Buying Report · £14.99
Tools

MOT fail rates

BMW 3 Series MOT fail rate by age

How often the BMW 3 Series fails its MOT at each age, compared with all cars of the same age, and what it fails on. From 1,972,463 DVSA MOT tests taken 2022 to 2025.

MOT data updated

At 10 years, the most tested age

MOT fail rate at age 10 (n=134,877)24.3%
All cars at 10 years (n=9,049,507)30.3%
Median mileage at test94,369
All cars, median mileage75,043

98 of 309 model groups with enough tests fail less often at 10 years.

What stands out

  • At 3 years the BMW 3 Series fails 14.4% of MOTs (89,865 tests), 2.3 points above the 12.1% for all cars that age. At 25 years it fails 32.9% (9,685 tests), 3.4 points below the 36.3% average.
  • The gap is widest at 17 years: 9.9 points below all cars.
  • Its most common structural or mechanical fail item at 10 years: Shock absorber leaking, at 2.7 per 100 MOTs.

MOT fail rate by age

3 years 25 years 47.6%

Solid line: this model. Dashed line: all cars at the same age.

BMW 3 Series: share of MOT tests that failed, by age, against all cars. Ages with fewer than 1,000 tests are not shown.
AgeMOT fail rateTests (n)All carsDifferenceMedian mileage
3 years14.4%89,86512.1%+2.3 pts29,735 miles
4 years12.5%100,64913.4%−0.8 pts38,290 miles
5 years12.5%104,54615.3%−2.9 pts46,795 miles
6 years13.4%114,16717.8%−4.4 pts56,366 miles
7 years15.3%120,28120.6%−5.4 pts66,411 miles
8 years17.5%128,16423.8%−6.3 pts76,717 miles
9 years20.4%132,58527.1%−6.7 pts85,546 miles
10 years24.3%134,87730.3%−6.1 pts94,369 miles
11 years27.3%133,00833.3%−6.0 pts103,318 miles
12 years29.5%127,68036.0%−6.5 pts109,971 miles
13 years31.9%115,04138.3%−6.4 pts114,283 miles
14 years32.2%105,61440.3%−8.1 pts117,311 miles
15 years32.6%106,40741.6%−9.0 pts119,897 miles
16 years32.8%99,87042.6%−9.8 pts123,207 miles
17 years33.2%85,97643.1%−9.9 pts126,116 miles
18 years33.9%70,07143.3%−9.4 pts126,021 miles
19 years34.9%54,54443.2%−8.3 pts122,964 miles
20 years35.3%43,29042.8%−7.5 pts118,243 miles
21 years34.7%35,71642.1%−7.4 pts115,471 miles
22 years34.6%27,61641.0%−6.4 pts114,971 miles
23 years34.5%19,51639.6%−5.1 pts113,484 miles
24 years34.3%13,29537.8%−3.5 pts111,847 miles
25 years32.9%9,68536.3%−3.4 pts112,461 miles

Most common fail items at 10 years

Split into structural or mechanical items and wear items. Wear items (tyres, brake pads, wipers, bulbs) say more about upkeep than about the design.

Structural and mechanical

Fail itemPer 100 MOTs
Shock absorber leaking Major2.7

Out of 134,877 MOTs. A test with two faults counts twice.

Wear and upkeep

Fail itemPer 100 MOTs
Tyre tread below 1.6 mm Dangerous4.1
Side/position light not working Major3.8
Tyre with cords exposed Dangerous2.3
Dipped headlight not working Major1.9
Headlamp aim: too low Major1.8
Brake pads under 1.5 mm Dangerous1.8
Tyre condition: has a cut in excess of the requirements deep enough to reach the ply or cords Major1.6
Washers: provides insufficient washer liquid Major1.6
Headlight aimed too high Major1.4

Out of 134,877 MOTs. A test with two faults counts twice.

Other models at 10 years

ModelMOT fail rateTests (n)All cars
BMW 1 Series25.8%131,19830.3%
BMW 5 Series20.6%63,10730.3%
BMW 4 Series20.1%32,23830.3%

MOT fail rate by first-use year

Each year has its own page: the fail rate for cars first used that year at each MOT from 2022 to 2025 with at least 1,000 tests, the most common faults at that age, and the car tax and ULEZ rules for that year.

First-use year data updated .

Latest MOT age with at least 1,000 tests for each first-use year.
First usedAge at testMOT fail rateTests (n)All cars
199825 years in 202331.9%2,44236.3%
199925 years in 202433.4%2,67036.3%
200025 years in 202533.2%2,43736.3%
200124 years in 202534.1%4,54837.8%
200223 years in 202532.9%6,97039.6%
200322 years in 202532.4%9,13141.0%
200421 years in 202532.7%8,48942.1%
200520 years in 202533.5%10,05842.8%
200619 years in 202532.3%15,96643.2%
200718 years in 202531.6%21,99943.3%
200817 years in 202531.9%19,38143.1%
200916 years in 202532.9%20,57042.6%
201015 years in 202531.8%23,27241.6%
201114 years in 202530.5%25,42240.3%
201213 years in 202531.7%31,32038.3%
201312 years in 202526.8%33,48436.0%
201411 years in 202524.2%31,49333.3%
201510 years in 202520.2%31,33230.3%
20169 years in 202516.7%31,40427.1%
20178 years in 202515.5%30,55723.8%
20187 years in 202514.2%24,42820.6%
20196 years in 202512.9%25,50517.8%
20205 years in 202512.7%21,39615.3%
20214 years in 202512.7%25,47913.4%
20223 years in 202514.3%13,40912.1%

More on the BMW 3 Series

Read this with care. A fail rate is not a measure of build quality. How far cars are driven, how they are used and how well owners maintain them all change it, and wear items such as tyres and brake pads are common fails. Compare a model only with cars of the same age. Methodology and limits.

Looking at one BMW 3 Series?

These are figures for the model, not for one car. The VetTheCar Buying Report looks at a single car: its MOT tests, defects, advisories and mileage readings.

See an example report Browse the car tools

Source

Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Source: DVSA anonymised MOT test data, class 4 normal MOT tests, 2022 to 2025. MOT data updated 22 September 2026.

Not affiliated with or endorsed by DVSA. How we calculate these figures · Data sources