2017 BMW 120: MOT pass rate and reliability
87.2% of 2017 BMW 120s pass the MOT first time, measured across 2,343 DVSA tests on that model year alone. The average one had covered 60,787 miles.
How the 2017 compares
- Against all BMW 120s (77%, 41,718 tests): +10.2 points
- Against all 2017 cars (83.5%): +3.7 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 2017 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 2017 120
The 2017 is one of the stronger years for this model, passing 10.2 points more often than the BMW 120 average. That is a point in its favour, though condition and service history still matter more than the model year. 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 9-year-old car fails on
A 2017 car is 9 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 around average, so condition and service history will tell you more than the odometer does. On a 2017 BMW 120 the average at test was 60,787 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 2017 car against a newer one tells you very little.
Nearby model years
- 2014 BMW 120 - 80.2%
- 2015 BMW 120 - 83.9%
- 2016 BMW 120 - 85.5%
- 2018 BMW 120 - 84.9%
- 2019 BMW 120 - 88.9%
- 2020 BMW 120 - 88.9%