2006 BMW 120: MOT pass rate and reliability
70.5% of 2006 BMW 120s pass the MOT first time, measured across 2,134 DVSA tests on that model year alone. The average one had covered 138,705 miles.
How the 2006 compares
- Against all BMW 120s (77%, 41,718 tests): -6.5 points
- Against all 2006 cars (64.1%): +6.4 points
- National first-time pass rate, all cars and years: 77%
Every BMW 120 model year
Pass rates fall as cars age, so the only fair comparison for a 2006 car is other cars of the same age. The full run for the BMW 120:
| Year | Pass rate | Tests | Avg mileage |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2004 | 73.4% | 707 | 126,891 |
| 2005 | 69.5% | 2,233 | 140,446 |
| 2006 | 70.5% | 2,134 | 138,705 |
| 2007 | 72.6% | 2,395 | 125,936 |
| 2008 | 70.8% | 3,918 | 116,470 |
| 2009 | 71.9% | 3,170 | 113,464 |
| 2010 | 72.5% | 3,686 | 109,524 |
| 2011 | 73.3% | 3,303 | 104,916 |
| 2012 | 73.4% | 2,487 | 101,508 |
| 2013 | 77.9% | 2,386 | 95,264 |
| 2014 | 80.2% | 3,019 | 93,815 |
| 2015 | 83.9% | 3,638 | 79,809 |
| 2016 | 85.5% | 3,374 | 71,044 |
| 2017 | 87.2% | 2,343 | 60,787 |
| 2018 | 84.9% | 1,401 | 50,462 |
| 2019 | 88.9% | 648 | 40,935 |
| 2020 | 88.9% | 649 | 36,105 |
| 2021 | 93.5% | 216 | 30,022 |
What this means if you are buying a 2006 120
The 2006 is a weaker year for this model, passing 6.5 points less often than the BMW 120 average. Some of that is simply age, so compare it against the 2006 figure for all cars above rather than against newer examples. Check the exact car with the free MOT history checker before you buy, and run its VIN and mileage through our free VIN decoder and clocking check.
What a 20-year-old car fails on
A 2006 car is 20 years old now, and age drives the failure mix more than the badge does. Across all cars tested, these are the categories that actually cause failures:
- Lights and electrical: 10.36% of all cars tested
- Suspension: 8.65% of all cars tested
- Tyres: 6.23% of all cars tested
- Brakes: 6.1% of all cars tested
- Visibility: wipers, washers, glass: 4.65% of all cars tested
- Body, chassis and structure: 3.18% of all cars tested
That is high mileage, so timing belts, clutches, suspension bushes and corrosion are the items worth budgeting for rather than the MOT itself. On a 2006 BMW 120 the average at test was 138,705 miles, so treat anything far above that as a car that has worked harder than its peers, and anything far below as one worth checking for the faults that come from standing still.
The strongest year for this model is 2021 at 93.5%, and the weakest in our data is 2005 at 69.5%. That 24.0 point spread across the model's life is why comparing a 2006 car against a newer one tells you very little.
Nearby model years
- 2004 BMW 120 - 73.4%
- 2005 BMW 120 - 69.5%
- 2007 BMW 120 - 72.6%
- 2008 BMW 120 - 70.8%
- 2009 BMW 120 - 71.9%