Pass rate
88.1%
Above average — 15.7 pts ahead of the 72.4% that cars this age and mileage manage.
Across 3,218 recorded tests.
Typical repair bill £37–£100
2005 BMW M3 MOT pass rate
- 2005
- typical 90,903 mi
Check your postcode
Most common fault
Brakes
30.7% 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 →
7.3 pts down across model years — 8.0% in 2001, 0.7% in 2011.
Which year to buy
- Best 2013 92.2% pass
- Avoid 2001 86.6% pass
Across the 18 years on record, a spread of 5.6 points. See every year →
- First-attempt pass
- 86.8%
- Typical mileage
- 91k mi
The 2005 BMW M3 MOT pass rate is 88.1% of its MOT tests — 15.7 points ahead of what its age and mileage predict. Brakes is the biggest single reason it fails, at 30.7% of what testers record.
Expert verdict
Brakes: 1.5× the national share
Brakes make up 30.7% of everything recorded on the 2005 BMW M3, against 20.9% nationally — 9.8 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 88.1% — 15.7 points ahead of what its age and mileage predict.
- When it fails, it costs. Only 27% 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 M3? Get an email when these numbers change .
How does the 2005 BMW M3 compare?
Cars of this age and mileage average 72.4%, so this figure is 15.7 points ahead of what its age and mileage predict. On a first attempt, before any retests, the figure drops to 86.8%. The median 2005 BMW M3 in this dataset had covered 90,903 mi.
Pass rates also shift with the test month: tests recorded October–March passed 86.6% of the time, April–September 89.2%.
The single most recorded failure item is "Windscreen damaged but not adversely affecting driver's view", noted on 2.55% of tests.
- 3,218 recorded tests behind this page.
- 88.1% overall pass rate, 86.8% on a first attempt.
- Across every year of the BMW M3, the average is 89.4% — best year 2013 (92.2%), worst 2001 (86.6%).
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
- 3,218
- Typical mileage (median)
- 90,903 mi
- Make and model
- BMW M3
- 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 M3 MOT pass rate?
Pass rate by odometer reading. Bar lengths start at 77% so small gaps stay visible.
Where the BMW M3 is most common
Across all M3 model years on record (2001–2018): 23,142 BMW M3 cars tested in a recordable postcode area, across 45,361 tests. Birmingham (B) has the most, with 904 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) | 904 | 92.9% |
| 2 | Reading (RG) | 503 | 87.2% |
| 3 | Guildford (GU) | 491 | 87.0% |
| 4 | High Wycombe (HP) | 482 | 91.8% |
| 5 | Ashford (TN) | 474 | 91.2% |
| 6 | Peterborough (PE) | 464 | 90.1% |
| 7 | Leicester (LE) | 451 | 91.6% |
| 8 | Slough (SL) | 423 | 92.1% |
| 9 | Crawley (RH) | 422 | 90.9% |
| 10 | Bristol (BS) | 369 | 83.5% |
| 11 | Coventry (CV) | 359 | 91.9% |
| 12 | Chelmsford (CM) | 350 | 88.9% |
| 13 | Sheffield (S) | 344 | 89.9% |
| 14 | Oxford (OX) | 344 | 87.3% |
| 15 | Dartford (DA) | 325 | 91.9% |
| 16 | London (E) | 322 | 96.2% |
| 17 | Romford (RM) | 317 | 90.7% |
| 18 | Kingston upon Thames (KT) | 313 | 87.2% |
| 19 | Nottingham (NG) | 303 | 87.0% |
| 20 | Milton Keynes (MK) | 292 | 92.9% |
The twenty areas with the most BMW M3 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 M3
| Region | Tests | Pass rate |
|---|---|---|
| South East | 944 | 88.5% |
| East of England | 404 | 90.6% |
| South West | 340 | 83.2% |
| West Midlands | 321 | 90.3% |
| London | 287 | 89.9% |
| North West | 240 | 84.6% |
| Yorkshire | 202 | 90.1% |
| East Midlands | 196 | 87.8% |
| Scotland | 145 | 86.9% |
| Wales | 72 | 86.1% |
| North East | 67 | 85.1% |
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 M3
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 M3
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 2.5% 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 lights 2.4% of tests
“registration plate lamp(s) inoperative in the case of multiple lamps or light sources”
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 1.2% 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 2005 M3 through its MOT
Across the 10 items that are recorded most often on this model, the average repair comes to £37–£100 — and 27% of those repairs are parts that cost under £30.
- Average repair across the 10 common items
- £37–£100
- 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
- 60%
- Repairs that still cost under £30
- 27%
Estimates from typical UK parts prices, weighted by how often each item appears in 3,218 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 M3, side by side
18 model years on record, from 2001 to 2018. Across them the pass rate runs from 86.6% to 92.2% — a spread of 5.6 points. The bar under each year is the item that failed it most often.
