Pass rate
82.0%
Around average — 9.5 pts ahead of the 72.5% that cars this age and mileage manage.
Across 893 recorded tests.
Typical repair bill £36–£99
2006 BMW 130 MOT pass rate
- 2006
- typical 113,890 mi
Check your postcode
Most common fault
Brakes
27.9% of faults · 20.9% nationally
mostly worn pads and discs, corroded pipes and a handbrake that will not hold.
Which year to buy
- Best 2007 85.1% pass
- Avoid 2005 80.6% pass
Across the 5 years on record, a spread of 4.5 points. See every year →
- First-attempt pass
- 78.8%
- Typical mileage
- 114k mi
The 2006 BMW 130 MOT pass rate is 82.0% of its MOT tests — 9.5 points ahead of what its age and mileage predict. Brakes is the biggest single reason it fails, at 27.9% of what testers record.
Expert verdict
Brakes: 1.3× the national share
Brakes make up 27.9% of everything recorded on the 2006 BMW 130, against 20.9% nationally — 7.0 points above. Have the discs and pads measured rather than glanced at, and ask whether the handbrake holds on a slope.
- Beats its own age and mileage. Once you allow for how old and how far these cars have been driven, the expected pass rate is 72.5% and this one manages 82.0% — 9.5 points ahead of what its age and mileage predict.
Written from this page's own figures: fault shares against the national composition, the like-for-like pass rate, and the priced repair list. How these are worked out
Watching a BMW 130? Get an email when these numbers change .
How does the 2006 BMW 130 compare?
Cars of this age and mileage average 72.5%, so this figure is 9.5 points ahead of what its age and mileage predict. On a first attempt, before any retests, the figure drops to 78.8%. The median 2006 BMW 130 in this dataset had covered 113,890 mi.
Pass rates also shift with the test month: tests recorded October–March passed 81.8% of the time, April–September 82.2%.
The single most recorded failure item is "Windscreen damaged but not adversely affecting driver's view", noted on 4.59% of tests.
- 893 recorded tests behind this page.
- 82.0% overall pass rate, 78.8% on a first attempt.
- Across every year of the BMW 130, the average is 82.7% — best year 2007 (85.1%), worst 2005 (80.6%).
Figures count every completed test on this vehicle-year in the dataset, including retests. See methodology for the exact definition.
This page's data
- Tests analysed
- 893
- Typical mileage (median)
- 113,890 mi
- Make and model
- BMW 130
- Updated
- 2026-11-07
Source: DVSA anonymised MOT test data (2023–2025), OGL v3.0.
Top part to budget for
Windscreen
Typically a garage job — get quotes before committing.
Does mileage affect the 130 MOT pass rate?
Pass rate by odometer reading. Bar lengths start at 71% so small gaps stay visible.
Where the BMW 130 is most common
Across all 130 model years on record (2005–2009): 1,369 BMW 130 cars tested in a recordable postcode area, across 2,907 tests. Birmingham (B) has the most, with 57 cars tested there. Cars are counted by the postcode area of the MOT station, so this is where they were tested, not necessarily where their owners live.
| # | Postcode area | Cars | Pass rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Birmingham (B) | 57 | 86.4% |
| 2 | Reading (RG) | 39 | 80.4% |
| 3 | Bristol (BS) | 39 | 82.4% |
| 4 | Guildford (GU) | 33 | 80.0% |
| 5 | Coventry (CV) | 32 | 83.6% |
| 6 | High Wycombe (HP) | 31 | 90.6% |
| 7 | Kingston upon Thames (KT) | 27 | 80.3% |
| 8 | Nottingham (NG) | 27 | 80.0% |
| 9 | Crawley (RH) | 26 | 89.6% |
| 10 | Slough (SL) | 26 | 90.5% |
| 11 | Leicester (LE) | 25 | 82.7% |
| 12 | Portsmouth (PO) | 22 | 81.3% |
| 13 | Ashford (TN) | 21 | 70.0% |
| 14 | Poole (BH) | 20 | 73.7% |
| 15 | Edinburgh (EH) | 20 | 80.0% |
| 16 | Gloucester (GL) | 20 | 86.4% |
| 17 | London (E) | 20 | 96.9% |
| 18 | Stockport (SK) | 19 | 73.5% |
| 19 | Leeds (LS) | 19 | 79.6% |
| 20 | Chelmsford (CM) | 19 | 80.5% |
The twenty areas with the most BMW 130 cars in the record, sorted by car count — sort the columns for a different question. Cars tested at a station whose postcode area could not be resolved are counted in the model's total but in no area, so the shares add up to slightly under 100% even across every area, and an area's cars are a subset of the model's. Pass rate is blank below 30 tests in an area, where a percentage is noise rather than a finding. How this model's pass rate varies by postcode →
Regional pass rates for the 130
| Region | Tests | Pass rate |
|---|---|---|
| South East | 242 | 83.5% |
| South West | 127 | 79.5% |
| West Midlands | 94 | 87.2% |
| East of England | 91 | 76.9% |
| North West | 71 | 85.9% |
| London | 70 | 85.7% |
| Scotland | 45 | 75.6% |
| Yorkshire | 44 | 81.8% |
| East Midlands | 44 | 79.5% |
| Wales | 41 | 80.5% |
| North East | 24 | 75.0% |
Regions come from the postcode area recorded at the test station. Areas on region borders are assigned to the region with the majority of their population.
