Pass rate
89.3%
Above average — 16.7 pts ahead of the 72.6% that cars this age and mileage manage.
Across 112 recorded tests.
Typical repair bill £36–£98
2003 BMW M5 MOT pass rate
- 2003
- typical 125,683 mi
Check your postcode
Most common fault
Brakes
31.2% 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 2008 95.4% pass
- Avoid 2002 86.5% pass
Across the 17 years on record, a spread of 8.9 points. See every year →
- First-attempt pass
- 88.5%
- Typical mileage
- 126k mi
The 2003 BMW M5 MOT pass rate is 89.3% of its MOT tests — 16.7 points ahead of what its age and mileage predict. Brakes is the biggest single reason it fails, at 31.2% of what testers record.
Expert verdict
Brakes: 1.5× the national share
Brakes make up 31.2% of everything recorded on the 2003 BMW M5, against 20.9% nationally — 10.3 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 72.6% and this one manages 89.3% — 16.7 points ahead of what its age and mileage predict.
- When it fails, it costs. Only 13% 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 M5? Get an email when these numbers change .
How does the 2003 BMW M5 compare?
Cars of this age and mileage average 72.6%, so this figure is 16.7 points ahead of what its age and mileage predict. On a first attempt, before any retests, the figure drops to 88.5%. The median 2003 BMW M5 in this dataset had covered 125,683 mi.
Pass rates also shift with the test month: tests recorded October–March passed 90.0% of the time, April–September 88.5%.
The single most recorded failure item is "Ball joint dust cover severely deteriorated", noted on 2.68% of tests.
- 112 recorded tests behind this page.
- 89.3% overall pass rate, 88.5% on a first attempt.
- Across every year of the BMW M5, the average is 89.8% — best year 2008 (95.4%), worst 2002 (86.5%).
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
- 112
- Typical mileage (median)
- 125,683 mi
- Make and model
- BMW M5
- 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 M5 MOT pass rate?
Pass rate by odometer reading. Bar lengths start at 75% so small gaps stay visible.
Where the BMW M5 is most common
Across all M5 model years on record (2000–2019): 6,220 BMW M5 cars tested in a recordable postcode area, across 11,647 tests. Birmingham (B) has the most, with 232 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) | 232 | 94.5% |
| 2 | Guildford (GU) | 166 | 92.1% |
| 3 | High Wycombe (HP) | 152 | 92.2% |
| 4 | Reading (RG) | 140 | 90.1% |
| 5 | Ashford (TN) | 134 | 88.6% |
| 6 | Slough (SL) | 133 | 94.8% |
| 7 | Crawley (RH) | 118 | 86.6% |
| 8 | London (E) | 114 | 98.3% |
| 9 | Romford (RM) | 106 | 93.2% |
| 10 | Peterborough (PE) | 104 | 87.6% |
| 11 | Leicester (LE) | 100 | 90.6% |
| 12 | Oxford (OX) | 98 | 92.2% |
| 13 | Chelmsford (CM) | 98 | 90.8% |
| 14 | Sheffield (S) | 88 | 88.0% |
| 15 | Kingston upon Thames (KT) | 87 | 92.6% |
| 16 | Bristol (BS) | 85 | 88.2% |
| 17 | Hayes (UB) | 82 | 95.6% |
| 18 | Ilford (IG) | 82 | 97.0% |
| 19 | Wembley (HA) | 82 | 93.0% |
| 20 | Southampton (SO) | 81 | 91.1% |
The twenty areas with the most BMW M5 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 M5
| Region | Tests | Pass rate |
|---|---|---|
| South East | 36 | 94.4% |
| North West | 21 | 85.7% |
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 2003 M5
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 2003 M5
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 2.7% of tests
“ball joint dust cover severely deteriorated”
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 1.8% of tests
“headlamp aim too low”
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 brake pipes 1.8% 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.
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 2003 M5 through its MOT
Across the 10 items that are recorded most often on this model, the average repair comes to £36–£98 — and 13% of those repairs are parts that cost under £30.
- Average repair across the 10 common items
- £36–£98
- Cheapest common item: wipers does not clear the windscreen…
- £8–£22
- Dearest common item: catalyst emissions carbon monoxide content…
- £60–£250
- Common items a careful owner can do at home
- 50%
- Repairs that still cost under £30
- 13%
Estimates from typical UK parts prices, weighted by how often each item appears in 112 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 M5, side by side
17 model years on record, from 2000 to 2019. Across them the pass rate runs from 86.5% to 95.4% — a spread of 8.9 points. The bar under each year is the item that failed it most often.
