Pass rate
78.1%
Around average — 5.9 pts ahead of the 72.2% that cars this age and mileage manage.
Across 64 recorded tests.
Typical repair bill £31–£78
2004 BMW 320 MOT pass rate
- 2004
- typical 132,167 mi
Only 64 tests of this exact model and year are in the DVSA data, below the 100 we ask for before a page goes in the index. The figures are still shown, because they are the only ones there are.
Check your postcode
Most common fault
Brakes
24.7% of faults · 20.9% nationally
mostly worn pads and discs, corroded pipes and a handbrake that will not hold.
Which year to buy
- Best 2023 95.0% pass
- Avoid 2005 75.0% pass
Across the 21 years on record, a spread of 20 points. See every year →
- First-attempt pass
- 72.5%
- Typical mileage
- 132k mi
The 2004 BMW 320 MOT pass rate is 78.1% of its MOT tests — 5.9 points ahead of what its age and mileage predict. Brakes is the biggest single reason it fails, at 24.7% of what testers record.
Expert verdict
Fewer problems with tyres
Tyres are 14.2% of this car’s recorded faults, against 19.8% nationally — the mirror image of the usual story on a car of this age.
- 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 72.2% and this one manages 78.1% — 5.9 points ahead of what its age and mileage predict.
- When it fails, it costs. Only 19% of this model’s typical repairs come in under £30 in parts — the failures here tend to be the kind that need a garage rather than a bulb.
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 320? Get an email when these numbers change .
How does the 2004 BMW 320 compare?
Cars of this age and mileage average 72.2%, so this figure is 5.9 points ahead of what its age and mileage predict. On a first attempt, before any retests, the figure drops to 72.5%. The median 2004 BMW 320 in this dataset had covered 132,167 mi.
53% of the tests on this vehicle ran on Diesel, which passed 76.5% of the time.
The single most recorded failure item is "Ball joint excessively worn", noted on 6.25% of tests.
- 64 recorded tests behind this page.
- 78.1% overall pass rate, 72.5% on a first attempt.
- Across every year of the BMW 320, the average is 89.4% — best year 2023 (95.0%), worst 2005 (75.0%).
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
- 64
- Typical mileage (median)
- 132,167 mi
- Make and model
- BMW 320
- Updated
- 2026-11-07
Source: DVSA anonymised MOT test data (2023–2025), OGL v3.0.
Top part to budget for
Ball Joint
Usually a DIY or independent-garage job.
Does mileage affect the 320 MOT pass rate?
Pass rate by odometer reading. Bar lengths start at 52% so small gaps stay visible.
Fuel type and reliability
Pass rate by fuel type. Diesel is the most common here (53% of tests).
Where the BMW 320 is most common
Across all 320 model years on record (2003–2023): 63,489 BMW 320 cars tested in a recordable postcode area, across 129,146 tests. Birmingham (B) has the most, with 2,243 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) | 2,243 | 90.2% |
| 2 | Glasgow (G) | 1,331 | 88.0% |
| 3 | Peterborough (PE) | 1,303 | 89.6% |
| 4 | Manchester (M) | 1,230 | 88.5% |
| 5 | Sheffield (S) | 1,207 | 90.6% |
| 6 | Nottingham (NG) | 1,178 | 88.7% |
| 7 | Newcastle upon Tyne (NE) | 1,067 | 91.3% |
| 8 | Bristol (BS) | 997 | 85.8% |
| 9 | Coventry (CV) | 988 | 90.8% |
| 10 | Reading (RG) | 974 | 87.7% |
| 11 | Leicester (LE) | 955 | 90.3% |
| 12 | Guildford (GU) | 949 | 86.3% |
| 13 | Warrington (WA) | 918 | 89.5% |
| 14 | Liverpool (L) | 860 | 89.1% |
| 15 | Stockport (SK) | 829 | 89.6% |
| 16 | Derby (DE) | 827 | 90.4% |
| 17 | Northampton (NN) | 817 | 86.7% |
| 18 | Doncaster (DN) | 812 | 91.5% |
| 19 | Edinburgh (EH) | 801 | 86.8% |
| 20 | London (NW) | 790 | 93.2% |
The twenty areas with the most BMW 320 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 320
| Region | Tests | Pass rate |
|---|---|---|
| South East | 21 | 76.2% |
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 2004 320
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 2004 320
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 suspension joints 6.3% of tests
“ball joint excessively worn”
With the car parked on level ground, rock the top of each front wheel in and out while someone watches the suspension arm. Clunks, or rubber boots split and greasy, are what testers record here.
-
Check the lights 4.7% 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 windscreen 4.7% 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.
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 2004 320 through its MOT
Across the 10 items that are recorded most often on this model, the average repair comes to £31–£78 — and 19% of those repairs are parts that cost under £30.
- Average repair across the 10 common items
- £31–£78
- Cheapest common item: anti-lock braking system warning lamp…
- £3–£15
- Dearest common item: windscreen damaged
- £80–£200
- Common items a careful owner can do at home
- 70%
- Repairs that still cost under £30
- 19%
Estimates from typical UK parts prices, weighted by how often each item appears in 64 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 320, side by side
21 model years on record, from 2003 to 2023. Across them the pass rate runs from 75.0% to 95.0% — a spread of 20 points. The bar under each year is the item that failed it most often.
