2017 BMW 316: MOT pass rate and reliability

87.6% of 2017 BMW 316s pass the MOT first time, measured across 759 DVSA tests on that model year alone. The average one had covered 84,463 miles.

How the 2017 compares

  • Against all BMW 316s (77.2%, 10,443 tests): +10.4 points
  • Against all 2017 cars (83.5%): +4.1 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 2017 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 2017 316

The 2017 is one of the stronger years for this model, passing 10.4 points more often than the BMW 316 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 above average, the point where suspension bushes, drop links and exhaust corrosion start showing up as advisories before they become failures. On a 2017 BMW 316 the average at test was 84,463 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 2017 car against a newer one tells you very little.

Nearby model years

All BMW 316 MOT data · Every model