2005 BMW Z4: MOT pass rate and reliability
70.8% of 2005 BMW Z4s pass the MOT first time, measured across 2,096 DVSA tests on that model year alone. The average one had covered 94,240 miles.
How the 2005 compares
- Against all BMW Z4s (80.5%, 35,318 tests): -9.7 points
- Against all 2005 cars (64.2%): +6.6 points
- National first-time pass rate, all cars and years: 77%
Every BMW Z4 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 Z4:
| Year | Pass rate | Tests | Avg mileage |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2003 | 73% | 2,526 | 98,003 |
| 2004 | 74.4% | 3,097 | 95,934 |
| 2005 | 70.8% | 2,096 | 94,240 |
| 2006 | 74.1% | 3,042 | 89,267 |
| 2007 | 76.5% | 3,134 | 87,019 |
| 2008 | 75.1% | 1,842 | 80,827 |
| 2009 | 82.9% | 2,495 | 74,777 |
| 2010 | 82.8% | 1,979 | 71,437 |
| 2011 | 83.9% | 1,986 | 65,807 |
| 2012 | 82.6% | 1,889 | 63,948 |
| 2013 | 83.4% | 1,580 | 58,506 |
| 2014 | 84.5% | 1,927 | 53,362 |
| 2015 | 86.4% | 1,608 | 47,278 |
| 2016 | 85.1% | 1,222 | 40,803 |
| 2019 | 90.5% | 2,034 | 26,034 |
| 2020 | 91% | 1,542 | 22,512 |
| 2021 | 91.5% | 1,107 | 18,769 |
What this means if you are buying a 2005 Z4
The 2005 is a weaker year for this model, passing 9.7 points less often than the BMW Z4 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 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 Z4 the average at test was 94,240 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 2021 at 91.5%, and the weakest in our data is 2005 at 70.8%. That 20.7 point spread across the model's life is why comparing a 2005 car against a newer one tells you very little.
Nearby model years
- 2003 BMW Z4 - 73%
- 2004 BMW Z4 - 74.4%
- 2006 BMW Z4 - 74.1%
- 2007 BMW Z4 - 76.5%
- 2008 BMW Z4 - 75.1%