2005 BMW M3: MOT pass rate and reliability
86.5% of 2005 BMW M3s pass the MOT first time, measured across 970 DVSA tests on that model year alone. The average one had covered 91,066 miles.
How the 2005 compares
- Against all BMW M3s (88.3%, 15,037 tests): -1.8 points
- Against all 2005 cars (64.2%): +22.3 points
- National first-time pass rate, all cars and years: 77%
Every BMW M3 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 M3:
| Year | Pass rate | Tests | Avg mileage |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1997 | 87.4% | 207 | 106,407 |
| 2001 | 86.4% | 302 | 110,722 |
| 2002 | 85.1% | 1,195 | 105,643 |
| 2003 | 86.9% | 1,882 | 99,818 |
| 2004 | 87% | 1,372 | 95,265 |
| 2005 | 86.5% | 970 | 91,066 |
| 2006 | 89.5% | 344 | 83,807 |
| 2007 | 90.4% | 416 | 88,740 |
| 2008 | 88.3% | 1,085 | 82,863 |
| 2009 | 90.4% | 685 | 78,043 |
| 2010 | 89.5% | 619 | 73,718 |
| 2011 | 88% | 661 | 69,595 |
| 2012 | 89.7% | 571 | 59,648 |
| 2013 | 91.6% | 442 | 53,762 |
| 2014 | 87.6% | 226 | 62,841 |
| 2015 | 91.2% | 543 | 56,697 |
| 2016 | 89.3% | 758 | 49,586 |
| 2017 | 90.3% | 960 | 43,062 |
| 2018 | 92.1% | 813 | 38,225 |
What this means if you are buying a 2005 M3
The 2005 sits close to the BMW M3 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 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 above average, the point where suspension bushes, drop links and exhaust corrosion start showing up as advisories before they become failures. On a 2005 BMW M3 the average at test was 91,066 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 2018 at 92.1%, and the weakest in our data is 2002 at 85.1%. That 7.0 point spread across the model's life is why comparing a 2005 car against a newer one tells you very little.
Nearby model years
- 2002 BMW M3 - 85.1%
- 2003 BMW M3 - 86.9%
- 2004 BMW M3 - 87%
- 2006 BMW M3 - 89.5%
- 2007 BMW M3 - 90.4%
- 2008 BMW M3 - 88.3%