Pass rate
83.5%
Around average — 10.2 pts ahead of the 73.3% that cars this age and mileage manage.
Across 139 recorded tests.
Typical repair bill £34–£100
2001 BMW Alpina MOT pass rate
- 2001
- 2 trims combined
- typical 120,716 mi
Most common fault
Brakes
27.3% of faults · 20.9% nationally
mostly worn pads and discs, corroded pipes and a handbrake that will not hold.
Which year to buy
- Best 2022 98.2% pass
- Avoid 2009 81.6% pass
Across the 23 years on record, a spread of 16.6 points. See every year →
- First-attempt pass
- 81.3%
- Typical mileage
- 121k mi
The 2001 BMW Alpina MOT pass rate is 83.5% of its MOT tests — 10.2 points ahead of what its age and mileage predict. Brakes is the biggest single reason it fails, at 27.3% of what testers record.
Check your postcode
MOT pass rates are national — type your postcode to see how BMW Alpina does in your corner of the country.
Expert verdict
Emissions & leaks: 2.3× the national share
Emissions & leaks make up 12.7% of everything recorded on the 2001 BMW Alpina, against 5.5% nationally — 7.2 points above. Brakes are still the single largest share at 27.3%, 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 73.3% and this one manages 83.5% — 10.2 points ahead of what its age and mileage predict.
- When it fails, it costs. Only 35% 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 Alpina? Get an email when these numbers change .
Every BMW Alpina first registered in 2001 is combined here — 2 trim and body variants in total — so the sample is as large as the DVSA data allows.
How does the 2001 BMW Alpina compare?
Cars of this age and mileage average 73.3%, so this figure is 10.2 points ahead of what its age and mileage predict. On a first attempt, before any retests, the figure drops to 81.3%. The median 2001 BMW Alpina in this dataset had covered 120,716 mi.
Pass rates also shift with the test month: tests recorded October–March passed 83.9% of the time, April–September 83.1%.
The single most recorded failure item is "Anti-lock braking system warning lamp indicates an ABS fault", noted on 2.16% of tests.
- 139 recorded tests behind this page.
- 83.5% overall pass rate, 81.3% on a first attempt.
- Across every year of the BMW Alpina, the average is 87.2% — best year 2022 (98.2%), worst 2009 (81.6%).
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
- 139
- Typical mileage (median)
- 120,716 mi
- Make and model
- BMW Alpina
- Updated
- 2026-11-05
Source: DVSA anonymised MOT test data (2023–2025), OGL v3.0.
Top part to budget for
Bulb
Usually a DIY or independent-garage job.
Does mileage affect the Alpina MOT pass rate?
Pass rate by odometer reading. Bar lengths start at 68% so small gaps stay visible.
Regional pass rates for the Alpina
| Region | Tests | Pass rate |
|---|---|---|
| South East | 45 | 84.4% |
| Yorkshire | 17 | 76.5% |
| London | 16 | 81.3% |
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 2001 Alpina
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 2001 Alpina
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 2.2% of tests
“anti-lock braking system warning lamp indicates an ABS fault”
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 windscreen 2.2% 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 suspension joints 1.4% 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 2001 Alpina through its MOT
Across the 10 items that are recorded most often on this model, the average repair comes to £34–£100 — and 35% of those repairs are parts that cost under £30.
- Average repair across the 10 common items
- £34–£100
- Cheapest common item: anti-lock braking system warning lamp…
- £3–£15
- Dearest common item: catalyst emissions lambda reading after 2nd…
- £60–£250
- Common items a careful owner can do at home
- 60%
- Repairs that still cost under £30
- 35%
Estimates from typical UK parts prices, weighted by how often each item appears in 139 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 Alpina, side by side
23 model years on record, from 2000 to 2022. Across them the pass rate runs from 81.6% to 98.2% — a spread of 16.6 points. The bar under each year is the item that failed it most often.
