BMW 3 Series MOT pass rate and common failures
What the MOTs of 448,941 BMW 3 Series cars in 2025 show. These are patterns across all tests recorded by DVSA, not a verdict on any one car.
How often does a BMW 3 Series pass its MOT first time?
In 2025, 75.4% of the 448,941 BMW 3 Series cars tested passed their MOT first time. Cars of all makes from the same registration years passed 69.4% of the time, so the BMW 3 Series was 6.0 points above them.
Pass rate by registration year
First-time pass rate in 2025 for each year the car was first registered, next to all cars registered in the same year. Older cars fail more often, so compare like with like. Years with fewer than 1,000 cars tested are not shown.
Compared with all cars registered in the same year, the BMW 3 Series did best for 2007 registrations (11.1 points above all cars of that year) and worst for 2022 registrations (4.9 points below all cars of that year).
See the figures
| Registered | BMW 3 Series | All cars | Cars tested |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | 84.2% | 89.1% | 8,927 |
| 2021 | 86.5% | 88.2% | 20,584 |
| 2020 | 86.8% | 86.8% | 18,552 |
| 2019 | 86.9% | 84.2% | 23,648 |
| 2018 | 85.6% | 81.7% | 23,137 |
| 2017 | 84.3% | 78.9% | 29,059 |
| 2016 | 83.1% | 75.5% | 29,998 |
| 2015 | 79.5% | 72.4% | 30,021 |
| 2014 | 75.5% | 68.9% | 30,192 |
| 2013 | 72.8% | 65.9% | 32,081 |
| 2012 | 67.8% | 63.5% | 29,984 |
| 2011 | 68.9% | 61.3% | 24,337 |
| 2010 | 67.6% | 59.1% | 22,184 |
| 2009 | 66.5% | 57.9% | 19,583 |
| 2008 | 67.6% | 56.7% | 18,395 |
| 2007 | 68.0% | 56.9% | 20,885 |
| 2006 | 67.1% | 56.6% | 15,143 |
| 2005 | 66.0% | 57.3% | 9,500 |
| 2004 | 66.5% | 57.4% | 7,974 |
| 2003 | 66.7% | 58.4% | 8,626 |
| 2002 | 66.2% | 59.2% | 6,590 |
| 2001 | 65.1% | 61.0% | 4,303 |
| 2000 | 66.0% | 62.7% | 2,301 |
What the BMW 3 Series failed on most
Of the 110,379 BMW 3 Series cars that failed first time in 2025, the share with each fault on the MOT. One car can fail on several faults.
- 1.Headlight aim out of line12.9%
- 2.Badly damaged tyre11.5%
- 3.Tyre tread below the legal limit10.6%
- 4.Leaking or failed shock absorber10.6%
- 5.Worn suspension joint or bush9.5%
By area of the car: lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment 35.3%, tyres 29.6%, suspension 28.7%, brakes 23.7%, visibility 13.7%.
Typical mileage by age
The median odometer reading at the MOT, by the car's age at the test to the nearest year, up to 20 years. Half the cars had covered more and half less. A rough guide when a car's mileage looks high or low for its age.
| Age | BMW 3 Series | All cars |
|---|---|---|
| 3 years | 35,100 | 23,200 |
| 4 years | 42,900 | 30,600 |
| 5 years | 48,800 | 36,100 |
| 6 years | 53,900 | 42,400 |
| 7 years | 64,800 | 50,100 |
| 8 years | 75,400 | 58,200 |
| 9 years | 84,000 | 65,200 |
| 10 years | 93,500 | 72,100 |
| 11 years | 103,500 | 78,800 |
| 12 years | 108,600 | 84,700 |
| 13 years | 114,700 | 90,400 |
| 14 years | 121,300 | 95,900 |
| 15 years | 123,200 | 97,900 |
| 16 years | 122,300 | 98,600 |
| 17 years | 123,100 | 103,500 |
| 18 years | 127,300 | 104,800 |
| 19 years | 133,500 | 104,100 |
| 20 years | 126,200 | 103,100 |
Looking at a BMW 3 Series?
Averages describe thousands of cars. The one you are looking at has its own history.
- BMW 3 Series buyer's guideCommon problems and what to check before you buy.
- Free MOT history checkEvery MOT result, failure and advisory for one registration.
- Full car history checkFinance, write-off, stolen and mileage records for the exact car.
- MOT league tableMakes and models ranked against cars of the same age.
Check the BMW 3 Series you want to buy
Enter the registration for its MOT record, mileage, finance, write-off and stolen checks.
More BMW MOT pass rates
Source
Calculated by Carhealth from the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA), Anonymised MOT tests and results, 2025: 28,468,316 cars. How we worked it out.
Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Source: Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA).