MOT comparison

BMW 5 Series F10/F11/F07 vs Mercedes-Benz E-Class W212

How the BMW 5 Series F10/F11/F07 (6th Gen) (2009–2016) and the Mercedes-Benz E-Class W212 (4th Gen) (2009–2016) do at their MOTs, compared at the same mileage so a high-mileage car is never measured against a low-mileage one.

BMW 5 Series F10/F11/F07 (6th Gen)

1,171,672

MOT tests compared · built 2009–2016

Passes more often in 14 of 16 mileage bands

Mercedes-Benz E-Class W212 (4th Gen)

1,426,211

MOT tests compared · built 2009–2016

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 5 Series F10/F11/F07 Mercedes-Benz E-Class W212

Under 10,000 miles 95.8% vs 94.0%

3,428 and 9,901 MOTs

10,000–20,000 miles 92.3% vs 90.6%

22,125 and 53,311 MOTs

20,000–30,000 miles 88.8% vs 87.8%

55,390 and 111,952 MOTs

30,000–40,000 miles 87.3% vs 86.0%

80,745 and 142,142 MOTs

40,000–50,000 miles 85.4% vs 84.2%

95,144 and 148,374 MOTs

50,000–60,000 miles 83.4% vs 82.0%

101,962 and 144,165 MOTs

60,000–70,000 miles 81.8% vs 80.3%

104,063 and 135,332 MOTs

70,000–80,000 miles 80.7% vs 78.5%

103,266 and 123,220 MOTs

80,000–90,000 miles 79.7% vs 76.9%

98,845 and 108,509 MOTs

90,000–100,000 miles 78.6% vs 75.5%

91,897 and 91,949 MOTs

100,000–125,000 miles 77.2% vs 74.0%

183,689 and 162,546 MOTs

125,000–150,000 miles 75.9% vs 73.2%

118,957 and 91,736 MOTs

150,000–175,000 miles 75.2% vs 73.4%

63,204 and 48,340 MOTs

175,000–200,000 miles 74.4% vs 73.1%

28,611 and 24,763 MOTs

200,000–250,000 miles 74.7% vs 75.1%

16,839 and 21,396 MOTs

250,000–300,000 miles 75.5% vs 76.0%

3,507 and 8,575 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 5 Series F10/F11/F07 fails more often on

Windscreen washer

Fails about 3 times as often as the Mercedes-Benz E-Class W212: 1.2% of MOTs against 0.48%.

In 13 of 16 mileage bands · Driver's View
Front position lamp

Fails about 5 times as often as the Mercedes-Benz E-Class W212: 1.9% of MOTs against 0.40%.

In 10 of 16 mileage bands · Lights & Signals
Shock absorbers

Fails about 3 times as often as the Mercedes-Benz E-Class W212: 1.2% of MOTs against 0.37%.

In 8 of 16 mileage bands · Springs & Shocks

Mercedes-Benz E-Class W212 fails more often on

Parking brake

Fails about 9 times as often as the BMW 5 Series F10/F11/F07: 2.2% of MOTs against 0.25%.

In 13 of 16 mileage bands · Braking System
Engine management light

Fails about 5 times as often as the BMW 5 Series F10/F11/F07: 1.9% of MOTs against 0.53%.

In 12 of 16 mileage bands · Dashboard Warning Lights

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Check a car's MOT Compare the BMW 5 Series F10/F11/F07 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.