MOT comparison

BMW 1 Series E81/E82/E87/E88 vs Audi A3 8P

How the BMW 1 Series E81/E82/E87/E88 (1st Gen) (2004–2011) and the Audi A3 8P (2nd Gen) (2003–2012) do at their MOTs, compared at the same mileage so a high-mileage car is never measured against a low-mileage one.

BMW 1 Series E81/E82/E87/E88 (1st Gen)

2,414,517

MOT tests compared · built 2004–2011

Passes more often in 14 of 16 mileage bands

Audi A3 8P (2nd Gen)

3,268,136

MOT tests compared · built 2003–2012

Passes more often in 0 of 16 mileage bands

MOT pass rate by mileage

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

BMW 1 Series E81/E82/E87/E88 Audi A3 8P

Under 10,000 miles 93.3% vs 90.5%

15,725 and 10,932 MOTs

10,000–20,000 miles 90.3% vs 90.6%

86,917 and 67,790 MOTs

20,000–30,000 miles 88.0% vs 87.3%

161,477 and 153,714 MOTs

30,000–40,000 miles 86.3% vs 84.6%

196,633 and 211,907 MOTs

40,000–50,000 miles 83.5% vs 81.4%

209,613 and 241,989 MOTs

50,000–60,000 miles 80.5% vs 78.1%

214,036 and 259,322 MOTs

60,000–70,000 miles 77.4% vs 74.8%

214,602 and 267,891 MOTs

70,000–80,000 miles 74.5% vs 71.8%

210,772 and 271,014 MOTs

80,000–90,000 miles 71.6% vs 69.0%

200,877 and 268,696 MOTs

90,000–100,000 miles 68.8% vs 66.5%

185,157 and 257,494 MOTs

100,000–125,000 miles 65.4% vs 63.0%

359,284 and 546,841 MOTs

125,000–150,000 miles 62.2% vs 59.6%

211,596 and 373,161 MOTs

150,000–175,000 miles 60.2% vs 57.4%

97,111 and 204,854 MOTs

175,000–200,000 miles 59.3% vs 56.0%

35,125 and 88,064 MOTs

200,000–250,000 miles 58.3% vs 55.5%

14,067 and 39,936 MOTs

250,000–300,000 miles 59.1% vs 56.1%

1,525 and 4,531 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

BMW 1 Series E81/E82/E87/E88 fails more often on

Windscreen washer

Fails about 3 times as often as the Audi A3 8P: 2.9% of MOTs against 1.3%.

In 14 of 16 mileage bands · Driver's View
Shock absorbers

Fails about 6 times as often as the Audi A3 8P: 3.6% of MOTs against 1.1%.

In 10 of 16 mileage bands · Springs & Shocks
Front position lamp

Fails about twice as often as the Audi A3 8P: 1.9% of MOTs against 0.98%.

In 9 of 16 mileage bands · Lights & Signals

Audi A3 8P fails more often on

Stop lamp

Fails about 3 times as often as the BMW 1 Series E81/E82/E87/E88: 1.7% of MOTs against 0.62%.

In 15 of 16 mileage bands · Lights & Signals
Front ball joint

Fails about 5 times as often as the BMW 1 Series E81/E82/E87/E88: 3.3% of MOTs against 0.83%.

In 12 of 16 mileage bands · Suspension & Joints

Own one of these?

Enter your registration to see your own car's MOT history, its predicted pass chance and what usually fails next at its mileage.

Check a car's MOT Compare the BMW 1 Series E81/E82/E87/E88 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.