MOT comparison

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

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

1,196,026

MOT tests compared · built 2014–2021

Passes more often in 1 of 12 mileage bands

BMW 3 Series G20/G21 (7th Gen)

171,092

MOT tests compared · built 2019–2026

Passes more often in 8 of 12 mileage bands

MOT pass rate by mileage

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

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

Under 10,000 miles 94.9% vs 94.6%

16,154 and 2,564 MOTs

10,000–20,000 miles 91.3% vs 91.0%

90,994 and 16,244 MOTs

20,000–30,000 miles 89.0% vs 87.2%

166,058 and 30,572 MOTs

30,000–40,000 miles 86.9% vs 86.3%

182,203 and 33,160 MOTs

40,000–50,000 miles 84.8% vs 85.8%

167,632 and 28,235 MOTs

50,000–60,000 miles 83.0% vs 84.6%

143,755 and 21,045 MOTs

60,000–70,000 miles 81.4% vs 84.7%

116,791 and 14,416 MOTs

70,000–80,000 miles 80.1% vs 82.6%

91,569 and 9,795 MOTs

80,000–90,000 miles 79.4% vs 83.3%

69,265 and 6,234 MOTs

90,000–100,000 miles 78.3% vs 82.0%

51,226 and 3,844 MOTs

100,000–125,000 miles 77.5% vs 82.3%

71,263 and 3,973 MOTs

125,000–150,000 miles 77.0% vs 81.3%

29,116 and 1,010 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 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
Rear brake pad

Fails about twice as often as the BMW 3 Series G20/G21: 1.2% of MOTs against 0.53%.

In 7 of 12 mileage bands · Braking System

BMW 3 Series G20/G21 fails more often on

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

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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.