- 2000 86.6% windscreen damaged but not…
- 2001 87.2% windscreen damaged but not…
- 2002 86.5% windscreen damaged but not…
- 2003 89.3%ball joint dust cover severely…
- 2005 90.0% windscreen damaged but not…
- 2006 88.3% windscreen damaged but not…
- 2007 92.3% windscreen damaged but not…
- 2008 95.4% windscreen damaged but not…
- 2009 94.4% linkage ball joint dust cover…
- 2011 89.5% coil spring fractured or broken
- 2012 90.8% coil spring fractured or broken
- 2013 88.7% coil spring fractured or broken
- 2014 91.0% coil spring fractured or broken
- 2015 90.7% windscreen damaged but not…
- 2016 91.8% windscreen damaged but not…
- 2018 88.9% has a cut in excess of the…
- 2019 89.4% has a cut in excess of the…
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 2003 BMW M5 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 2003 cars with a similar record
- Porsche 911 85.5%
- Mercedes-Benz Sl 85.2%
- Honda S2000 83.5%
- Mercedes-Benz S-Class 81.7%
- Porsche Boxster 80.4%
- Subaru Impreza 80.0%
Closest pass rates among 2003 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 2003 BMW M5 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 137 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 | 43 | 31.20% | 20.89% | +10.31 |
| Suspension | 28 | 20.30% | 20.98% | −0.68 |
| Non-component advisories | 14 | 10.10% | 4.18% | +5.92 |
| Tyres | 12 | 8.70% | 19.76% | −11.06 |
| Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | 10 | 7.20% | 12.21% | −5.01 |
| Body, chassis, structure | 10 | 7.20% | 5.57% | +1.63 |
| Noise, emissions and leaks | 8 | 5.80% | 5.52% | +0.28 |
| Visibility | 6 | 4.30% | 4.97% | −0.67 |
| Steering | 4 | 2.90% | 2.57% | +0.33 |
| Road Wheels | 2 | 1.40% | 0.75% | +0.65 |
The exact failure items, in the tester's words
| Recorded item | Severity | Tests | Est. cost |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ball joint dust cover severely deteriorated Suspension | Minor | 2.7% | £18–45 |
| Headlamp aim too low Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | Major | 1.8% | £30–80 |
| Rbt (sp) efficiency below requirements Brakes | Major | 1.8% | £45–110 |
| Rigid brake pipes excessively corroded Brakes | Major | 1.8% | £80–180 |
| Wipers does not clear the windscreen effectively Visibility | Major | 1.8% | £8–22 |
| Attachment bracket and mounting attachment bracket/mounting fractured Suspension | Major | 0.89% | £40–150 |
| Ball joint excessively worn Suspension | Major | 0.89% | £18–45 |
| Brake performance not tested unable to be tested Brakes | Major | 0.89% | £60–150 |
| Catalyst emissions carbon monoxide content after 2nd fast idle exceeds manufacturer's specified limits Noise, emissions and leaks | Major | 0.89% | £60–250 |
| Fixing missing Road Wheels | Major | 0.89% | £20–55 |
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 | 11.6% | £80–180 |
| Non-component advisories Fuel Pipe/s corroded Non-component advisories | Advisory | 10.7% | £180–450 |
| Brake discs in such a condition that it is seriously weakened Brakes | Advisory | 8.0% | £45–110 |
| Linkage ball joints ball joint excessively worn Suspension | Advisory | 6.3% | £18–45 |
| Tread depth below requirements of 1.6mm Tyres | Advisory | 6.3% | £45–95 |
| Flexible brake hoses excessively deteriorated Brakes | Advisory | 4.5% | £25–70 |
Pass rate by mileage
| Mileage | Tests | Pass rate | Median odometer |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0-30k | 4 | 100.0% | 18,658 mi |
| 30-60k | 2 | 100.0% | 30,429 mi |
| 60-90k | 12 | 83.3% | 71,029 mi |
| 90-120k | 30 | 96.7% | 101,682 mi |
| 120k+ | 64 | 85.9% | 165,849 mi |
Source: 112 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.
2003 M5 MOT questions
What is the MOT pass rate for a 2003 BMW M5?
89.3% of the 112 2003 BMW M5 tests in this dataset passed, against a national average of 72.6% for cars first used in 2003. First-attempt pass rate: 88.5%.
What are the most common MOT failures on a 2003 BMW M5?
The three most recorded items are ball joint dust cover severely deteriorated (2.68%), headlamp aim too low (1.79%), rbt (sp) efficiency below requirements (1.79%). Percentages are the share of tests on this vehicle that recorded the item.
Does mileage affect the 2003 BMW M5 MOT pass rate?
Yes. Cars under 30,000 miles passed 100.0% of the time, falling to 85.9% for those over 120,000 miles. The median 2003 BMW M5 in this dataset had covered 125,683 mi.
Does the season affect the 2003 BMW M5 MOT pass rate?
Tests recorded in the winter months (October–March) passed 90.0% of the time; summer months (April–September) passed 88.5%. Brakes, tyres and lights are tested harder in bad weather, but the difference is small on most models.