MOT comparison

BMW 3 Series E90/E91/E92/E93 vs Audi A4 B8

How the BMW 3 Series E90/E91/E92/E93 (5th Gen) (2005–2012) and the Audi A4 B8 (2008–2016) do at their MOTs, compared at the same mileage so a high-mileage car is never measured against a low-mileage one.

BMW 3 Series E90/E91/E92/E93 (5th Gen)

4,180,745

MOT tests compared · built 2005–2012

Passes more often in 0 of 16 mileage bands

Audi A4 B8

1,599,600

MOT tests compared · built 2008–2016

Passes more often in 16 of 16 mileage bands

MOT pass rate by mileage

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

BMW 3 Series E90/E91/E92/E93 Audi A4 B8

Under 10,000 miles 91.6% vs 94.5%

17,604 and 3,692 MOTs

10,000–20,000 miles 89.6% vs 92.0%

100,803 and 26,075 MOTs

20,000–30,000 miles 86.3% vs 90.3%

211,027 and 75,449 MOTs

30,000–40,000 miles 85.3% vs 88.8%

278,167 and 112,903 MOTs

40,000–50,000 miles 82.9% vs 86.7%

311,916 and 130,997 MOTs

50,000–60,000 miles 80.2% vs 84.3%

331,304 and 139,891 MOTs

60,000–70,000 miles 77.9% vs 81.8%

341,393 and 142,293 MOTs

70,000–80,000 miles 75.6% vs 79.3%

346,839 and 141,004 MOTs

80,000–90,000 miles 73.4% vs 76.9%

340,717 and 134,748 MOTs

90,000–100,000 miles 71.4% vs 75.4%

324,937 and 124,418 MOTs

100,000–125,000 miles 68.7% vs 72.8%

677,319 and 249,948 MOTs

125,000–150,000 miles 65.9% vs 70.7%

456,465 and 162,856 MOTs

150,000–175,000 miles 64.0% vs 68.9%

254,307 and 88,749 MOTs

175,000–200,000 miles 62.7% vs 67.7%

116,811 and 41,292 MOTs

200,000–250,000 miles 62.0% vs 66.5%

61,811 and 22,201 MOTs

250,000–300,000 miles 61.1% vs 65.8%

9,325 and 3,084 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 3 Series E90/E91/E92/E93 fails more often on

Exhaust emissions

Fails about 8 times as often as the Audi A4 B8: 0.90% of MOTs against 0.13%.

In 15 of 16 mileage bands · Exhaust & Emissions
Windscreen washer

Fails about twice as often as the Audi A4 B8: 1.8% of MOTs against 0.87%.

In 14 of 16 mileage bands · Driver's View
Front position lamp

Fails about 9 times as often as the Audi A4 B8: 2.5% of MOTs against 0.40%.

In 12 of 16 mileage bands · Lights & Signals

Audi A4 B8 fails more often on

Front drive shaft

Fails over 20 times as often as the BMW 3 Series E90/E91/E92/E93: 2.5% of MOTs against 0.00%.

In 10 of 16 mileage bands
Rear coil spring

Fails about 3 times as often as the BMW 3 Series E90/E91/E92/E93: 1.5% of MOTs against 0.45%.

In 8 of 16 mileage bands · Springs & Shocks

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Check a car's MOT Compare the BMW 3 Series E90/E91/E92/E93 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.