BMW 116 years to avoid: the later ones
Based on 109,641 real MOT tests from DVSA records. Each year is compared against every other car first registered the same year — otherwise the numbers would only tell you that older cars fail more, which you knew.
The short answer
Avoid 2020. The worst is the 2020, which fails its MOT 35% more often than other cars of the same age. The 2008 is the strongest, failing 27% less often than average.
Found a BMW 116 you like?
Averages tell you what to expect. Its registration tells you what actually happened — every MOT, every advisory, and whether the mileage adds up.
Every 116 model year
Shaded rows are the years that differ most from other cars of the same age — worse, better.
| Registered | MOT tests | Fail rate | vs same-age cars |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2005 | 1,694 | 28.6% |
21% better
|
| 2006 | 3,454 | 28.9% |
20% better
|
| 2007 | 3,211 | 26.1% |
26% better
|
| 2008 | 2,829 | 25.7% |
27% better
|
| 2009 | 6,175 | 26.6% |
21% better
|
| 2010 | 6,370 | 25.4% |
21% better
|
| 2011 | 6,888 | 23.7% |
22% better
|
| 2012 | 6,955 | 24.0% |
about average
|
| 2013 | 11,031 | 20.1% |
21% better
|
| 2014 | 19,987 | 18.4% |
19% better
|
| 2015 | 14,701 | 17.0% |
about average
|
| 2016 | 11,894 | 16.0% |
about average
|
| 2017 | 8,298 | 13.9% |
about average
|
| 2018 | 2,370 | 13.7% |
about average
|
| 2019 | 1,380 | 11.7% |
about average
|
| 2020 Worst | 2,404 | 12.4% |
35% worse
|
How this is worked out
Every MOT test recorded by DVSA in 2023 on a BMW 116, grouped by the year the car was first registered. Retests are excluded, so a car that failed and was fixed still counts as a failure. Each year's rate is then divided by the rate for all cars first registered that year — so 120 means 20% more failures than its contemporaries, not 20% more than a brand new car.
Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.