- 2003 80.0% registration plate lamp(s)…
- 2004 78.1%ball joint excessively worn
- 2005 75.0% rbt (sp) efficiency below…
- 2006 77.9% windscreen damaged but not…
- 2007 77.5% windscreen damaged but not…
- 2008 78.0% windscreen damaged but not…
- 2009 81.3% windscreen damaged but not…
- 2010 79.8% shock absorbers has a serious…
- 2011 81.9% windscreen damaged but not…
- 2012 83.3% shock absorbers has a serious…
- 2013 86.3% shock absorbers has a serious…
- 2014 83.5% shock absorbers has a serious…
- 2015 86.1% windscreen damaged but not…
- 2016 88.7% windscreen damaged but not…
- 2017 89.1% windscreen damaged but not…
- 2018 90.0% windscreen damaged but not…
- 2019 90.3% has a cut in excess of the…
- 2020 89.6% has a cut in excess of the…
- 2021 91.4% has a cut in excess of the…
- 2022 91.3% has a cut in excess of the…
- 2023 95.0% tread depth below requirements of…
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 2004 BMW 320 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 2004 cars with a similar record
- Lexus RX300 78.1%
- Nissan 350 Z 78.2%
- MG Tf 77.9%
- Toyota Prius 78.3%
- Smart Roadster 78.3%
- Jaguar Xj 77.7%
Closest pass rates among 2004 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 2004 BMW 320 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 186 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 | 47 | 24.70% | 20.89% | +3.81 |
| Suspension | 43 | 22.60% | 20.98% | +1.62 |
| Tyres | 27 | 14.20% | 19.76% | −5.56 |
| Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | 24 | 12.60% | 12.21% | +0.39 |
| Noise, emissions and leaks | 12 | 6.30% | 5.52% | +0.78 |
| Visibility | 12 | 6.30% | 4.97% | +1.33 |
| Non-component advisories | 8 | 4.20% | 4.18% | +0.02 |
| Body, chassis, structure | 6 | 3.20% | 5.57% | −2.37 |
| Steering | 4 | 2.10% | 2.57% | −0.47 |
| Identification of the vehicle | 3 | 1.60% | 1.76% | −0.16 |
The exact failure items, in the tester's words
| Recorded item | Severity | Tests | Est. cost |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ball joint excessively worn Suspension | Major | 6.3% | £18–45 |
| Has a cut in excess of the requirements deep enough to reach the ply or cords Tyres | Major | 4.7% | £45–95 |
| Rbt (sp) efficiency below requirements Brakes | Major | 4.7% | £45–110 |
| Registration plate lamp(s) inoperative in the case of multiple lamps or light sources Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | Minor | 4.7% | £5–20 |
| Windscreen damaged but not adversely affecting driver's view Visibility | Minor | 4.7% | £80–200 |
| Anti-lock braking system warning lamp indicates an ABS fault Brakes | Major | 3.1% | £3–15 |
| Ball joint dust cover severely deteriorated Suspension | Minor | 3.1% | £18–45 |
| Flexible brake hoses excessively deteriorated Brakes | Major | 3.1% | £25–70 |
| Headlamp aim projected beam image is obviously incorrect Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | Major | 3.1% | £30–80 |
| Headlamp aim too low Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | Rectified | 3.1% | £30–80 |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rigid brake pipes excessively corroded Brakes | Advisory | 31.3% | £80–180 |
| Ball joint excessively worn Suspension | Advisory | 20.3% | £18–45 |
| Tread depth below requirements of 1.6mm Tyres | Advisory | 14.1% | £45–95 |
| Engine oil leaks leaking excessively from engine Noise, emissions and leaks | Advisory | 12.5% | £200–700 |
| Pins and bushes pin or bush excessively worn Suspension | Advisory | 10.9% | £40–150 |
| Brake discs in such a condition that it is seriously weakened Brakes | Advisory | 9.4% | £45–110 |
Pass rate by mileage
| Mileage | Tests | Pass rate | Median odometer |
|---|---|---|---|
| 30-60k | 5 | 60.0% | 43,505 mi |
| 90-120k | 18 | 72.2% | 100,453 mi |
| 120k+ | 41 | 82.9% | 152,444 mi |
Source: 64 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.
2004 320 MOT questions
What is the MOT pass rate for a 2004 BMW 320?
78.1% of the 64 2004 BMW 320 tests in this dataset passed, against a national average of 72.2% for cars first used in 2004. First-attempt pass rate: 72.5%.
What are the most common MOT failures on a 2004 BMW 320?
The three most recorded items are ball joint excessively worn (6.25%), has a cut in excess of the requirements deep enough to reach the ply or cords (4.69%), rbt (sp) efficiency below requirements (4.69%). Percentages are the share of tests on this vehicle that recorded the item.
Does mileage affect the 2004 BMW 320 MOT pass rate?
Yes. Cars under 30,000 miles passed 60.0% of the time, falling to 82.9% for those over 120,000 miles. The median 2004 BMW 320 in this dataset had covered 132,167 mi.
Which fuel type is most reliable for a 2004 BMW 320?
Diesel: 76.5% pass rate across 34 tests. Petrol: 80.0% pass rate across 30 tests. Shares are of the tests on this vehicle that recorded each fuel type.