Pass rate
81.7%
Around average — 5.8 pts ahead of the 75.9% that cars this age and mileage manage.
Across 257 recorded tests.
Typical repair bill £29–£75
2011 BMW 650 MOT pass rate
- 2011
- typical 62,472 mi
Check your postcode
Most common fault
Tyres
28.2% of faults · 19.8% nationally
mostly tread below the limit, cuts and sidewall bulges.
Which year to buy
- Best 2014 90.1% pass
- Avoid 2005 79.2% pass
Across the 12 years on record, a spread of 10.9 points. See every year →
- First-attempt pass
- 78.1%
- Typical mileage
- 62k mi
The 2011 BMW 650 MOT pass rate is 81.7% of its MOT tests — 5.8 points ahead of what its age and mileage predict. Tyres is the biggest single reason it fails, at 28.2% of what testers record.
Expert verdict
Tyres: 1.4× the national share
Tyres make up 28.2% of everything recorded on the 2011 BMW 650, against 19.8% nationally — 8.4 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 81.7% — 5.8 points ahead of what its age and mileage predict.
- When it fails, it costs. Only 21% 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 650? Get an email when these numbers change .
How does the 2011 BMW 650 compare?
Cars of this age and mileage average 75.9%, so this figure is 5.8 points ahead of what its age and mileage predict. On a first attempt, before any retests, the figure drops to 78.1%. The median 2011 BMW 650 in this dataset had covered 62,472 mi.
Pass rates also shift with the test month: tests recorded October–March passed 80.0% of the time, April–September 83.3%.
The single most recorded failure item is "Coil spring fractured or broken", noted on 5.84% of tests.
- 257 recorded tests behind this page.
- 81.7% overall pass rate, 78.1% on a first attempt.
- Across every year of the BMW 650, the average is 82.0% — best year 2014 (90.1%), worst 2005 (79.2%).
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
- 257
- Typical mileage (median)
- 62,472 mi
- Make and model
- BMW 650
- Updated
- 2026-11-07
Source: DVSA anonymised MOT test data (2023–2025), OGL v3.0.
Top part to budget for
Coil Spring
Usually a DIY or independent-garage job.
Does mileage affect the 650 MOT pass rate?
Pass rate by odometer reading. Bar lengths start at 63% so small gaps stay visible.
Where the BMW 650 is most common
Across all 650 model years on record (2005–2017): 1,918 BMW 650 cars tested in a recordable postcode area, across 4,105 tests. Birmingham (B) has the most, with 53 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) | 53 | 88.1% |
| 2 | Reading (RG) | 51 | 82.6% |
| 3 | Guildford (GU) | 47 | 81.5% |
| 4 | High Wycombe (HP) | 39 | 86.6% |
| 5 | Peterborough (PE) | 38 | 80.8% |
| 6 | London (SW) | 37 | 87.2% |
| 7 | Kingston upon Thames (KT) | 35 | 88.3% |
| 8 | Hounslow (TW) | 34 | 84.7% |
| 9 | Chelmsford (CM) | 33 | 81.3% |
| 10 | Crawley (RH) | 33 | 81.6% |
| 11 | Derby (DE) | 33 | 81.4% |
| 12 | Southampton (SO) | 33 | 77.9% |
| 13 | Hayes (UB) | 33 | 89.4% |
| 14 | Brighton (BN) | 32 | 80.2% |
| 15 | London (NW) | 32 | 77.3% |
| 16 | Ashford (TN) | 32 | 81.7% |
| 17 | Milton Keynes (MK) | 32 | 80.3% |
| 18 | Slough (SL) | 32 | 86.3% |
| 19 | London (E) | 31 | 87.5% |
| 20 | Nottingham (NG) | 30 | 80.0% |
The twenty areas with the most BMW 650 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 650
| Region | Tests | Pass rate |
|---|---|---|
| South East | 94 | 89.4% |
| South West | 32 | 68.8% |
| London | 29 | 79.3% |
| Yorkshire | 27 | 66.7% |
| West Midlands | 24 | 91.7% |
| North West | 20 | 70.0% |
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 2011 650
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 650
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 coil springs 5.8% 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 wipers and washers 1.9% of tests
“wipers blade defective”
Run the wipers with the screen wet: they should clear it in one sweep without smearing or juddering. Top the washer bottle up and check both jets hit the screen.
-
Check the brakes 1.2% of tests
“brake pads less than 1.5 mm thick”
Look through the spokes of each wheel at the pad — less than 3mm of friction material, or a lip on the disc edge, is the usual failure. Check the handbrake holds on a slope with a few clicks, not at the top of its travel.
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 650 through its MOT
Across the 10 items that are recorded most often on this model, the average repair comes to £29–£75 — and 21% of those repairs are parts that cost under £30.
- Average repair across the 10 common items
- £29–£75
- Cheapest common item: malfunction indicator lamp inoperative or…
- £3–£12
- Dearest common item: catalyst emissions lambda reading after 2nd…
- £60–£250
- Common items a careful owner can do at home
- 80%
- Repairs that still cost under £30
- 21%
Estimates from typical UK parts prices, weighted by how often each item appears in 257 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 650, side by side
12 model years on record, from 2005 to 2017. Across them the pass rate runs from 79.2% to 90.1% — a spread of 10.9 points. The bar under each year is the item that failed it most often.
