2009 BMW 535: MOT pass rate and reliability
78.4% of 2009 BMW 535s pass the MOT first time, measured across 268 DVSA tests on that model year alone. The average one had covered 146,999 miles.
How the 2009 compares
- Against all BMW 535s (83.5%, 8,262 tests): -5.1 points
- Against all 2009 cars (66.1%): +12.3 points
- National first-time pass rate, all cars and years: 77%
Every BMW 535 model year
Pass rates fall as cars age, so the only fair comparison for a 2009 car is other cars of the same age. The full run for the BMW 535:
| Year | Pass rate | Tests | Avg mileage |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2005 | 79.4% | 660 | 158,771 |
| 2006 | 79.3% | 676 | 158,338 |
| 2007 | 79.2% | 707 | 156,005 |
| 2008 | 79.4% | 476 | 148,588 |
| 2009 | 78.4% | 268 | 146,999 |
| 2010 | 78.6% | 318 | 111,906 |
| 2011 | 84.2% | 526 | 112,994 |
| 2012 | 85.7% | 279 | 106,420 |
| 2013 | 86.6% | 359 | 100,760 |
| 2014 | 87.7% | 894 | 94,400 |
| 2015 | 86.7% | 1,281 | 84,278 |
| 2016 | 89% | 1,150 | 76,534 |
What this means if you are buying a 2009 535
The 2009 is a weaker year for this model, passing 5.1 points less often than the BMW 535 average. Some of that is simply age, so compare it against the 2009 figure for all cars above rather than against newer examples. 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 17-year-old car fails on
A 2009 car is 17 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 very high mileage. Clutches, dual-mass flywheels and head gaskets have usually been through at least one repair by this point, so ask for evidence rather than assume the car is original everywhere. On a 2009 BMW 535 the average at test was 146,999 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 2016 at 89%, and the weakest in our data is 2009 at 78.4%. That 10.6 point spread across the model's life is why comparing a 2009 car against a newer one tells you very little.
Nearby model years
- 2006 BMW 535 - 79.3%
- 2007 BMW 535 - 79.2%
- 2008 BMW 535 - 79.4%
- 2010 BMW 535 - 78.6%
- 2011 BMW 535 - 84.2%
- 2012 BMW 535 - 85.7%