2018 BMW 420: MOT pass rate and reliability
87.2% of 2018 BMW 420s pass the MOT first time, measured across 10,319 DVSA tests on that model year alone. The average one had covered 51,287 miles.
How the 2018 compares
- Against all BMW 420s (85.3%, 62,870 tests): +1.9 points
- Against all 2018 cars (85.9%): +1.3 points
- National first-time pass rate, all cars and years: 77%
Every BMW 420 model year
Pass rates fall as cars age, so the only fair comparison for a 2018 car is other cars of the same age. The full run for the BMW 420:
| Year | Pass rate | Tests | Avg mileage |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2013 | 79.4% | 562 | 98,351 |
| 2014 | 80.1% | 7,766 | 89,165 |
| 2015 | 83.1% | 10,255 | 83,410 |
| 2016 | 85.6% | 11,422 | 75,767 |
| 2017 | 86.4% | 11,360 | 64,289 |
| 2018 | 87.2% | 10,319 | 51,287 |
| 2019 | 87.5% | 7,667 | 42,543 |
| 2020 | 88.9% | 3,170 | 32,988 |
| 2021 | 90.8% | 348 | 27,860 |
What this means if you are buying a 2018 420
The 2018 sits close to the BMW 420 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 an 8-year-old car fails on
A 2018 car is 8 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 2018 BMW 420 the average at test was 51,287 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 90.8%, and the weakest in our data is 2013 at 79.4%. That 11.4 point spread across the model's life is why comparing a 2018 car against a newer one tells you very little.
Nearby model years
- 2015 BMW 420 - 83.1%
- 2016 BMW 420 - 85.6%
- 2017 BMW 420 - 86.4%
- 2019 BMW 420 - 87.5%
- 2020 BMW 420 - 88.9%
- 2021 BMW 420 - 90.8%