What fails a 2006 130
Everything a tester recorded on this vehicle, grouped into the inspection sections that produced it. The notch on each bar is the national share, so you can see at a glance whether this car is unusual or just ordinary.
A test can record several items, so these percentages do not add up to 100%. The exact strings, with prices, are in the full DVSA record at the bottom of this page.
Before your test
Three checks worth doing on a 2006 130
These are not generic tips — they are the faults recorded most often on this exact model, rewritten as things you can check yourself. All three take about ten minutes and cost nothing.
-
Check the windscreen 4.6% of tests
“windscreen damaged”
Check the driver’s side of the screen within the swept area for chips and cracks; anything larger than 10mm in the driver’s central view is a fail. Most chips can be resin-repaired for far less than a new screen.
-
Check the lights 4.0% of tests
“registration plate lamp(s) inoperative in the case of multiple lamps or light sources”
Switch everything on and walk round the car: both headlamps on dip and main, every indicator, both brake lights, reverse, fog and the two number-plate lamps. A bulb is a few pounds and a five-minute job.
-
Check the shock absorbers 2.6% of tests
“shock absorbers has a serious fluid leak”
Press down hard on each corner of the car and let go. It should settle in one bounce; if it keeps rocking, or you can see oil weeping down a shock absorber, that is the fault a tester will find.
Shares are the proportion of tests on this vehicle that recorded the item, so they overlap: one test can record several.
What it costs to get a 2006 130 through its MOT
Across the 10 items that are recorded most often on this model, the average repair comes to £36–£99 — and 38% of those repairs are parts that cost under £30.
- Average repair across the 10 common items
- £36–£99
- Cheapest common item: mirrors slightly damaged
- £3–£15
- Dearest common item: joints constant velocity boot severely…
- £80–£250
- Common items a careful owner can do at home
- 70%
- Repairs that still cost under £30
- 38%
Estimates from typical UK parts prices, weighted by how often each item appears in 893 MOT tests on this vehicle. They exclude diagnostics, retest fees and garage labour where the part is a DIY fit, and they are not figures from the DVSA dataset. Older and higher-mileage examples cost more than the average. How these estimates are built → · All MOT repair costs → · Cheapest cars to put through a test →
Every year of the 130, side by side
5 model years on record, from 2005 to 2009. Across them the pass rate runs from 80.6% to 85.1% — a spread of 4.5 points. The bar under each year is the item that failed it most often.
- 2005 80.6% windscreen damaged but not…
- 2006 82.0%windscreen damaged but not…
- 2007 85.1% windscreen damaged but not…
- 2008 81.9% windscreen damaged but not…
- 2009 81.3% mirrors slightly damaged
Colour is the pass rate on a fixed scale, so a block means the same thing on any model. Each year links to its own page with the full fault breakdown.
Compare the 2006 BMW 130 with another year
The raw pass rate mostly measures age. The year comparison adds the like-for-like figure, the mileage bands and the repair bill.
Other 2006 cars with a similar record
- Audi Q7 81.7%
- Jaguar Xk 81.5%
- Toyota Alphard 82.8%
- Toyota Estima 82.9%
- Porsche Cayenne 83.0%
- Lexus IS250 80.5%
Closest pass rates among 2006 cars with at least 2,000 tests, so a small sample cannot flatter itself into the list. See the full rankings: best and worst MOT pass rates.
