BMW 730: MOT pass rate and reliability data

The BMW 730 passes its MOT first time more often than the average UK car, by 8 percentage points. These figures come from the DVSA's full year of anonymised MOT results, covering 9,408 individual BMW 730 tests. Nothing here is an estimate or a survey.

The numbers

First-time pass rate84.7%
UK national average76.7%
Difference+8 points
Tests analysed9,408
Average mileage at test104,226 miles
Average year of manufacture2013
Reliability rank1,260 of 2,005 models

What this means if you are buying one

A 84.7% first-time pass rate means roughly 15 in every 100 BMW 730s presented for MOT fail on the first attempt. That is better than average, so a well-kept example is a reasonably safe used buy. The average BMW 730 tested had covered 104,226 miles and was built around 2013.

What this means at salvage auction

Pass rate is a proxy for what a car costs to keep on the road. On a BMW 730 bought as a repairable salvage, the mechanical side is less likely to spring surprises, so your repair estimate should hold up reasonably well.

Before you bid: run the lot through the analyzer, check the car's own record, check the mileage, decode the VIN, and if it carries a marker use the write-off value calculator. Or compare it against another model.

Looking at a specific BMW 730 rather than the model in general? The free check covers its MOT and mileage history, and the full HPI report confirms the insurance write-off category, outstanding finance and whether it is recorded stolen, from licensed data for 5 credits. Already own one that has been damaged? Work out whether fixing it beats selling it with the repair or scrap calculator, and see what damaged BMW 730s actually sold for at UK salvage auction.

Most common MOT failures on a BMW 730

  1. Any fracture or welding defect on a wheel, 0.6% of tests (12.87x the national rate for this defect)
  2. An SRS malfunction indicator lamp (MIL) indicates a system malfunction, 0.6% of tests (1.86x the national rate for this defect)
  3. A wheel with a loose or missing wheel nut, bolt or stud, 0.4% of tests (1.75x the national rate for this defect)
  4. A suspension pin, bush or joint excessively worn, 3.1% of tests
  5. A tyre seriously damaged, 1.6% of tests
  6. Tyre tread depth not in accordance with the requirements, 1.4% of tests
  7. A tyre cords visible or damaged, 1.2% of tests
  8. A spring or spring component fractured or seriously weakened, 1.1% of tests
  9. A suspension joint dust cover missing or no longer prevents the ingress of dirt etc, 0.9% of tests
  10. Windscreen washers not working or not providing sufficient fluid to clear the windscreen, 0.7% of tests

From 19,622 DVSA-tracked BMW 730 tests, 2024. DVSA testers marked 5.33% of these flagged BMW 730 defects as "dangerous", meaning the tester judged the car unsafe to drive away, against 4.97% nationally.

BMW 730 pass rate by model year

Pass rates fall steadily as cars age, so the model year matters as much as the model. First-time pass rate for each BMW 730 year:

BMW 730 by fuel type

Diesel and petrol versions of the same car fail on different things, so the fuel type moves the number:

Other BMW models

Models with a similar pass rate

If this car is a salvage or write-off

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All 2,005 models ranked by MOT pass rate