Pass rate
80.0%
Around average — 7.6 pts ahead of the 72.4% that cars this age and mileage manage.
Across 70 recorded tests.
Typical repair bill £26–£71
2005 BMW 325 MOT pass rate
- 2005
- typical 100,845 mi
Only 70 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
21.8% of faults · 20.9% nationally
mostly worn pads and discs, corroded pipes and a handbrake that will not hold.
Which year to buy
- Best 2011 88.6% pass
- Avoid 2003 73.2% pass
Across the 9 years on record, a spread of 15.4 points. See every year →
- First-attempt pass
- 75.9%
- Typical mileage
- 101k mi
The 2005 BMW 325 MOT pass rate is 80.0% of its MOT tests — 7.6 points ahead of what its age and mileage predict. Brakes is the biggest single reason it fails, at 21.8% of what testers record.
Expert verdict
Emissions & leaks: 2.2× the national share
Emissions & leaks make up 12.1% of everything recorded on the 2005 BMW 325, against 5.5% nationally — 6.6 points above. Brakes are still the single largest share at 21.8%, but at 20.9% nationally that one is ordinary. A smoky diesel or a leaking joint fails on emissions more often than on wear, so ask for a recent emissions printout.
- 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 72.4% and this one manages 80.0% — 7.6 points ahead of what its age and mileage predict.
- Based on a small sample. 70 tests back this page. That is enough to publish and to index, not enough to treat the decimal places as precise — read the pattern, not the second digit.
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 325? Get an email when these numbers change .
How does the 2005 BMW 325 compare?
Cars of this age and mileage average 72.4%, so this figure is 7.6 points ahead of what its age and mileage predict. On a first attempt, before any retests, the figure drops to 75.9%. The median 2005 BMW 325 in this dataset had covered 100,845 mi.
Pass rates also shift with the test month: tests recorded October–March passed 81.1% of the time, April–September 78.8%.
The single most recorded failure item is "Headlamp lens slightly defective", noted on 5.71% of tests.
- 70 recorded tests behind this page.
- 80.0% overall pass rate, 75.9% on a first attempt.
- Across every year of the BMW 325, the average is 80.4% — best year 2011 (88.6%), worst 2003 (73.2%).
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
- 70
- Typical mileage (median)
- 100,845 mi
- Make and model
- BMW 325
- Updated
- 2026-11-07
Source: DVSA anonymised MOT test data (2023–2025), OGL v3.0.
Top part to budget for
Headlight Bulb
Usually a DIY or independent-garage job.
Does mileage affect the 325 MOT pass rate?
Pass rate by odometer reading. Bar lengths start at 64% so small gaps stay visible.
Regional pass rates for the 325
| Region | Tests | Pass rate |
|---|---|---|
| South East | 22 | 77.3% |
| West Midlands | 16 | 87.5% |
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 2005 325
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 2005 325
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 lights 5.7% of tests
“headlamp lens slightly defective”
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 suspension joints 4.3% of tests
“pins and bushes pin or bush 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 windscreen 4.3% 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 2005 325 through its MOT
Across the 10 items that are recorded most often on this model, the average repair comes to £26–£71 — and 46% of those repairs are parts that cost under £30.
- Average repair across the 10 common items
- £26–£71
- Cheapest common item: srs malfunction indicator lamp warning lamp…
- £3–£12
- Dearest common item: windscreen damaged
- £80–£200
- Common items a careful owner can do at home
- 80%
- Repairs that still cost under £30
- 46%
Estimates from typical UK parts prices, weighted by how often each item appears in 70 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 325, side by side
9 model years on record, from 2001 to 2011. Across them the pass rate runs from 73.2% to 88.6% — a spread of 15.4 points. The bar under each year is the item that failed it most often.