The full DVSA record for the 2006 BMW 130 10 failure items · 6 advisories · 10 inspection categories · mileage brackets · all of it in the page, none of it above the fold
Every inspection category
Shares of the 1,751 individual items recorded on this vehicle, and the same share across all cars nationally. A single test can record several items, so a row is not a percentage of tests.
| Category | Items | This car | Nationally | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Brakes | 494 | 27.90% | 20.89% | +7.01 |
| Suspension | 352 | 19.90% | 20.98% | −1.08 |
| Tyres | 251 | 14.20% | 19.76% | −5.56 |
| Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | 201 | 11.30% | 12.21% | −0.91 |
| Noise, emissions and leaks | 176 | 9.90% | 5.52% | +4.38 |
| Visibility | 103 | 5.80% | 4.97% | +0.83 |
| Body, chassis, structure | 77 | 4.30% | 5.57% | −1.27 |
| Non-component advisories | 42 | 2.40% | 4.18% | −1.78 |
| Identification of the vehicle | 31 | 1.80% | 1.76% | +0.04 |
| Steering | 24 | 1.40% | 2.57% | −1.17 |
The exact failure items, in the tester's words
| Recorded item | Severity | Tests | Est. cost |
|---|---|---|---|
| Windscreen damaged but not adversely affecting driver's view Visibility | Minor | 4.6% | £80–200 |
| Registration plate lamp(s) inoperative in the case of multiple lamps or light sources Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | Minor | 4.0% | £5–20 |
| Shock absorbers has a serious fluid leak Suspension | Major | 2.6% | £30–75 |
| Flexible brake hoses slightly twisted Brakes | Minor | 1.7% | £25–70 |
| Has a cut in excess of the requirements deep enough to reach the ply or cords Tyres | Major | 1.3% | £45–95 |
| Joints constant velocity boot severely deteriorated Body, chassis, structure | Minor | 1.3% | £80–250 |
| Mirrors slightly damaged Visibility | Minor | 1.3% | £3–15 |
| Pins and bushes pin or bush excessively worn Suspension | Major | 1.3% | £40–150 |
| Position lamp not working Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | Major | 1.3% | £5–25 |
| Headlamp lens slightly defective Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | Minor | 1.2% | £5–25 |
Severity is as recorded: Major and Dangerous fail the test outright; Minor and Advisory do not. Costs are estimates from typical UK parts prices — see how they are built.
What testers noted without failing the car
Advisories are the early warnings — the same parts a year or two before they fail. Reading them is how you tell a car that has been maintained from one that has been patched.
| Recorded item | Severity | Tests | Est. cost |
|---|---|---|---|
| Flexible brake hoses excessively deteriorated Brakes | Advisory | 16.8% | £25–70 |
| Engine oil leaks leaking excessively from engine Noise, emissions and leaks | Advisory | 16.0% | £200–700 |
| Tread depth below requirements of 1.6mm Tyres | Advisory | 14.0% | £45–95 |
| Rigid brake pipes excessively corroded Brakes | Advisory | 9.6% | £80–180 |
| Sub-frame corroded and seriously weakened Suspension | Advisory | 9.3% | £180–450 |
| Pins and bushes pin or bush excessively worn Suspension | Advisory | 8.1% | £40–150 |
Pass rate by mileage
| Mileage | Tests | Pass rate | Median odometer |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0-30k | 6 | 100.0% | 24,447 mi |
| 30-60k | 46 | 89.1% | 50,798 mi |
| 60-90k | 138 | 87.7% | 77,699 mi |
| 90-120k | 312 | 79.5% | 105,249 mi |
| 120k+ | 391 | 80.8% | 149,083 mi |
Source: 893 recorded tests on this vehicle-year. Every row above is recomputed from the same DVSA extract as the rest of the page — see the methodology.
2006 130 MOT questions
What is the MOT pass rate for a 2006 BMW 130?
82.0% of the 893 2006 BMW 130 tests in this dataset passed, against a national average of 72.5% for cars first used in 2006. First-attempt pass rate: 78.8%.
What are the most common MOT failures on a 2006 BMW 130?
The three most recorded items are windscreen damaged but not adversely affecting driver's view (4.59%), registration plate lamp(s) inoperative in the case of multiple lamps or light sources (4.03%), shock absorbers has a serious fluid leak (2.58%). Percentages are the share of tests on this vehicle that recorded the item.
Does mileage affect the 2006 BMW 130 MOT pass rate?
Yes. Cars under 30,000 miles passed 100.0% of the time, falling to 80.8% for those over 120,000 miles. The median 2006 BMW 130 in this dataset had covered 113,890 mi.
Does the season affect the 2006 BMW 130 MOT pass rate?
Tests recorded in the winter months (October–March) passed 81.8% of the time; summer months (April–September) passed 82.2%. Brakes, tyres and lights are tested harder in bad weather, but the difference is small on most models.