Pass rate
80.1%
Around average — 6.1 pts ahead of the 74.0% that cars this age and mileage manage.
Across 166 recorded tests.
Typical repair bill £38–£107
2009 BMW 325 MOT pass rate
- 2009
- typical 73,623 mi
Check your postcode
Most common fault
Brakes
25.2% 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
- 75.4%
- Typical mileage
- 74k mi
The 2009 BMW 325 MOT pass rate is 80.1% of its MOT tests — 6.1 points ahead of what its age and mileage predict. Brakes is the biggest single reason it fails, at 25.2% of what testers record.
Expert verdict
Fewer problems with lamps & electrics
Lamps & electrics are 6.6% of this car’s recorded faults, against 12.2% 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 74.0% and this one manages 80.1% — 6.1 points ahead of what its age and mileage predict.
- When it fails, it costs. Only 15% 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 325? Get an email when these numbers change .
How does the 2009 BMW 325 compare?
Cars of this age and mileage average 74.0%, so this figure is 6.1 points ahead of what its age and mileage predict. On a first attempt, before any retests, the figure drops to 75.4%. The median 2009 BMW 325 in this dataset had covered 73,623 mi.
80% of the tests on this vehicle ran on Petrol, which passed 82.0% of the time. Pass rates also shift with the test month: tests recorded October–March passed 75.6% of the time, April–September 84.1%.
The single most recorded failure item is "Shock absorbers has a serious fluid leak", noted on 4.82% of tests.
- 166 recorded tests behind this page.
- 80.1% overall pass rate, 75.4% 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
- 166
- Typical mileage (median)
- 73,623 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
Shock Absorber
Usually a DIY or independent-garage job.
Does mileage affect the 325 MOT pass rate?
Pass rate by odometer reading. Bar lengths start at 62% so small gaps stay visible.
Fuel type and reliability
Pass rate by fuel type. Petrol is the most common here (80% of tests).
Regional pass rates for the 325
| Region | Tests | Pass rate |
|---|---|---|
| South West | 56 | 76.8% |
| South East | 54 | 85.2% |
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 2009 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 2009 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 shock absorbers 4.8% 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.
-
Check the suspension joints 3.0% 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 tyre tread 3.0% of tests
“tread depth below requirements of 1.6mm”
Check all four tyres cold, including the inner shoulder where wear hides — 1.6mm across the central three-quarters is the legal limit, and most testers fail at 1.6mm without argument.
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 2009 325 through its MOT
Across the 10 items that are recorded most often on this model, the average repair comes to £38–£107 — and 15% of those repairs are parts that cost under £30.
- Average repair across the 10 common items
- £38–£107
- Cheapest common item: washers provides insufficient washer liquid
- £5–£15
- Dearest common item: catalyst emissions carbon monoxide content…
- £60–£250
- Common items a careful owner can do at home
- 60%
- Repairs that still cost under £30
- 15%
Estimates from typical UK parts prices, weighted by how often each item appears in 166 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 2009 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 2009 cars with a similar record
Closest pass rates among 2009 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 2009 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 240 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 | 61 | 25.20% | 20.89% | +4.31 |
| Tyres | 50 | 20.70% | 19.76% | +0.94 |
| Suspension | 46 | 19.00% | 20.98% | −1.98 |
| Non-component advisories | 22 | 9.10% | 4.18% | +4.92 |
| Visibility | 18 | 7.40% | 4.97% | +2.43 |
| Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | 16 | 6.60% | 12.21% | −5.61 |
| Noise, emissions and leaks | 16 | 6.60% | 5.52% | +1.08 |
| Identification of the vehicle | 4 | 1.70% | 1.76% | −0.06 |
| Road Wheels | 4 | 1.70% | 0.75% | +0.95 |
| Body, chassis, structure | 3 | 1.20% | 5.57% | −4.37 |
The exact failure items, in the tester's words
| Recorded item | Severity | Tests | Est. cost |
|---|---|---|---|
| Shock absorbers has a serious fluid leak Suspension | Major | 4.8% | £30–75 |
| Pins and bushes pin or bush excessively worn Suspension | Major | 3.0% | £40–150 |
| Tread depth below requirements of 1.6mm Tyres | Major | 3.0% | £45–95 |
| Windscreen damaged but not adversely affecting driver's view Visibility | Minor | 3.0% | £80–200 |
| Washers provides insufficient washer liquid Visibility | Major | 2.4% | £5–15 |
| Catalyst emissions carbon monoxide content after 2nd fast idle exceeds manufacturer's specified limits Noise, emissions and leaks | Major | 1.8% | £60–250 |
| Flexible brake hoses excessively deteriorated Brakes | Major | 1.8% | £25–70 |
| Has ply or cords exposed Tyres | Major | 1.8% | £45–95 |
| Headlamp aim too low Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | Major | 1.8% | £30–80 |
| Anti-lock braking system warning lamp indicates an ABS fault Brakes | Major | 1.2% | £3–15 |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tread depth below requirements of 1.6mm Tyres | Advisory | 18.1% | £45–95 |
| Flexible brake hoses excessively deteriorated Brakes | Advisory | 13.3% | £25–70 |
| Shock absorbers has a serious fluid leak Suspension | Advisory | 7.2% | £30–75 |
| Non-component advisories Child Seat fitted not allowing full inspection of adult belt Non-component advisories | Advisory | 6.6% | £20–80 |
| Brake discs in such a condition that it is seriously weakened Brakes | Advisory | 5.4% | £45–110 |
| Engine oil leaks leaking excessively from engine Noise, emissions and leaks | Advisory | 5.4% | £200–700 |
Pass rate by mileage
| Mileage | Tests | Pass rate | Median odometer |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0-30k | 12 | 91.7% | 20,539 mi |
| 30-60k | 25 | 88.0% | 46,034 mi |
| 60-90k | 82 | 81.7% | 73,949 mi |
| 90-120k | 37 | 70.3% | 98,830 mi |
| 120k+ | 10 | 70.0% | 171,016 mi |
Source: 166 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.
2009 325 MOT questions
What is the MOT pass rate for a 2009 BMW 325?
80.1% of the 166 2009 BMW 325 tests in this dataset passed, against a national average of 74.0% for cars first used in 2009. First-attempt pass rate: 75.4%.
What are the most common MOT failures on a 2009 BMW 325?
The three most recorded items are shock absorbers has a serious fluid leak (4.82%), pins and bushes pin or bush excessively worn (3.01%), tread depth below requirements of 1.6mm (3.01%). Percentages are the share of tests on this vehicle that recorded the item.
Does mileage affect the 2009 BMW 325 MOT pass rate?
Yes. Cars under 30,000 miles passed 91.7% of the time, falling to 70.0% for those over 120,000 miles. The median 2009 BMW 325 in this dataset had covered 73,623 mi.
Which fuel type is most reliable for a 2009 BMW 325?
Petrol: 82.0% pass rate across 133 tests. Diesel: 72.7% pass rate across 33 tests. Shares are of the tests on this vehicle that recorded each fuel type.
Does the season affect the 2009 BMW 325 MOT pass rate?
Tests recorded in the winter months (October–March) passed 75.6% of the time; summer months (April–September) passed 84.1%. Brakes, tyres and lights are tested harder in bad weather, but the difference is small on most models.