MOT comparison

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

How the Mercedes-Benz E-Class W212 (4th Gen) (2009–2016) and the BMW 5 Series F10/F11/F07 (6th 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.

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

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

MOT pass rate by mileage

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

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

Under 10,000 miles 94.0% vs 95.8%

9,901 and 3,428 MOTs

10,000–20,000 miles 90.6% vs 92.3%

53,311 and 22,125 MOTs

20,000–30,000 miles 87.8% vs 88.8%

111,952 and 55,390 MOTs

30,000–40,000 miles 86.0% vs 87.3%

142,142 and 80,745 MOTs

40,000–50,000 miles 84.2% vs 85.4%

148,374 and 95,144 MOTs

50,000–60,000 miles 82.0% vs 83.4%

144,165 and 101,962 MOTs

60,000–70,000 miles 80.3% vs 81.8%

135,332 and 104,063 MOTs

70,000–80,000 miles 78.5% vs 80.7%

123,220 and 103,266 MOTs

80,000–90,000 miles 76.9% vs 79.7%

108,509 and 98,845 MOTs

90,000–100,000 miles 75.5% vs 78.6%

91,949 and 91,897 MOTs

100,000–125,000 miles 74.0% vs 77.2%

162,546 and 183,689 MOTs

125,000–150,000 miles 73.2% vs 75.9%

91,736 and 118,957 MOTs

150,000–175,000 miles 73.4% vs 75.2%

48,340 and 63,204 MOTs

175,000–200,000 miles 73.1% vs 74.4%

24,763 and 28,611 MOTs

200,000–250,000 miles 75.1% vs 74.7%

21,396 and 16,839 MOTs

250,000–300,000 miles 76.0% vs 75.5%

8,575 and 3,507 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 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
Front ball joint

Fails about 13 times as often as the BMW 5 Series F10/F11/F07: 1.8% of MOTs against 0.18%.

In 10 of 16 mileage bands · Suspension & Joints

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 4 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

Own one of these?

Enter your registration to see your own car's MOT history, its predicted pass chance and what usually fails next at its mileage.

Check a car's MOT Compare the Mercedes-Benz E-Class W212 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.