MOT comparison

BMW 1 Series E81/E82/E87/E88 vs Mercedes-Benz A-Class W169

How the BMW 1 Series E81/E82/E87/E88 (1st Gen) (2004–2011) and the Mercedes-Benz A-Class W169 (2nd Gen) (2004–2012) 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)

2,412,992

MOT tests compared · built 2004–2011

Passes more often in 13 of 15 mileage bands

Mercedes-Benz A-Class W169 (2nd Gen)

910,904

MOT tests compared · built 2004–2012

Passes more often in 0 of 15 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 Mercedes-Benz A-Class W169

Under 10,000 miles 93.3% vs 93.0%

15,725 and 14,232 MOTs

10,000–20,000 miles 90.3% vs 89.9%

86,917 and 64,107 MOTs

20,000–30,000 miles 88.0% vs 86.4%

161,477 and 105,030 MOTs

30,000–40,000 miles 86.3% vs 82.0%

196,633 and 115,488 MOTs

40,000–50,000 miles 83.5% vs 77.3%

209,613 and 111,853 MOTs

50,000–60,000 miles 80.5% vs 72.6%

214,036 and 103,697 MOTs

60,000–70,000 miles 77.4% vs 68.2%

214,602 and 92,228 MOTs

70,000–80,000 miles 74.5% vs 64.6%

210,772 and 79,044 MOTs

80,000–90,000 miles 71.6% vs 60.9%

200,877 and 64,857 MOTs

90,000–100,000 miles 68.8% vs 58.5%

185,157 and 50,152 MOTs

100,000–125,000 miles 65.4% vs 55.3%

359,284 and 72,117 MOTs

125,000–150,000 miles 62.2% vs 51.6%

211,596 and 26,453 MOTs

150,000–175,000 miles 60.2% vs 49.3%

97,111 and 8,071 MOTs

175,000–200,000 miles 59.3% vs 48.4%

35,125 and 2,441 MOTs

200,000–250,000 miles 58.3% vs 49.0%

14,067 and 1,134 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

Engine covers

Fails about 2 times as often as the Mercedes-Benz A-Class W169: 0.66% of MOTs against 0.26%.

In 9 of 15 mileage bands

Mercedes-Benz A-Class W169 fails more often on

Stop lamp

Fails about 5 times as often as the BMW 1 Series E81/E82/E87/E88: 2.6% of MOTs against 0.62%.

In 15 of 15 mileage bands · Lights & Signals
Side repeater

Fails about 9 times as often as the BMW 1 Series E81/E82/E87/E88: 1.5% of MOTs against 0.18%.

In 15 of 15 mileage bands

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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.