- 2000 85.1% registration plate lamp(s)…
- 2001 83.5%anti-lock braking system warning…
- 2002 86.8% washers not working
- 2003 87.9% registration plate lamp(s)…
- 2004 87.0% windscreen damaged but not…
- 2005 87.9% rbt (sp) efficiency below…
- 2006 87.5% registration plate lamp(s)…
- 2007 83.6% windscreen damaged but not…
- 2008 87.5% windscreen damaged but not…
- 2009 81.6% windscreen damaged but not…
- 2010 87.2% windscreen damaged but not…
- 2011 87.3% shock absorbers has a serious…
- 2012 89.0% windscreen damaged but not…
- 2013 81.9% has a cut in excess of the…
- 2014 84.8% tread depth below requirements of…
- 2015 89.2% windscreen damaged but not…
- 2016 88.9% has a cut in excess of the…
- 2017 89.4% has a cut in excess of the…
- 2018 87.8% has a cut in excess of the…
- 2019 93.7% windscreen damaged but not…
- 2020 90.9% has a cut in excess of the…
- 2021 91.4% has a cut in excess of the…
- 2022 98.2% 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 2001 BMW Alpina 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 2001 cars with a similar record
- Porsche 911 86.3%
- Jaguar XK8 80.6%
- Porsche Boxster 80.5%
- Mercedes-Benz Slk 80.3%
- Subaru Impreza 79.3%
- Jaguar Xkr 79.2%
Closest pass rates among 2001 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 2001 BMW Alpina 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 256 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 | 71 | 27.30% | 20.89% | +6.41 |
| Suspension | 51 | 19.60% | 20.98% | −1.38 |
| Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | 34 | 13.10% | 12.21% | +0.89 |
| Noise, emissions and leaks | 33 | 12.70% | 5.52% | +7.18 |
| Tyres | 28 | 10.80% | 19.76% | −8.96 |
| Body, chassis, structure | 14 | 5.40% | 5.57% | −0.17 |
| Non-component advisories | 8 | 3.10% | 4.18% | −1.08 |
| Visibility | 7 | 2.70% | 4.97% | −2.27 |
| Seat belts and supplementary restraint systems | 6 | 2.30% | 0.82% | +1.48 |
| Identification of the vehicle | 4 | 1.50% | 1.76% | −0.26 |
The exact failure items, in the tester's words
| Recorded item | Severity | Tests | Est. cost |
|---|---|---|---|
| Anti-lock braking system warning lamp indicates an ABS fault Brakes | Major | 2.2% | £3–15 |
| Headlamp lens slightly defective Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | Minor | 2.2% | £5–25 |
| Windscreen damaged but not adversely affecting driver's view Visibility | Minor | 2.2% | £80–200 |
| Ball joint excessively worn Suspension | Major | 1.4% | £18–45 |
| Catalyst emissions Lambda reading after 2nd fast idle outside specified limits Noise, emissions and leaks | Major | 1.4% | £60–250 |
| Door condition cannot be opened from outside the vehicle Body, chassis, structure | Major | 1.4% | £80–250 |
| Has a cut in excess of the requirements deep enough to reach the ply or cords Tyres | Major | 1.4% | £45–95 |
| Headlamp aim too high Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | Major | 1.4% | £30–80 |
| Headlamp reflector slightly defective Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | Minor | 1.4% | £5–25 |
| Linkage ball joint dust cover ball joint dust cover severely deteriorated Suspension | Minor | 1.4% | £18–45 |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rigid brake pipes excessively corroded Brakes | Advisory | 21.6% | £80–180 |
| Engine oil leaks leaking excessively from engine Noise, emissions and leaks | Advisory | 15.8% | £200–700 |
| Coil spring corroded so that its cross sectional area is reduced and seriously weakened Suspension | Advisory | 10.8% | £25–65 |
| Has a tear, caused by separation or partial failure of its structure Tyres | Advisory | 8.6% | £45–95 |
| Brake discs in such a condition that it is seriously weakened Brakes | Advisory | 5.8% | £45–110 |
| Pins and bushes pin or bush excessively worn Suspension | Advisory | 5.8% | £40–150 |
Pass rate by mileage
| Mileage | Tests | Pass rate | Median odometer |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0-30k | 5 | 80.0% | 24,798 mi |
| 30-60k | 9 | 77.8% | 41,545 mi |
| 60-90k | 28 | 92.9% | 78,964 mi |
| 90-120k | 24 | 95.8% | 103,451 mi |
| 120k+ | 73 | 76.7% | 161,452 mi |
Source: 139 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.
2001 Alpina MOT questions
What is the MOT pass rate for a 2001 BMW Alpina?
83.5% of the 139 2001 BMW Alpina tests in this dataset passed, against a national average of 73.3% for cars first used in 2001. First-attempt pass rate: 81.3%.
What are the most common MOT failures on a 2001 BMW Alpina?
The three most recorded items are anti-lock braking system warning lamp indicates an abs fault (2.16%), headlamp lens slightly defective (2.16%), windscreen damaged but not adversely affecting driver's view (2.16%). Percentages are the share of tests on this vehicle that recorded the item.
Does mileage affect the 2001 BMW Alpina MOT pass rate?
Yes. Cars under 30,000 miles passed 80.0% of the time, falling to 76.7% for those over 120,000 miles. The median 2001 BMW Alpina in this dataset had covered 120,716 mi.
Does the season affect the 2001 BMW Alpina MOT pass rate?
Tests recorded in the winter months (October–March) passed 83.9% of the time; summer months (April–September) passed 83.1%. Brakes, tyres and lights are tested harder in bad weather, but the difference is small on most models.