MOT comparison

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

How the Mercedes-Benz C-Class W204 (3rd Gen) (2007–2014) and the BMW 3 Series E90/E91/E92/E93 (5th Gen) (2005–2012) do at their MOTs, compared at the same mileage so a high-mileage car is never measured against a low-mileage one.

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

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

4,180,745

MOT tests compared · built 2005–2012

Passes more often in 5 of 16 mileage bands

MOT pass rate by mileage

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

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

Under 10,000 miles 93.2% vs 91.6%

9,799 and 17,604 MOTs

10,000–20,000 miles 91.3% vs 89.6%

60,061 and 100,803 MOTs

20,000–30,000 miles 88.8% vs 86.3%

138,404 and 211,027 MOTs

30,000–40,000 miles 86.5% vs 85.3%

179,846 and 278,167 MOTs

40,000–50,000 miles 83.6% vs 82.9%

192,884 and 311,916 MOTs

50,000–60,000 miles 80.4% vs 80.2%

193,948 and 331,304 MOTs

60,000–70,000 miles 77.9% vs 77.9%

188,528 and 341,393 MOTs

70,000–80,000 miles 75.3% vs 75.6%

178,366 and 346,839 MOTs

80,000–90,000 miles 73.0% vs 73.4%

163,087 and 340,717 MOTs

90,000–100,000 miles 70.7% vs 71.4%

144,984 and 324,937 MOTs

100,000–125,000 miles 67.8% vs 68.7%

267,630 and 677,319 MOTs

125,000–150,000 miles 64.9% vs 65.9%

152,716 and 456,465 MOTs

150,000–175,000 miles 62.8% vs 64.0%

71,819 and 254,307 MOTs

175,000–200,000 miles 61.4% vs 62.7%

29,549 and 116,811 MOTs

200,000–250,000 miles 59.7% vs 62.0%

15,899 and 61,811 MOTs

250,000–300,000 miles 59.0% vs 61.1%

2,996 and 9,325 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

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
Front coil spring

Fails about 9 times as often as the BMW 3 Series E90/E91/E92/E93: 2.0% of MOTs against 0.25%.

In 11 of 16 mileage bands · Springs & Shocks

BMW 3 Series E90/E91/E92/E93 fails more often on

Windscreen washer

Fails about twice 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

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Check a car's MOT Compare the Mercedes-Benz C-Class W204 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.