MOT comparison

Audi A4 B8 vs BMW 3 Series F30/F31/F34

How the Audi A4 B8 (2008–2016) and the BMW 3 Series F30/F31/F34 (6th Gen) (2012–2019) do at their MOTs, compared at the same mileage so a high-mileage car is never measured against a low-mileage one.

Audi A4 B8

1,599,600

MOT tests compared · built 2008–2016

Passes more often in 0 of 16 mileage bands

BMW 3 Series F30/F31/F34 (6th Gen)

1,794,227

MOT tests compared · built 2012–2019

Passes more often in 12 of 16 mileage bands

MOT pass rate by mileage

Share of MOTs passed first time, at the mileage recorded at the test.

Audi A4 B8 BMW 3 Series F30/F31/F34

Under 10,000 miles 94.5% vs 95.6%

3,692 and 11,607 MOTs

10,000–20,000 miles 92.0% vs 93.0%

26,075 and 72,771 MOTs

20,000–30,000 miles 90.3% vs 89.8%

75,449 and 157,218 MOTs

30,000–40,000 miles 88.8% vs 88.1%

112,903 and 200,716 MOTs

40,000–50,000 miles 86.7% vs 86.4%

130,997 and 210,479 MOTs

50,000–60,000 miles 84.3% vs 84.6%

139,891 and 201,933 MOTs

60,000–70,000 miles 81.8% vs 83.1%

142,293 and 185,803 MOTs

70,000–80,000 miles 79.3% vs 81.5%

141,004 and 163,807 MOTs

80,000–90,000 miles 76.9% vs 80.1%

134,748 and 138,970 MOTs

90,000–100,000 miles 75.4% vs 78.7%

124,418 and 114,216 MOTs

100,000–125,000 miles 72.8% vs 76.5%

249,948 and 186,697 MOTs

125,000–150,000 miles 70.7% vs 74.5%

162,856 and 90,072 MOTs

150,000–175,000 miles 68.9% vs 71.9%

88,749 and 37,671 MOTs

175,000–200,000 miles 67.7% vs 70.6%

41,292 and 14,486 MOTs

200,000–250,000 miles 66.5% vs 70.3%

22,201 and 6,739 MOTs

250,000–300,000 miles 65.8% vs 71.5%

3,084 and 1,042 MOTs

Parts that fail more often

Only differences that hold across at least half of the mileage bands we could compare, and that are far too large to be chance, are listed. How we decide

Audi A4 B8 fails more often on

Rear coil spring

Fails about 16 times as often as the BMW 3 Series F30/F31/F34: 1.6% of MOTs against 0.13%.

In 11 of 16 mileage bands · Springs & Shocks
Front drive shaft

Fails over 20 times as often as the BMW 3 Series F30/F31/F34: 2.5% of MOTs against 0.06%.

In 10 of 16 mileage bands
Engine management light

Fails about twice as often as the BMW 3 Series F30/F31/F34: 2.0% of MOTs against 1.1%.

In 9 of 16 mileage bands · Dashboard Warning Lights

BMW 3 Series F30/F31/F34 fails more often on

Front position lamp

Fails about 8 times as often as the Audi A4 B8: 2.3% of MOTs against 0.37%.

In 13 of 16 mileage bands · Lights & Signals
Parking brake

Fails about 7 times as often as the Audi A4 B8: 1.5% of MOTs against 0.21%.

In 8 of 16 mileage bands · Braking System

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Check a car's MOT Compare the Audi A4 B8 with another model

These are differences in real MOT results, not engineering verdicts. Owner mix differs between models (some are more often taxis, first cars or rural cars), which is why every figure compares cars at the same mileage. How we compare cars.

MOT records: DVSA MOT history, which contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. See this the other way round.