Pass rate
82.8%
Around average — 6.9 pts ahead of the 75.9% that cars this age and mileage manage.
Across 5,153 recorded tests.
Typical repair bill £38–£95
2011 BMW 530 MOT pass rate
- 2011
- typical 123,306 mi
Check your postcode
Most common fault
Tyres
26.3% of faults · 19.8% nationally
mostly tread below the limit, cuts and sidewall bulges.
Part only £55–£85 for Tread depth below 1.6 mm. What fitting it takes →
Which year to buy
- Best 2020 93.8% pass
- Avoid 2000 76.1% pass
Across the 21 years on record, a spread of 17.7 points. See every year →
- First-attempt pass
- 79.8%
- Typical mileage
- 123k mi
The 2011 BMW 530 MOT pass rate is 82.8% of its MOT tests — 6.9 points ahead of what its age and mileage predict. Tyres is the biggest single reason it fails, at 26.3% of what testers record.
Expert verdict
Tyres: 1.3× the national share
Tyres make up 26.3% of everything recorded on the 2011 BMW 530, against 19.8% nationally — 6.5 points above. Check all four tyres yourself, including the inner shoulders, and look at the date stamp — a tyre can pass on tread and still be six years old.
- 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 75.9% and this one manages 82.8% — 6.9 points ahead of what its age and mileage predict.
- When it fails, it costs. Only 14% 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 530? Get an email when these numbers change .
How does the 2011 BMW 530 compare?
Cars of this age and mileage average 75.9%, so this figure is 6.9 points ahead of what its age and mileage predict. On a first attempt, before any retests, the figure drops to 79.8%. The median 2011 BMW 530 in this dataset had covered 123,306 mi.
The most common fuel recorded here is Diesel — 98% of tests, with a 82.9% pass rate. Pass rates also shift with the test month: tests recorded October–March passed 83.1% of the time, April–September 82.4%.
The single most recorded failure item is "Windscreen damaged but not adversely affecting driver's view", noted on 4.54% of tests.
- 5,153 recorded tests behind this page.
- 82.8% overall pass rate, 79.8% on a first attempt.
- Across every year of the BMW 530, the average is 82.5% — best year 2020 (93.8%), worst 2000 (76.1%).
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
- 5,153
- Typical mileage (median)
- 123,306 mi
- Make and model
- BMW 530
- 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 530 MOT pass rate?
Pass rate by odometer reading. Bar lengths start at 72% so small gaps stay visible.
Fuel type and reliability
Pass rate by fuel type. Diesel is the most common here (98% of tests).
Where the BMW 530 is most common
Across all 530 model years on record (2000–2020): 35,110 BMW 530 cars tested in a recordable postcode area, across 77,630 tests. Birmingham (B) has the most, with 1,363 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) | 1,363 | 90.3% |
| 2 | Peterborough (PE) | 970 | 83.6% |
| 3 | Northampton (NN) | 667 | 85.5% |
| 4 | Coventry (CV) | 646 | 84.5% |
| 5 | Reading (RG) | 645 | 80.9% |
| 6 | Leicester (LE) | 639 | 85.4% |
| 7 | Sheffield (S) | 603 | 85.9% |
| 8 | Nottingham (NG) | 595 | 78.9% |
| 9 | Guildford (GU) | 577 | 80.2% |
| 10 | London (E) | 541 | 91.7% |
| 11 | Romford (RM) | 528 | 92.3% |
| 12 | Bristol (BS) | 522 | 75.1% |
| 13 | Manchester (M) | 521 | 86.2% |
| 14 | Ipswich (IP) | 509 | 80.8% |
| 15 | Derby (DE) | 493 | 81.9% |
| 16 | Doncaster (DN) | 488 | 81.6% |
| 17 | High Wycombe (HP) | 475 | 84.4% |
| 18 | Milton Keynes (MK) | 473 | 84.3% |
| 19 | Southampton (SO) | 470 | 79.2% |
| 20 | Slough (SL) | 447 | 86.6% |
The twenty areas with the most BMW 530 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 530
| Region | Tests | Pass rate |
|---|---|---|
| South East | 1,030 | 83.0% |
| East of England | 739 | 82.8% |
| North West | 573 | 84.1% |
| South West | 557 | 78.1% |
| West Midlands | 550 | 86.5% |
| East Midlands | 511 | 80.8% |
| Yorkshire | 406 | 84.7% |
| Scotland | 255 | 77.6% |
| Wales | 209 | 80.9% |
| London | 182 | 92.9% |
| North East | 141 | 81.6% |
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 2011 530
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 2011 530
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 4.5% 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 coil springs 3.8% of tests
“coil spring fractured or broken”
Look up inside each wheel arch with a torch, all the way round the spring. A snapped spring usually breaks at the very bottom coil, where a quick glance will not reach.
-
Check the suspension joints 2.2% 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.
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 2011 530 through its MOT
Across the 10 items that are recorded most often on this model, the average repair comes to £38–£95 — and 14% of those repairs are parts that cost under £30.
- Average repair across the 10 common items
- £38–£95
- Cheapest common item: position lamp not working
- £5–£25
- Dearest common item: windscreen damaged
- £80–£200
- Common items a careful owner can do at home
- 90%
- Repairs that still cost under £30
- 14%
Estimates from typical UK parts prices, weighted by how often each item appears in 5,153 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 530, side by side
21 model years on record, from 2000 to 2020. Across them the pass rate runs from 76.1% to 93.8% — a spread of 17.7 points. The bar under each year is the item that failed it most often.
