2011 BMW 535: MOT pass rate and reliability
84.2% of 2011 BMW 535s pass the MOT first time, measured across 526 DVSA tests on that model year alone. The average one had covered 112,994 miles.
How the 2011 compares
- Against all BMW 535s (83.5%, 8,262 tests): +0.7 points
- Against all 2011 cars (68.7%): +15.5 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 2011 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 2011 535
The 2011 sits close to the BMW 535 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 535 the average at test was 112,994 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 2011 car against a newer one tells you very little.
Nearby model years
- 2008 BMW 535 - 79.4%
- 2009 BMW 535 - 78.4%
- 2010 BMW 535 - 78.6%
- 2012 BMW 535 - 85.7%
- 2013 BMW 535 - 86.6%
- 2014 BMW 535 - 87.7%