MOT comparison

BMW 3 Series G20/G21 vs Mercedes-Benz C-Class W205

How the BMW 3 Series G20/G21 (7th Gen) (2019–2026) and the Mercedes-Benz C-Class W205 (4th Gen) (2014–2021) 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 G20/G21 (7th Gen)

171,092

MOT tests compared · built 2019–2026

Passes more often in 8 of 12 mileage bands

Mercedes-Benz C-Class W205 (4th Gen)

1,196,026

MOT tests compared · built 2014–2021

Passes more often in 1 of 12 mileage bands

MOT pass rate by mileage

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

BMW 3 Series G20/G21 Mercedes-Benz C-Class W205

Under 10,000 miles 94.6% vs 94.9%

2,564 and 16,154 MOTs

10,000–20,000 miles 91.0% vs 91.3%

16,244 and 90,994 MOTs

20,000–30,000 miles 87.2% vs 89.0%

30,572 and 166,058 MOTs

30,000–40,000 miles 86.3% vs 86.9%

33,160 and 182,203 MOTs

40,000–50,000 miles 85.8% vs 84.8%

28,235 and 167,632 MOTs

50,000–60,000 miles 84.6% vs 83.0%

21,045 and 143,755 MOTs

60,000–70,000 miles 84.7% vs 81.4%

14,416 and 116,791 MOTs

70,000–80,000 miles 82.6% vs 80.1%

9,795 and 91,569 MOTs

80,000–90,000 miles 83.3% vs 79.4%

6,234 and 69,265 MOTs

90,000–100,000 miles 82.0% vs 78.3%

3,844 and 51,226 MOTs

100,000–125,000 miles 82.3% vs 77.5%

3,973 and 71,263 MOTs

125,000–150,000 miles 81.3% vs 77.0%

1,010 and 29,116 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 G20/G21 fails more often on

Nothing that stands out consistently against the Mercedes-Benz C-Class W205.

Mercedes-Benz C-Class W205 fails more often on

Engine management light

Fails about 3 times as often as the BMW 3 Series G20/G21: 2.1% of MOTs against 0.58%.

In 11 of 12 mileage bands · Dashboard Warning Lights
Front coil spring

Fails over 20 times as often as the BMW 3 Series G20/G21: 1.6% of MOTs against 0.00%.

In 9 of 12 mileage bands · Springs & Shocks

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Check a car's MOT Compare the BMW 3 Series G20/G21 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.