- 2005 79.2% pins and bushes pin or bush…
- 2006 80.0% position lamp not working
- 2007 82.2% linkage ball joint dust cover…
- 2008 83.7% windscreen damaged but not…
- 2009 82.6% windscreen damaged but not…
- 2011 81.7%coil spring fractured or broken
- 2012 85.7% coil spring fractured or broken
- 2013 89.3% windscreen damaged but not…
- 2014 90.1% coil spring fractured or broken
- 2015 88.2% has a bulge, caused by separation…
- 2016 82.9% has a bulge, caused by separation…
- 2017 86.3% has a bulge, caused by separation…
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 650 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
- Toyota YARIS 81.7%
- Land Rover Range Rover Evoque 81.6%
- Ford Fusion 81.5%
- Toyota Urban Cruiser 81.9%
- Volvo V70 81.4%
- Mercedes-Benz Slk 82.1%
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 650 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 234 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 | 66 | 28.20% | 19.76% | +8.44 |
| Suspension | 49 | 20.90% | 20.98% | −0.08 |
| Brakes | 49 | 20.90% | 20.89% | +0.01 |
| Noise, emissions and leaks | 26 | 11.10% | 5.52% | +5.58 |
| Visibility | 11 | 4.70% | 4.97% | −0.27 |
| Body, chassis, structure | 9 | 3.80% | 5.57% | −1.77 |
| Non-component advisories | 9 | 3.80% | 4.18% | −0.38 |
| Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | 6 | 2.60% | 12.21% | −9.61 |
| Identification of the vehicle | 5 | 2.10% | 1.76% | +0.34 |
| Road Wheels | 4 | 1.70% | 0.75% | +0.95 |
The exact failure items, in the tester's words
| Recorded item | Severity | Tests | Est. cost |
|---|---|---|---|
| Coil spring fractured or broken Suspension | Major | 5.8% | £25–65 |
| Has a bulge, caused by separation or partial failure of its structure Tyres | Major | 1.9% | £45–95 |
| Has a cut in excess of the requirements deep enough to reach the ply or cords Tyres | Major | 1.9% | £45–95 |
| Has ply or cords exposed Tyres | Major | 1.9% | £45–95 |
| Wipers blade defective Visibility | Minor | 1.9% | £8–22 |
| Brake pads less than 1.5 mm thick Brakes | Major | 1.2% | £18–45 |
| Malfunction indicator lamp inoperative or indicates a malfunction Noise, emissions and leaks | Major | 1.2% | £3–12 |
| Catalyst emissions Lambda reading after 2nd fast idle outside specified limits Noise, emissions and leaks | Major | 0.78% | £60–250 |
| Pins and bushes pin or bush excessively worn Suspension | Major | 0.78% | £40–150 |
| Position lamp with a multiple light source up to 1/2 not functioning Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | Minor | 0.78% | £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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tread depth below requirements of 1.6mm Tyres | Advisory | 10.1% | £45–95 |
| Brake pads less than 1.5 mm thick Brakes | Advisory | 5.8% | £18–45 |
| Engine oil leaks leaking excessively from engine Noise, emissions and leaks | Advisory | 5.8% | £200–700 |
| Brake discs in such a condition that it is seriously weakened Brakes | Advisory | 5.5% | £45–110 |
| Ball joint excessively worn Suspension | Advisory | 4.3% | £18–45 |
| Pins and bushes pin or bush excessively worn Suspension | Advisory | 3.9% | £40–150 |
Pass rate by mileage
| Mileage | Tests | Pass rate | Median odometer |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0-30k | 16 | 87.5% | 23,112 mi |
| 30-60k | 104 | 83.7% | 50,007 mi |
| 60-90k | 94 | 81.9% | 73,356 mi |
| 90-120k | 38 | 71.1% | 103,063 mi |
| 120k+ | 5 | 100.0% | 136,656 mi |
Source: 257 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 650 MOT questions
What is the MOT pass rate for a 2011 BMW 650?
81.7% of the 257 2011 BMW 650 tests in this dataset passed, against a national average of 75.9% for cars first used in 2011. First-attempt pass rate: 78.1%.
What are the most common MOT failures on a 2011 BMW 650?
The three most recorded items are coil spring fractured or broken (5.84%), has a bulge, caused by separation or partial failure of its structure (1.95%), has a cut in excess of the requirements deep enough to reach the ply or cords (1.95%). Percentages are the share of tests on this vehicle that recorded the item.
Does mileage affect the 2011 BMW 650 MOT pass rate?
Yes. Cars under 30,000 miles passed 87.5% of the time, falling to 100.0% for those over 120,000 miles. The median 2011 BMW 650 in this dataset had covered 62,472 mi.
Does the season affect the 2011 BMW 650 MOT pass rate?
Tests recorded in the winter months (October–March) passed 80.0% of the time; summer months (April–September) passed 83.3%. Brakes, tyres and lights are tested harder in bad weather, but the difference is small on most models.