- 2001 86.6% windscreen damaged but not…
- 2002 86.7% registration plate lamp(s)…
- 2003 87.7% registration plate lamp(s)…
- 2004 88.2% windscreen damaged but not…
- 2005 88.1%windscreen damaged but not…
- 2006 90.4% windscreen damaged but not…
- 2007 89.0% windscreen damaged but not…
- 2008 90.0% windscreen damaged but not…
- 2009 90.3% windscreen damaged but not…
- 2010 90.8% windscreen damaged but not…
- 2011 90.9% windscreen damaged but not…
- 2012 91.0% windscreen damaged but not…
- 2013 92.2% windscreen damaged but not…
- 2014 91.2% windscreen damaged but not…
- 2015 91.1% coil spring fractured or broken
- 2016 91.1% coil spring fractured or broken
- 2017 90.5% coil spring fractured or broken
- 2018 91.4% 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 M3 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%
- Aston Martin DB9 91.3%
- Porsche Boxster 84.6%
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 M3 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 3,380 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 | 1,050 | 30.70% | 20.89% | +9.81 |
| Tyres | 603 | 17.60% | 19.76% | −2.16 |
| Suspension | 564 | 16.50% | 20.98% | −4.48 |
| Noise, emissions and leaks | 347 | 10.20% | 5.52% | +4.68 |
| Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | 299 | 8.80% | 12.21% | −3.41 |
| Visibility | 188 | 5.50% | 4.97% | +0.53 |
| Body, chassis, structure | 124 | 3.60% | 5.57% | −1.97 |
| Non-component advisories | 111 | 3.20% | 4.18% | −0.98 |
| Identification of the vehicle | 51 | 1.50% | 1.76% | −0.26 |
| Seat belts and supplementary restraint systems | 43 | 1.30% | 0.82% | +0.48 |
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 | 2.5% | £80–200 |
| Registration plate lamp(s) inoperative in the case of multiple lamps or light sources Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | Minor | 2.4% | £5–20 |
| Coil spring fractured or broken Suspension | Major | 1.2% | £25–65 |
| Malfunction indicator lamp inoperative or indicates a malfunction Noise, emissions and leaks | Major | 1.0% | £3–12 |
| Ball joint dust cover severely deteriorated Suspension | Minor | 0.99% | £18–45 |
| Linkage ball joint dust cover ball joint dust cover no longer prevents the ingress of dirt Suspension | Major | 0.99% | £18–45 |
| Service brake performance excessively binding Brakes | Major | 0.96% | £60–150 |
| Linkage ball joint dust cover ball joint dust cover severely deteriorated Suspension | Minor | 0.93% | £18–45 |
| Rigid brake pipes excessively corroded Brakes | Major | 0.81% | £80–180 |
| Catalyst emissions Lambda reading after 2nd fast idle outside specified limits Noise, emissions and leaks | Major | 0.78% | £60–250 |
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 | 13.1% | £80–180 |
| Tread depth below requirements of 1.6mm Tyres | Advisory | 9.2% | £45–95 |
| Brake discs in such a condition that it is seriously weakened Brakes | Advisory | 4.4% | £45–110 |
| Has a tear, caused by separation or partial failure of its structure Tyres | Advisory | 4.2% | £45–95 |
| Transmission oil leaks leaking excessively from transmission Noise, emissions and leaks | Advisory | 4.1% | £200–700 |
| Engine oil leaks leaking excessively from engine Noise, emissions and leaks | Advisory | 3.3% | £200–700 |
Pass rate by mileage
| Mileage | Tests | Pass rate | Median odometer |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0-30k | 69 | 94.2% | 21,913 mi |
| 30-60k | 457 | 91.9% | 48,662 mi |
| 60-90k | 1,048 | 89.0% | 75,589 mi |
| 90-120k | 1,091 | 86.3% | 103,563 mi |
| 120k+ | 553 | 85.7% | 139,285 mi |
Source: 3,218 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 M3 MOT questions
What is the MOT pass rate for a 2005 BMW M3?
88.1% of the 3,218 2005 BMW M3 tests in this dataset passed, against a national average of 72.4% for cars first used in 2005. First-attempt pass rate: 86.8%.
What are the most common MOT failures on a 2005 BMW M3?
The three most recorded items are windscreen damaged but not adversely affecting driver's view (2.55%), registration plate lamp(s) inoperative in the case of multiple lamps or light sources (2.36%), coil spring fractured or broken (1.21%). Percentages are the share of tests on this vehicle that recorded the item.
Does mileage affect the 2005 BMW M3 MOT pass rate?
Yes. Cars under 30,000 miles passed 94.2% of the time, falling to 85.7% for those over 120,000 miles. The median 2005 BMW M3 in this dataset had covered 90,903 mi.
Does the season affect the 2005 BMW M3 MOT pass rate?
Tests recorded in the winter months (October–March) passed 86.6% of the time; summer months (April–September) passed 89.2%. Brakes, tyres and lights are tested harder in bad weather, but the difference is small on most models.