Pass rate
80.9%
Around average — 8.0 pts ahead of the 72.9% that cars this age and mileage manage.
Across 367 recorded tests.
Typical repair bill £28–£84
2002 BMW 745 MOT pass rate
- 2002
- typical 109,854 mi
Check your postcode
Most common fault
Suspension
20.4% of faults · 21.0% nationally
mostly worn arm bushes, split ball-joint boots and broken coil springs.
Part only £35–£75 for Suspension pin or bush excessively worn. What fitting it takes →
Which year to buy
- Best 2002 80.9% pass · this year
- Avoid 2004 78.0% pass
Across the 3 years on record, a spread of 2.9 points. See every year →
- First-attempt pass
- 77.6%
- Typical mileage
- 110k mi
The 2002 BMW 745 MOT pass rate is 80.9% of its MOT tests — 8.0 points ahead of what its age and mileage predict. Suspension is the biggest single reason it fails, at 20.4% of what testers record.
Expert verdict
Emissions & leaks: 3.2× the national share
Emissions & leaks make up 17.9% of everything recorded on the 2002 BMW 745, against 5.5% nationally — 12.4 points above. Suspension is still the single largest share at 20.4%, but at 21.0% 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 72.9% and this one manages 80.9% — 8.0 points ahead of what its age and mileage predict.
- When it fails, it costs. Only 31% 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 745? Get an email when these numbers change .
How does the 2002 BMW 745 compare?
Cars of this age and mileage average 72.9%, so this figure is 8.0 points ahead of what its age and mileage predict. On a first attempt, before any retests, the figure drops to 77.6%. The median 2002 BMW 745 in this dataset had covered 109,854 mi.
Pass rates also shift with the test month: tests recorded October–March passed 81.1% of the time, April–September 80.7%.
The single most recorded failure item is "Ball joint excessively worn", noted on 4.09% of tests.
- 367 recorded tests behind this page.
- 80.9% overall pass rate, 77.6% on a first attempt.
- Across every year of the BMW 745, the average is 80.2% — best year 2002 (80.9%), worst 2004 (78.0%).
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
- 367
- Typical mileage (median)
- 109,854 mi
- Make and model
- BMW 745
- 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 745 MOT pass rate?
Pass rate by odometer reading. Bar lengths start at 66% so small gaps stay visible.
Regional pass rates for the 745
| Region | Tests | Pass rate |
|---|---|---|
| South East | 88 | 83.0% |
| East of England | 46 | 80.4% |
| London | 44 | 93.2% |
| South West | 37 | 64.9% |
| East Midlands | 28 | 75.0% |
| West Midlands | 28 | 92.9% |
| Scotland | 23 | 78.3% |
| Yorkshire | 23 | 82.6% |
| North West | 21 | 76.2% |
| North East | 15 | 80.0% |
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 2002 745
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 2002 745
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 4.1% 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 3.5% 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 coil springs 3.0% 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.
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 2002 745 through its MOT
Across the 10 items that are recorded most often on this model, the average repair comes to £28–£84 — and 31% of those repairs are parts that cost under £30.
- Average repair across the 10 common items
- £28–£84
- Cheapest common item: srs malfunction indicator lamp warning lamp…
- £3–£12
- Dearest common item: joints constant velocity boot severely…
- £80–£250
- Common items a careful owner can do at home
- 70%
- Repairs that still cost under £30
- 31%
Estimates from typical UK parts prices, weighted by how often each item appears in 367 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 745, side by side
3 model years on record, from 2002 to 2004. Across them the pass rate runs from 78.0% to 80.9% — a spread of 2.9 points. The bar under each year is the item that failed it most often.
