BMW 5 Series: which years to avoid

Based on 68,123 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

No model year stands out as one to avoid. Every year sits within 15% of the failure rate for cars of the same age. The 2007 is the strongest, failing 30% less often than average.

Found a BMW 5 Series 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 5 Series model year

Shaded rows are the years that differ most from other cars of the same age — worse, better.

MOT failure rate by registration year for the BMW 5 Series
Registered	MOT tests	Fail rate	vs same-age cars
2007	1,049	24.8%	30% better
2011	1,153	23.2%	23% better
2012	6,213	20.7%	26% better
2013	6,147	21.3%	17% better
2017	13,645	12.0%	16% better
2018	19,321	10.7%	about average
2019	16,197	10.5%	about average
2020	4,398	10.2%	about average

How this is worked out

Every MOT test recorded by DVSA in 2023 on a BMW 5 Series, 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.