2017 BMW 218: MOT pass rate and reliability

86.5% of 2017 BMW 218s pass the MOT first time, measured across 9,900 DVSA tests on that model year alone. The average one had covered 54,116 miles.

How the 2017 compares

  • Against all BMW 218s (86%, 46,731 tests): +0.5 points
  • Against all 2017 cars (83.5%): +3 points
  • National first-time pass rate, all cars and years: 77%

Every BMW 218 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 218:

Year Pass rate Tests Avg mileage
2014 81.8% 2,304 79,485
2015 84.4% 8,789 70,571
2016 84.7% 11,770 62,812
2017 86.5% 9,900 54,116
2018 88% 8,026 45,120
2019 88.4% 3,747 34,036
2020 89.8% 2,146 27,848

What this means if you are buying a 2017 218

The 2017 sits close to the BMW 218 average, so there is no strong model-year signal either way. Judge the individual car on its own history. 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 218 the average at test was 54,116 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 2020 at 89.8%, and the weakest in our data is 2014 at 81.8%. That 8.0 point spread across the model's life is why comparing a 2017 car against a newer one tells you very little.

Nearby model years

All BMW 218 MOT data · Every model