1991 BMW 3 Series: MOT pass rate and reliability

82.4% of 1991 BMW 3 Series pass the MOT first time, measured across 649 DVSA tests on that model year alone. The average one had covered 118,752 miles.

How the 1991 compares

  • Against all BMW 3 Series (77.4%, 376,844 tests): +5 points
  • Against all 1991 cars (75.1%): +7.3 points
  • National first-time pass rate, all cars and years: 77%

Every BMW 3 Series model year

Pass rates fall as cars age, so the only fair comparison for a 1991 car is other cars of the same age. The full run for the BMW 3 Series:

Year Pass rate Tests Avg mileage
1990 82.6% 1,080 121,971
1991 82.4% 649 118,752
1992 81.4% 430 111,518
1993 78.2% 386 110,204
1994 75.4% 407 115,974
1995 76.5% 635 115,689
1996 76.7% 958 116,065
1997 73.9% 1,352 119,290
1998 75.3% 1,835 122,174
1999 72.7% 2,368 113,455
2000 71.9% 2,498 115,370
2001 71.7% 4,804 117,804
2002 72.8% 7,468 120,826
2003 71.7% 9,593 121,518
2004 70.9% 9,061 123,317
2005 71.7% 11,955 132,434
2006 73.2% 18,872 134,760
2007 73.7% 25,625 129,932
2008 73.3% 22,109 124,249
2009 71.8% 22,460 120,743
2010 73% 25,114 122,352
2011 74.2% 27,312 119,877
2012 74.4% 32,121 112,027
2013 78.7% 32,721 106,094
2014 82.2% 30,144 101,104
2015 85.2% 30,532 89,504
2016 86.6% 24,701 80,509
2017 86.9% 3,673 69,650
2018 87.9% 8,580 56,946
2019 87.9% 11,768 48,582
2020 88.3% 3,330 41,103
2021 90.1% 385 29,548

What this means if you are buying a 1991 3 Series

The 1991 is one of the stronger years for this model, passing 5 points more often than the BMW 3 Series 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 35-year-old car fails on

A 1991 car is 35 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 1991 BMW 3 Series the average at test was 118,752 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 90.1%, and the weakest in our data is 2004 at 70.9%. That 19.2 point spread across the model's life is why comparing a 1991 car against a newer one tells you very little.

Nearby model years

All BMW 3 Series MOT data · Every model