- 2001 74.6% registration plate lamp(s)…
- 2003 73.2% pins and bushes pin or bush…
- 2005 80.0%headlamp lens slightly defective
- 2006 84.0% registration plate lamp(s)…
- 2007 76.8% shock absorbers has a serious…
- 2008 80.8% anti-lock braking system warning…
- 2009 80.1% shock absorbers has a serious…
- 2010 87.3% windscreen damaged but not…
- 2011 88.6% position lamp not working
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 2005 BMW 325 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 2005 cars with a similar record
- Mercedes-Benz Cls 79.9%
- Lexus GS300 79.8%
- Lexus IS250 80.2%
- Jaguar Xj 79.6%
- Toyota Alphard 80.4%
- Toyota Prius 79.3%
Closest pass rates among 2005 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 2005 BMW 325 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 172 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 | 38 | 21.80% | 20.89% | +0.91 |
| Tyres | 36 | 20.70% | 19.76% | +0.94 |
| Suspension | 32 | 18.40% | 20.98% | −2.58 |
| Noise, emissions and leaks | 21 | 12.10% | 5.52% | +6.58 |
| Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | 20 | 11.50% | 12.21% | −0.71 |
| Visibility | 9 | 5.20% | 4.97% | +0.23 |
| Non-component advisories | 7 | 4.00% | 4.18% | −0.18 |
| Seat belts and supplementary restraint systems | 4 | 2.30% | 0.82% | +1.48 |
| Steering | 3 | 1.70% | 2.57% | −0.87 |
| Body, chassis, structure | 2 | 1.10% | 5.57% | −4.47 |
The exact failure items, in the tester's words
| Recorded item | Severity | Tests | Est. cost |
|---|---|---|---|
| Headlamp lens slightly defective Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | Minor | 5.7% | £5–25 |
| Pins and bushes pin or bush excessively worn Suspension | Major | 4.3% | £40–150 |
| Position lamp with a multiple light source up to 1/2 not functioning Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | Minor | 4.3% | £5–25 |
| Srs malfunction indicator lamp warning lamp indicates a fault Seat belts and supplementary restraint systems | Major | 4.3% | £3–12 |
| Windscreen damaged but not adversely affecting driver's view Visibility | Minor | 4.3% | £80–200 |
| Has a tear, caused by separation or partial failure of its structure Tyres | Major | 2.9% | £45–95 |
| Linkage ball joint dust cover ball joint dust cover no longer prevents the ingress of dirt Suspension | Major | 2.9% | £18–45 |
| Linkage ball joint dust cover ball joint dust cover severely deteriorated Suspension | Minor | 2.9% | £18–45 |
| Tread depth below requirements of 1.6mm Tyres | Major | 2.9% | £45–95 |
| Washers provides insufficient washer liquid Visibility | Rectified | 2.9% | £5–15 |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Engine oil leaks leaking excessively from engine Noise, emissions and leaks | Advisory | 27.1% | £200–700 |
| Tread depth below requirements of 1.6mm Tyres | Advisory | 21.4% | £45–95 |
| Has a tear, caused by separation or partial failure of its structure Tyres | Advisory | 14.3% | £45–95 |
| Pins and bushes pin or bush excessively worn Suspension | Advisory | 11.4% | £40–150 |
| Rigid brake pipes excessively corroded Brakes | Advisory | 11.4% | £80–180 |
| Brake discs in such a condition that it is seriously weakened Brakes | Advisory | 10.0% | £45–110 |
Pass rate by mileage
| Mileage | Tests | Pass rate | Median odometer |
|---|---|---|---|
| 30-60k | 13 | 84.6% | 56,305 mi |
| 60-90k | 15 | 86.7% | 72,669 mi |
| 90-120k | 11 | 72.7% | 101,336 mi |
| 120k+ | 31 | 77.4% | 148,761 mi |
Source: 70 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.
2005 325 MOT questions
What is the MOT pass rate for a 2005 BMW 325?
80.0% of the 70 2005 BMW 325 tests in this dataset passed, against a national average of 72.4% for cars first used in 2005. First-attempt pass rate: 75.9%.
What are the most common MOT failures on a 2005 BMW 325?
The three most recorded items are headlamp lens slightly defective (5.71%), pins and bushes pin or bush excessively worn (4.29%), position lamp with a multiple light source up to 1/2 not functioning (4.29%). Percentages are the share of tests on this vehicle that recorded the item.
Does mileage affect the 2005 BMW 325 MOT pass rate?
Yes. Cars under 30,000 miles passed 84.6% of the time, falling to 77.4% for those over 120,000 miles. The median 2005 BMW 325 in this dataset had covered 100,845 mi.
Does the season affect the 2005 BMW 325 MOT pass rate?
Tests recorded in the winter months (October–March) passed 81.1% of the time; summer months (April–September) passed 78.8%. Brakes, tyres and lights are tested harder in bad weather, but the difference is small on most models.