MOT comparison

BMW 3 Series E90/E91/E92/E93 vs Mercedes-Benz C-Class W204

How the BMW 3 Series E90/E91/E92/E93 (5th Gen) (2005–2012) and the Mercedes-Benz C-Class W204 (3rd Gen) (2007–2014) 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)

4,179,734

MOT tests compared · built 2005–2012

Passes more often in 5 of 16 mileage bands

Mercedes-Benz C-Class W204 (3rd Gen)

1,990,516

MOT tests compared · built 2007–2014

Passes more often in 4 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 Mercedes-Benz C-Class W204

Under 10,000 miles 91.6% vs 93.2%

17,604 and 9,799 MOTs

10,000–20,000 miles 89.6% vs 91.3%

100,806 and 60,061 MOTs

20,000–30,000 miles 86.3% vs 88.8%

211,037 and 138,404 MOTs

30,000–40,000 miles 85.3% vs 86.5%

278,175 and 179,846 MOTs

40,000–50,000 miles 82.9% vs 83.6%

311,922 and 192,884 MOTs

50,000–60,000 miles 80.2% vs 80.4%

331,306 and 193,948 MOTs

60,000–70,000 miles 77.9% vs 77.9%

341,365 and 188,528 MOTs

70,000–80,000 miles 75.6% vs 75.3%

346,784 and 178,366 MOTs

80,000–90,000 miles 73.4% vs 73.0%

340,655 and 163,087 MOTs

90,000–100,000 miles 71.4% vs 70.7%

324,860 and 144,984 MOTs

100,000–125,000 miles 68.7% vs 67.8%

677,066 and 267,630 MOTs

125,000–150,000 miles 65.9% vs 64.9%

456,225 and 152,716 MOTs

150,000–175,000 miles 64.0% vs 62.8%

254,136 and 71,819 MOTs

175,000–200,000 miles 62.7% vs 61.4%

116,721 and 29,549 MOTs

200,000–250,000 miles 62.0% vs 59.7%

61,754 and 15,899 MOTs

250,000–300,000 miles 61.1% vs 59.0%

9,318 and 2,996 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

Windscreen washer

Fails about 3 times as often as the Mercedes-Benz C-Class W204: 1.9% of MOTs against 0.84%.

In 14 of 16 mileage bands · Driver's View
Exhaust emissions

Fails about 7 times as often as the Mercedes-Benz C-Class W204: 0.89% of MOTs against 0.18%.

In 11 of 16 mileage bands · Exhaust & Emissions
Shock absorbers

Fails about 10 times as often as the Mercedes-Benz C-Class W204: 3.3% of MOTs against 0.39%.

In 10 of 16 mileage bands · Springs & Shocks

Mercedes-Benz C-Class W204 fails more often on

Front lower suspension arm

Fails about 4 times as often as the BMW 3 Series E90/E91/E92/E93: 2.7% of MOTs against 0.68%.

In 11 of 16 mileage bands · Suspension & Joints
Front ball joint

Fails about 3 times as often as the BMW 3 Series E90/E91/E92/E93: 2.8% of MOTs against 0.93%.

In 11 of 16 mileage bands · Suspension & Joints

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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.