Pass rate
87.9%
Above average — 15.5 pts ahead of the 72.4% that cars this age and mileage manage.
Across 124 recorded tests.
Typical repair bill £40–£110
2005 BMW Alpina MOT pass rate
- 2005
- typical 90,403 mi
Most common fault
Brakes
32.1% of faults · 20.9% nationally
mostly worn pads and discs, corroded pipes and a handbrake that will not hold.
Part only £25–£55 for Rigid brake pipes excessively corroded. What fitting it takes →
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
- 86.6%
- Typical mileage
- 90k mi
The 2005 BMW Alpina MOT pass rate is 87.9% of its MOT tests — 15.5 points ahead of what its age and mileage predict. Brakes is the biggest single reason it fails, at 32.1% 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
Brakes: 1.5× the national share
Brakes make up 32.1% of everything recorded on the 2005 BMW Alpina, against 20.9% nationally — 11.2 points above. Have the discs and pads measured rather than glanced at, and ask whether the handbrake holds on a slope.
- 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 72.4% and this one manages 87.9% — 15.5 points ahead of what its age and mileage predict.
- When it fails, it costs. Only 18% 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 .
How does the 2005 BMW Alpina compare?
Cars of this age and mileage average 72.4%, so this figure is 15.5 points ahead of what its age and mileage predict. On a first attempt, before any retests, the figure drops to 86.6%. The median 2005 BMW Alpina in this dataset had covered 90,403 mi.
Pass rates also shift with the test month: tests recorded October–March passed 90.4% of the time, April–September 86.1%.
The single most recorded failure item is "Rbt (sp) efficiency below requirements", noted on 2.42% of tests.
- 124 recorded tests behind this page.
- 87.9% overall pass rate, 86.6% 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
- 124
- Typical mileage (median)
- 90,403 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
Brake Discs and Pads Set
Usually a DIY or independent-garage job.
Does mileage affect the Alpina MOT pass rate?
Pass rate by odometer reading. Bar lengths start at 75% so small gaps stay visible.
Regional pass rates for the Alpina
| Region | Tests | Pass rate |
|---|---|---|
| South East | 43 | 81.4% |
| West Midlands | 23 | 87.0% |
| East Midlands | 15 | 93.3% |
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 2005 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 2005 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 brake pipes 2.4% of tests
“rigid brake pipes excessively corroded”
Brake pipes run under the car, usually in front of the rear wheels. Flaking or crusty metal is what fails; a light dusting of surface rust does not. Worth asking a garage to look while it is on a ramp.
-
Check the coil springs 1.6% 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 lights 1.6% of tests
“headlamp aim too high”
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.
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 2005 Alpina through its MOT
Across the 10 items that are recorded most often on this model, the average repair comes to £40–£110 — and 18% of those repairs are parts that cost under £30.
- Average repair across the 10 common items
- £40–£110
- Cheapest common item: anti-lock braking system warning lamp…
- £3–£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
- 18%
Estimates from typical UK parts prices, weighted by how often each item appears in 124 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 2005 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 2005 cars with a similar record
- Porsche 911 88.6%
- Honda S2000 87.1%
- Mercedes-Benz Sl 86.1%
- Bentley Continental 90.2%
- Porsche Boxster 84.6%
- Aston Martin DB9 91.3%
Closest pass rates among 2005 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 2005 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 111 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 | 36 | 32.10% | 20.89% | +11.21 |
| Suspension | 29 | 25.90% | 20.98% | +4.92 |
| Tyres | 19 | 17.00% | 19.76% | −2.76 |
| Noise, emissions and leaks | 11 | 9.80% | 5.52% | +4.28 |
| Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | 8 | 7.10% | 12.21% | −5.11 |
| Road Wheels | 3 | 2.70% | 0.75% | +1.95 |
| Non-component advisories | 2 | 1.80% | 4.18% | −2.38 |
| Visibility | 1 | 0.90% | 4.97% | −4.07 |
| Steering | 1 | 0.90% | 2.57% | −1.67 |
| Identification of the vehicle | 1 | 0.90% | 1.76% | −0.86 |
The exact failure items, in the tester's words
| Recorded item | Severity | Tests | Est. cost |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rbt (sp) efficiency below requirements Brakes | Major | 2.4% | £45–110 |
| Rigid brake pipes excessively corroded Brakes | Major | 2.4% | £80–180 |
| Coil spring fractured or broken Suspension | Major | 1.6% | £25–65 |
| Headlamp aim too high Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | Rectified | 1.6% | £30–80 |
| Headlamp levelling device inoperative Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | Major | 1.6% | £5–25 |
| Anti-lock braking system warning lamp indicates an ABS fault Brakes | Major | 0.81% | £3–15 |
| Ball joint dust cover no longer prevents the ingress of dirt Suspension | Major | 0.81% | £18–45 |
| Catalyst emissions carbon monoxide content after 2nd fast idle exceeds default limits Noise, emissions and leaks | Major | 0.81% | £60–250 |
| Emissions not tested unable to be completed Noise, emissions and leaks | Major | 0.81% | £60–250 |
| Has a cut in excess of the requirements deep enough to reach the ply or cords Tyres | Major | 0.81% | £45–95 |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pins and bushes pin or bush excessively worn Suspension | Advisory | 8.1% | £40–150 |
| Brake discs in such a condition that it is seriously weakened Brakes | Advisory | 6.5% | £45–110 |
| Has a tear, caused by separation or partial failure of its structure Tyres | Advisory | 6.5% | £45–95 |
| Rigid brake pipes excessively corroded Brakes | Advisory | 6.5% | £80–180 |
| Brake pads less than 1.5 mm thick Brakes | Advisory | 5.7% | £18–45 |
| Engine oil leaks leaking excessively from engine Noise, emissions and leaks | Advisory | 5.7% | £200–700 |
Pass rate by mileage
| Mileage | Tests | Pass rate | Median odometer |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0-30k | 6 | 83.3% | 24,717 mi |
| 30-60k | 19 | 89.5% | 48,417 mi |
| 60-90k | 35 | 91.4% | 73,074 mi |
| 90-120k | 22 | 86.4% | 101,492 mi |
| 120k+ | 42 | 85.7% | 147,209 mi |
Source: 124 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.
2005 Alpina MOT questions
What is the MOT pass rate for a 2005 BMW Alpina?
87.9% of the 124 2005 BMW Alpina tests in this dataset passed, against a national average of 72.4% for cars first used in 2005. First-attempt pass rate: 86.6%.
What are the most common MOT failures on a 2005 BMW Alpina?
The three most recorded items are rbt (sp) efficiency below requirements (2.42%), rigid brake pipes excessively corroded (2.42%), coil spring fractured or broken (1.61%). Percentages are the share of tests on this vehicle that recorded the item.
Does mileage affect the 2005 BMW Alpina MOT pass rate?
Yes. Cars under 30,000 miles passed 83.3% of the time, falling to 85.7% for those over 120,000 miles. The median 2005 BMW Alpina in this dataset had covered 90,403 mi.
Does the season affect the 2005 BMW Alpina MOT pass rate?
Tests recorded in the winter months (October–March) passed 90.4% of the time; summer months (April–September) passed 86.1%. Brakes, tyres and lights are tested harder in bad weather, but the difference is small on most models.