2011 BMW 316: MOT pass rate and reliability
77.5% of 2011 BMW 316s pass the MOT first time, measured across 222 DVSA tests on that model year alone. The average one had covered 137,705 miles.
How the 2011 compares
- Against all BMW 316s (77.2%, 10,443 tests): +0.3 points
- Against all 2011 cars (68.7%): +8.8 points
- National first-time pass rate, all cars and years: 77%
Every BMW 316 model year
Pass rates fall as cars age, so the only fair comparison for a 2011 car is other cars of the same age. The full run for the BMW 316:
| Year | Pass rate | Tests | Avg mileage |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1997 | 71.9% | 228 | 105,662 |
| 1998 | 73.2% | 250 | 103,950 |
| 1999 | 70.1% | 241 | 104,381 |
| 2000 | 68% | 269 | 104,775 |
| 2001 | 67.7% | 331 | 98,864 |
| 2002 | 71.6% | 384 | 95,680 |
| 2003 | 69.7% | 670 | 92,822 |
| 2004 | 66.4% | 619 | 89,120 |
| 2010 | 74.6% | 283 | 145,340 |
| 2011 | 77.5% | 222 | 137,705 |
| 2012 | 71.3% | 453 | 123,232 |
| 2013 | 81.2% | 1,293 | 94,183 |
| 2014 | 81.6% | 1,525 | 93,806 |
| 2015 | 82.3% | 713 | 100,453 |
| 2016 | 81.7% | 502 | 99,033 |
| 2017 | 87.6% | 759 | 84,463 |
| 2018 | 88.9% | 360 | 72,201 |
What this means if you are buying a 2011 316
The 2011 sits close to the BMW 316 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 15-year-old car fails on
A 2011 car is 15 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 2011 BMW 316 the average at test was 137,705 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 2018 at 88.9%, and the weakest in our data is 2004 at 66.4%. That 22.5 point spread across the model's life is why comparing a 2011 car against a newer one tells you very little.
Nearby model years
- 2003 BMW 316 - 69.7%
- 2004 BMW 316 - 66.4%
- 2010 BMW 316 - 74.6%
- 2012 BMW 316 - 71.3%
- 2013 BMW 316 - 81.2%
- 2014 BMW 316 - 81.6%