- 2000 76.1% windscreen damaged but not…
- 2001 76.9% registration plate lamp(s)…
- 2002 77.2% registration plate lamp(s)…
- 2003 77.1% windscreen damaged but not…
- 2004 78.1% headlamp lens slightly defective
- 2005 78.3% headlamp lens slightly defective
- 2006 79.4% windscreen damaged but not…
- 2007 80.8% windscreen damaged but not…
- 2008 82.4% windscreen damaged but not…
- 2009 82.6% windscreen damaged but not…
- 2010 81.7% coil spring fractured or broken
- 2011 82.8%windscreen damaged but not…
- 2012 83.5% windscreen damaged but not…
- 2013 86.3% windscreen damaged but not…
- 2014 87.8% windscreen damaged but not…
- 2015 88.7% windscreen damaged but not…
- 2016 89.5% windscreen damaged but not…
- 2017 89.3% windscreen damaged but not…
- 2018 91.0% windscreen damaged but not…
- 2019 84.2% has ply or cords exposed
- 2020 93.8% fixing missing
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 2011 BMW 530 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 2011 cars with a similar record
- Honda Cr-V 82.8%
- MINI Countryman COOPER 82.7%
- Audi Tt 82.6%
- MINI COOPER 82.4%
- Toyota Prius 83.2%
- Mazda Mx-5 83.2%
Closest pass rates among 2011 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 2011 BMW 530 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 6,192 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tyres | 1,660 | 26.30% | 19.76% | +6.54 |
| Suspension | 1,386 | 22.00% | 20.98% | +1.02 |
| Brakes | 1,048 | 16.60% | 20.89% | −4.29 |
| Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | 578 | 9.20% | 12.21% | −3.01 |
| Noise, emissions and leaks | 571 | 9.10% | 5.52% | +3.58 |
| Visibility | 386 | 6.10% | 4.97% | +1.13 |
| Non-component advisories | 260 | 4.10% | 4.18% | −0.08 |
| Identification of the vehicle | 142 | 2.30% | 1.76% | +0.54 |
| Body, chassis, structure | 81 | 1.30% | 5.57% | −4.27 |
| Road Wheels | 80 | 1.30% | 0.75% | +0.55 |
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 | 4.5% | £80–200 |
| Coil spring fractured or broken Suspension | Major | 3.8% | £25–65 |
| Ball joint excessively worn Suspension | Major | 2.2% | £18–45 |
| Position lamp not working Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | Major | 1.6% | £5–25 |
| Tread depth below requirements of 1.6mm Tyres | Major | 1.2% | £45–95 |
| Has ply or cords exposed Tyres | Major | 1.1% | £45–95 |
| Ball joint dust cover severely deteriorated Suspension | Minor | 1.1% | £18–45 |
| Side repeaters not working Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | Major | 1.1% | £5–25 |
| Has a cut in excess of the requirements deep enough to reach the ply or cords Tyres | Major | 1.1% | £45–95 |
| Shock absorbers has a serious fluid leak Suspension | Major | 0.82% | £30–75 |
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 | 20.2% | £45–95 |
| Engine oil leaks leaking excessively from engine Noise, emissions and leaks | Advisory | 8.5% | £200–700 |
| Brake pads less than 1.5 mm thick Brakes | Advisory | 6.7% | £18–45 |
| Ball joint excessively worn Suspension | Advisory | 6.5% | £18–45 |
| Brake discs in such a condition that it is seriously weakened Brakes | Advisory | 6.2% | £45–110 |
| Pins and bushes pin or bush excessively worn Suspension | Advisory | 4.4% | £40–150 |
Pass rate by mileage
| Mileage | Tests | Pass rate | Median odometer |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0-30k | 14 | 92.9% | 24,327 mi |
| 30-60k | 177 | 88.1% | 49,591 mi |
| 60-90k | 697 | 80.6% | 78,123 mi |
| 90-120k | 1,488 | 83.1% | 105,979 mi |
| 120k+ | 2,777 | 82.8% | 151,687 mi |
Source: 5,153 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.
2011 530 MOT questions
What is the MOT pass rate for a 2011 BMW 530?
82.8% of the 5,153 2011 BMW 530 tests in this dataset passed, against a national average of 75.9% for cars first used in 2011. First-attempt pass rate: 79.8%.
What are the most common MOT failures on a 2011 BMW 530?
The three most recorded items are windscreen damaged but not adversely affecting driver's view (4.54%), coil spring fractured or broken (3.78%), ball joint excessively worn (2.21%). Percentages are the share of tests on this vehicle that recorded the item.
Does mileage affect the 2011 BMW 530 MOT pass rate?
Yes. Cars under 30,000 miles passed 92.9% of the time, falling to 82.8% for those over 120,000 miles. The median 2011 BMW 530 in this dataset had covered 123,306 mi.
Which fuel type is most reliable for a 2011 BMW 530?
Diesel: 82.9% pass rate across 5,033 tests. Petrol: 80.8% pass rate across 120 tests. Shares are of the tests on this vehicle that recorded each fuel type.
Does the season affect the 2011 BMW 530 MOT pass rate?
Tests recorded in the winter months (October–March) passed 83.1% of the time; summer months (April–September) passed 82.4%. Brakes, tyres and lights are tested harder in bad weather, but the difference is small on most models.