MOT comparison

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

How the BMW 3 Series F30/F31/F34 (6th Gen) (2012–2019) 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 F30/F31/F34 (6th Gen)

1,794,227

MOT tests compared · built 2012–2019

Passes more often in 12 of 16 mileage bands

Audi A4 B8

1,600,393

MOT tests compared · built 2008–2016

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 3 Series F30/F31/F34 Audi A4 B8

Under 10,000 miles 95.6% vs 94.5%

11,607 and 3,692 MOTs

10,000–20,000 miles 93.0% vs 92.0%

72,771 and 26,071 MOTs

20,000–30,000 miles 89.8% vs 90.3%

157,218 and 75,440 MOTs

30,000–40,000 miles 88.1% vs 88.8%

200,716 and 112,894 MOTs

40,000–50,000 miles 86.4% vs 86.7%

210,479 and 130,992 MOTs

50,000–60,000 miles 84.6% vs 84.3%

201,933 and 139,898 MOTs

60,000–70,000 miles 83.1% vs 81.8%

185,803 and 142,327 MOTs

70,000–80,000 miles 81.5% vs 79.3%

163,807 and 141,055 MOTs

80,000–90,000 miles 80.1% vs 76.9%

138,970 and 134,799 MOTs

90,000–100,000 miles 78.7% vs 75.4%

114,216 and 124,498 MOTs

100,000–125,000 miles 76.5% vs 72.8%

186,697 and 250,146 MOTs

125,000–150,000 miles 74.5% vs 70.7%

90,072 and 163,022 MOTs

150,000–175,000 miles 71.9% vs 68.9%

37,671 and 88,859 MOTs

175,000–200,000 miles 70.6% vs 67.7%

14,486 and 41,360 MOTs

200,000–250,000 miles 70.3% vs 66.5%

6,739 and 22,251 MOTs

250,000–300,000 miles 71.5% vs 65.7%

1,042 and 3,089 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 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

Audi A4 B8 fails more often on

Rear coil spring

Fails about 17 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

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Check a car's MOT Compare the BMW 3 Series F30/F31/F34 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.