- 2002 80.9%ball joint excessively worn
- 2003 80.8% headlamp lens slightly defective
- 2004 78.0% windscreen damaged but not…
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 2002 BMW 745 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 2002 cars with a similar record
- Mercedes-Benz Slk 81.2%
- Subaru Impreza 80.5%
- Porsche Boxster 80.3%
- Jaguar XK8 79.8%
- Land Rover Range Rover 77.4%
- Honda S2000 84.6%
Closest pass rates among 2002 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 2002 BMW 745 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 833 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Suspension | 172 | 20.40% | 20.98% | −0.58 |
| Brakes | 172 | 20.40% | 20.89% | −0.49 |
| Noise, emissions and leaks | 151 | 17.90% | 5.52% | +12.38 |
| Tyres | 114 | 13.50% | 19.76% | −6.26 |
| Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | 99 | 11.70% | 12.21% | −0.51 |
| Visibility | 35 | 4.20% | 4.97% | −0.77 |
| Body, chassis, structure | 24 | 2.80% | 5.57% | −2.77 |
| Seat belts and supplementary restraint systems | 23 | 2.70% | 0.82% | +1.88 |
| Steering | 22 | 2.60% | 2.57% | +0.03 |
| Non-component advisories | 21 | 2.50% | 4.18% | −1.68 |
The exact failure items, in the tester's words
| Recorded item | Severity | Tests | Est. cost |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ball joint excessively worn Suspension | Major | 4.1% | £18–45 |
| Headlamp lens slightly defective Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | Minor | 3.5% | £5–25 |
| Pins and bushes pin or bush excessively worn Suspension | Major | 3.5% | £40–150 |
| Srs malfunction indicator lamp warning lamp indicates a fault Seat belts and supplementary restraint systems | Major | 3.5% | £3–12 |
| Joints constant velocity boot severely deteriorated Body, chassis, structure | Minor | 3.3% | £80–250 |
| Coil spring fractured or broken Suspension | Major | 3.0% | £25–65 |
| Ball joint dust cover severely deteriorated Suspension | Minor | 2.7% | £18–45 |
| Linkage ball joint dust cover ball joint dust cover severely deteriorated Suspension | Minor | 2.2% | £18–45 |
| Malfunction indicator lamp inoperative or indicates a malfunction Noise, emissions and leaks | Major | 2.2% | £3–12 |
| Windscreen damaged but not adversely affecting driver's view Visibility | Minor | 2.2% | £80–200 |
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 | 27.3% | £200–700 |
| Tread depth below requirements of 1.6mm Tyres | Advisory | 13.6% | £45–95 |
| Rigid brake pipes excessively corroded Brakes | Advisory | 13.3% | £80–180 |
| Pins and bushes pin or bush excessively worn Suspension | Advisory | 12.3% | £40–150 |
| Has a tear, caused by separation or partial failure of its structure Tyres | Advisory | 10.1% | £45–95 |
| Brake discs in such a condition that it is seriously weakened Brakes | Advisory | 9.3% | £45–110 |
Pass rate by mileage
| Mileage | Tests | Pass rate | Median odometer |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0-30k | 4 | 100.0% | 26,398 mi |
| 30-60k | 40 | 95.0% | 47,103 mi |
| 60-90k | 66 | 74.2% | 74,921 mi |
| 90-120k | 127 | 81.1% | 105,847 mi |
| 120k+ | 130 | 79.2% | 152,163 mi |
Source: 367 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.
2002 745 MOT questions
What is the MOT pass rate for a 2002 BMW 745?
80.9% of the 367 2002 BMW 745 tests in this dataset passed, against a national average of 72.9% for cars first used in 2002. First-attempt pass rate: 77.6%.
What are the most common MOT failures on a 2002 BMW 745?
The three most recorded items are ball joint excessively worn (4.09%), headlamp lens slightly defective (3.54%), pins and bushes pin or bush excessively worn (3.54%). Percentages are the share of tests on this vehicle that recorded the item.
Does mileage affect the 2002 BMW 745 MOT pass rate?
Yes. Cars under 30,000 miles passed 100.0% of the time, falling to 79.2% for those over 120,000 miles. The median 2002 BMW 745 in this dataset had covered 109,854 mi.
Does the season affect the 2002 BMW 745 MOT pass rate?
Tests recorded in the winter months (October–March) passed 81.1% of the time; summer months (April–September) passed 80.7%. Brakes, tyres and lights are tested harder in bad weather, but the difference is small on most models.