joints, coil springs, brake pads, etc.) with mileage-at-failure statistics.
Mechanical estimates
Non-MOT-testable items (timing chains, turbos, clutches, DMF) use industry-standard failure distributions calibrated to each vehicle model.
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┌─ Contact & privacy ────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
whatbreaks is run by a single independent operator. Questions, corrections and data requests: open an issue on GitHub at github.com/physics-star-cat.
No accounts, no sign-up. The site uses Google Analytics; the public API and MCP server record anonymous event counts only. Full details in the privacy policy.
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┌─ Supported vehicles (374 models) ────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
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