2005 BMW 730: MOT pass rate and reliability
78.9% of 2005 BMW 730s pass the MOT first time, measured across 294 DVSA tests on that model year alone. The average one had covered 145,747 miles.
How the 2005 compares
- Against all BMW 730s (85.4%, 9,330 tests): -6.5 points
- Against all 2005 cars (64.2%): +14.7 points
- National first-time pass rate, all cars and years: 77%
Every BMW 730 model year
Pass rates fall as cars age, so the only fair comparison for a 2005 car is other cars of the same age. The full run for the BMW 730:
| Year | Pass rate | Tests | Avg mileage |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2005 | 78.9% | 294 | 145,747 |
| 2006 | 73.5% | 619 | 147,499 |
| 2007 | 80.4% | 443 | 143,639 |
| 2008 | 77.6% | 477 | 136,131 |
| 2009 | 82.7% | 359 | 131,198 |
| 2010 | 85.1% | 462 | 129,874 |
| 2011 | 82.1% | 643 | 121,107 |
| 2012 | 85.4% | 499 | 115,998 |
| 2013 | 85.2% | 386 | 110,937 |
| 2014 | 83.9% | 706 | 100,199 |
| 2015 | 86.4% | 580 | 92,387 |
| 2016 | 88.6% | 858 | 86,134 |
| 2017 | 92.2% | 708 | 75,413 |
| 2018 | 92.2% | 656 | 68,199 |
| 2019 | 93% | 755 | 55,965 |
| 2020 | 93.9% | 347 | 43,899 |
What this means if you are buying a 2005 730
The 2005 is a weaker year for this model, passing 6.5 points less often than the BMW 730 average. Some of that is simply age, so compare it against the 2005 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 21-year-old car fails on
A 2005 car is 21 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 2005 BMW 730 the average at test was 145,747 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 2020 at 93.9%, and the weakest in our data is 2006 at 73.5%. That 20.4 point spread across the model's life is why comparing a 2005 car against a newer one tells you very little.
Nearby model years
- 2006 BMW 730 - 73.5%
- 2007 BMW 730 - 80.4%
- 2008 BMW 730 - 77.6%